The tragic death of Ohio State student Joseph Upshaw, a member of the Delta Tau Delta chapter at OSU, has led to the probation of that fraternity, according to a letter sent to the chapter president, David Gea. The letter was sent by Bill Hall, interim vice president of student affairs.Upshaw, 22, a senior industrial and systems engineering major, was taken to the Ohio State University Medical Center on April 21 where he died at 5:57 a.m. The preliminary cause of death was then reported as respiratory failure. The Franklin County Coroner’s office reported yesterday that the case was officially closed on June 28, and the cause of death was ruled accidental, due to alcohol and drug ingestion.In the 911 call made from the house, located at 67 E. 15th Ave., the dispatcher was told that Upshaw may have overdosed on GHB.”The tragic death of Joe Upshaw…during the past academic year was a shock to the campus community. Unfortunately, the occurrences leading up to and surrounding Joe’s death made the event even more troublesome. It is apparent that the priorities of the Delta Tau Delta members and the culture within the … facility … need to change,” said Hall in the letter to the fraternity.In accordance with the probation, the members of Delta Tau Delta will have increased standards they will be expected to meet in order to remain a recognized student organization. These requirements were outlined in Hall’s letter and include:• Welcoming a resident staff adviser selected by Hall to live in the Delta Tau Delta facility for the 2000-2001 academic year;• Remain incident free while on probationary status with OSU from Sept. 1 until June 30, 2001. During this period, if Delta Tau Delta is found to be in violation of OSU’s Code of Student Conduct, the chapter’s recognition as a student organization will be discontinued;• The chapter president will meet with the OSU greek adviser at least once a month to review chapter matters;• The chapter adviser will meet with the OSU greek advisor at least twice per academic quarter to review chapter matters;• Delta Tau Delta will submit a report at the end of the autumn, winter, and spring academic quarters to summarize the chapter’s progress in the following areas: scholarship, leadership development, campus involvement, community involvement, chapter recruitment, fiscal management, risk management, diversity education, and service and philanthropy.”What we saw at Ohio State University is part of a recognized and growing problem in high schools, college and university settings,” said Duane Wirner, executive vice president of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity, in a released statement.Hall also sees increased risks in fraternity settings, and wants to provide support and help to stabilize the greek system.”The intent (of the probation) is to send a message to a number of student organizations that some of the behavior being exhibited is not acceptable,” Hall said. “I think it is a privilege for student organizations to be associated with the university, and as a result, there are certain standards they have to live up to.”Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity is also in agreement with OSU administration, and has taken their own steps to revitalize the chapter organization, including canceling all chapter operations and removing chapter officers pending personal membership review.When asked why so much time has passed between Upshaw’s death and yesterday’s probation, Hall stated that it has now become his responsibility. Hall recently became the interim vice president of student affairs on Aug. 1, upon David Williams’ departure.”I acted on it as soon as I had reviewed the history of the case. I decided something needed to change,” Hall said. “However, I don’t want to generalize and blame the whole greek system, there are many students involved doing good things.”