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Many others suffered a fate similar to Rachel-see details
 
    In Memoriam Rachel E. Payne-9/14/04 Article
  University of Delaware freshman from Connecticut struck by train-9/14/04 Article*

Rachel Payne, 18

Police: college student had blood-alcohol level nearly three times limit-10/26/04 Article*
September 12, 2004 University of Delaware has suspended Alpha Tau Omega fraternity through 2009-2/4/05 Article*
University of Delaware University lifts sanctions against fraternity-2/17/05 Article*
  Recent tragedies, controversies at UD-3/7/06 Article*
  University takes safe road on safe rides-3/9/06 Article
  For some, college kicks off in wild style-9/3/06 Article

Article Summaries and Excerpts Below

(*Limited On-line Availability) 

Does this need to happen to Rachel and others  

University of Delaware Daily                                             

In Memoriam  Rachel E. Payne                    Top of  page                     Article
 

Reported that Rachel E. Payne, 18, a freshman at the University of Delaware from West Hartford, Conn., died Sept. 12, after being struck by a train.  Rachel lived in West Hartford all of her life and graduated from William H. Hall High School,.

"Ms. Payne had received numerous awards for her artistic ability, including the Connecticut Scholastic Art Award for drawing, the Hall High School Art Teachers' Evangeline Ftergiotis Award and an Academic Achievement Award, as well as the Connecticut Art Education Association's 2004 top honor for her exceptional art portfolio. She also was the recipient of a Fine Arts Scholarship to the University of Connecticut.

An obituary published in the Hartford Courant called her “a beautiful, loving and talented young lady. She was sensitive, perceptive and had tremendous love of all animals.”

According to the newspaper, “Rachel was truly happy to be attending the University of Delaware. She had quickly made friends and felt that she had found her niche. To say that Rachel will be sorely missed by a wealth of family and friends that loved her would be a vast understatement.”

Ms. Payne is survived by her parents, Nancy Matson Payne of West Hartford; her father, William T. Payne Jr. of West Hartford; and her older brother, Andrew William Payne, also of West Hartford, as well as her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William E. Matson of Hampstead, N.C.; her grandmother, Mrs. William T. Payne of Thompson, Conn.; her uncle, Steven Stang and his wife, Macil, of Simsbury, Conn.; her aunt, Florence Payne, of Thompson, Conn.; and her uncle, Russell Matson, and his wife, June, of Eliot, Maine, as well as five first cousins.

Friends may call at the Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Ave., West Hartford, from 5-8 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 15. The funeral will be held at 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 16, at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 280 Boulevard, West Hartford, with burial immediately following the ceremony in the Simsbury Cemetery, Hopmeadow Street, Simsbury."

 

University of Delaware freshman from Connecticut struck by train                    Top of  page
Delaware officials say a college student from Connecticut has died after being

Reported that University of Delaware student Rachel Payne of West Hartford lost her way back to her dormitory returning from an off-campus fraternity party.  Rachel was struck by a train.  The train hit Payne early Sunday and that several trains passed before her body was found about three hours later on a railroad trestle.

 

Police: college student had blood-alcohol level nearly three times limit                Top of  page
(Newark, Del.-AP, Oct. 26, 2004 10:10 PM)

 Reported that Rachel Payne's o\ blood-alcohol level was .236 at the time she was hit by the train.  There was no indication of other drugs or illegal substances in her system.

 

News Summary                                                                                    Top of  page

Reported that the University of Delaware has suspended Alpha Tau Omega fraternity through 2009 for alcohol and safety violations related to the death of Rachel Payne who was hit by a train after leaving a party at the fraternity house. The city of Newark will close the off-campus house and evict the residents. (Hartford Courant, Feb. 4)

 

University lifts sanctions against fraternity                                                Top of  page
(Newark, Del.-AP, Feb. 17, 2005 7:15 AM)

Reported that the University of Delaware lifted the sanctions against Alpha Tau Omega only a month after they were imposed.  New judicial proceedings were to be held on allegations of alcohol and safety violations.  The fraternity was seeking an injunction against the school's suspension and eviction orders.

 

Legal Assistant Blog                                                              

http://www.legalassistantblog.com/node/9025

 Recent tragedies, controversies at UD...                                                Top of  page

Posted in by admin on Tue, 2006-03-07 19:55

INTERACT: Share your thoughts on the arrest of 3 UD players.

Reported that the University of Delaware was addressing various challenges including dealing with the aftermath of Rachel Payne's death.  The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity chapter at the University was disbanded after being suspended for four years in January 2005.

For some, college kicks off in wild style                         

 By Mike Chalmers and Pat Walters           Top of  page             Article
September 3, 2006

Reported the manner in which many students use free time before the beginning of classes, starting with this as an example:

"Arriving at the University of Delaware last weekend, one freshman girl had quite a full first day.  She got drunk and had a sexual encounter with a student who, as he was carrying her down the street, dropped her, cutting her head open, said Newark police spokesman Lt. Thomas Le Min.  "So six hours here she had already gotten drunk, gotten busy and gotten dropped on her head," Le Min said. "I think her parents were still here. That's got to be a record or something." While extreme, her experience is hardly isolated."

Also:

 "As the school year began, UD police would not comment on initial reports that drugs or alcohol might have been involved in the death of Laura Shanks, a 20-year-old sophomore from Yardley, Pa. She was found unconscious Monday morning in her first-floor dorm room in Harrington Hall A."

The article effectively expands upon how the environment that these students encounter exacerbates the risks.

Copyright ©2007 Outside The Classroom, All Rights Reserved

 

University takes safe road on safe rides                                       

By: Julia Parmley                                      Top of  page                     Article

Posted: 3/9/06

Reported on the Safe Ride Shuttle service that University of Delaware students Gianni Zillanella  and Jerry Gargiulo formed the in reaction to Rachel Payne's fatal accident.

Also reported the following about Rachel's accident: "

Newark Police Chief Gerald Conway said Payne is believed to have been disoriented and had made several phone calls to friends. In the last phone call, at about 2:40 a.m., she said she was lost, Conway said. She was last seen leaving an off-campus fraternity house party. She is believed to have been struck by a freight train at 3:25 a.m.  Payne was discovered by another train at 6:25 a.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene by New Castle County paramedics, Conway said."


Article by Martin Mbugua
Photo by Danielle Quig


© Copyright 2007 The Review

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