Extremely sad...
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/n...5-alcohol-club
Friends: UCI student drinking before killed on I-405
2 fraternities have been suspended while university officials investigate.
By SALVADOR HERNANDEZ
The Orange County Register
Comments 126 | Recommend 13
At least two hours before a UC Irvine student was killed while walking across the I-405 freeway last week, the 18-year-old had been drinking with friends while traveling to a Costa Mesa nightclub, friends said.
As friends and family members mourn the death of Raphael Nunez, a computer science major described as a charismatic, athletic and friendly student, police said they are investigating why Nunez was walking across a freeway in the dark after a night of partying and drinking with friends from a university fraternity.
Meanwhile, officials at UCI said two campus fraternities have been suspended from holding events until an investigation into the circumstances of Nunez's death is completed. Nunez was a member of the fraternity Sigma Pi, and friends said he was attending an event organized by another fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi.
"I will not let this rest," said Martin Nunez, Raphael's older brother. "He was a smart and educated kid."
Nunez was killed after he was struck by two cars in the northbound lanes of the 405 freeway near the Bristol Street in Costa Mesa on May 7. Officers first received reports of a man lying in the freeway. A minute later, at 11:18 p.m., officers received a call of a man who had been hit by a car while running across lanes.
The driver of the car, a 22-year-old Santa Ana man, told officers he saw Nunez running from the center divider toward the right shoulder. The man said he tried to swerve, but was unable to avoid Nunez, said CHP officer Gabe Montoya. Nunez was then struck by a second vehicle.
Friends said Nunez attended a film festival at UCI that evening and then went with friends to Shark Club in Costa Mesa, a nightclub that caters to college students on Thursday nights. The group of friends boarded a bus that was chartered by Alpha Epsilon Pi.
During the ride to the club, Nunez and some of his friends were drinking "jungle juice," a mixture of vodka and juice, from a water bottle, said Alexander Nubla, 19, who said he was with Nunez on the bus and is also a member of Sigma Pi.
"I don't know how strong it was. It could have been all vodka," Nubla said.
The bus arrived at the club at 10:30 p.m., but Nunez was kicked out a short time later, Nubla said.
Ronnie Arenas, 21, a friend of Nunez who was also with him, said he and his friends didn't notice when Nunez was kicked out of the club or why.
"I got really sick that night because I made friends with the bartender," said Arenas, also a member of Sigma Pi. "The end of the night is just a blur to me."
People 18 or older can get into Shark Club on a Thursday night. Customers must be 21 or older to drink alcohol.
Nubla said he called Nunez at midnight, but never received a call back.
"I was drunk too," he said. "It really didn't sink in he wasn't there."
Friends said they are baffled by what happened after Nunez left the club. Somehow the 18-year-old had traveled about half a mile on Bristol and crossed half of the freeway.
"I don't know why he was out there," Arenas said. "It doesn't make sense. We've been trying to help out the police. It's just a ridiculous freak accident."
On Monday evening, members of the university's Greek organizations held a memorial for Nunez. University officials made counselors available for students at the event, said Cathy Lawhon, media relations director for UC Irvine.
In the meantime, both fraternities are prohibited from holding any events during the investigation, Lawhon said. Authorities will be looking into whether the organizations violated their risk management policies or committed any wrongdoing. Providing alcohol to a minor would be a violation.
"This is not a usual occurrence and something out of the ordinary happened here," Lawhon said.
Police are also looking into rumors that Nunez might have been dared by friends to run across the freeway.
"We have heard the same rumor, but we're looking into it," said Lt. Baltazar de la Riva of the UCI police. "It's just a rumor at this time."
School officials will also be investigating the presence of alcohol on the bus that Nunez took, which was chartered by Alpha Epsilon Pi, Lawhon said.
"Alcohol is not supposed to be served on the bus," she said. "Any serving of alcohol on the bus is something we'd be looking into.'
Asked if they were concerned about Nunez consuming alcohol although he was underage, both Arenas and Nubla said they didn't think their friend would become too intoxicated.
"I've drank with Ralph plenty of times and I know he can handle his liquor," Nubla said.
"You have to understand, Ralph's a big guy," Arenas said. "He's a rugby player. If he would have told me this happened the night before, I wouldn't have believed it. This is just a regular college event."
http://www.newuniversity.org/main/ar...or_freshman190
Memorial Held for Freshman Slain While Crossing Freeway
by Stephanie Vatz
Volume 42, Issue 29 | May 18 2009
On Monday evening, around 200 people made their way to the field behind Arroyo Vista housing where a ceremony was held to celebrate the life of Raphael Nunez, a first-year UC Irvine computer science major, Sigma Pi brother, rugby player and close friend to many on campus.
Nunez was crossing the northbound lanes of the I-405 freeway on foot near Bristol St. on Thursday, May 7 at 11:18 p.m. after attending the Alpha Epsilon Pi Film Fest after-party at Costa Mesa’s Shark Club when he was hit by two cars and killed. The details of why Nunez was on the freeway remain unknown, and his fraternity brothers and friends did not find out about his death until the following morning.
Family, classmates, friends and members of the Greek community arrived in packs to the event organized primarily by third-year Sigma Pi president Griffin Conway and Nunez’s best friend and fraternity brother, Corey Somarriba. A few of the Sigma Pi fraternity members, dressed neatly in suits, began to set up a table with flowers and picture frames on it. Behind the table, a screen began a slideshow of Nunez’s photos compiled by close friends.
The actual ceremony began around 8 p.m. Most students and friends of Nunez sat on the concrete stairs facing the slideshow while the men of Sigma Pi stood behind them next to some of Nunez’s family including his brother Martin Nunez with wife Jennifer, sister-in-law Danielle Nunez and sisters Yessinia and Elo Nunez.
As the memorial commenced, Conway took the stage, talking briefly about his relationship to the deceased and setting up the organization for the night. One by one, several members of Sigma Pi as well as other close friends of Nunez began speaking about their loss as parts of the audience quietly sobbed.
Eight girls were wearing black t-shirts with a photo of Nunez on them, complete with the quote, “Life is too short to be anything less than happy.” The shirts were, in part, the creation of first-years Dona Cantu, an undeclared major and Zee Hussain, a civil engineering major.
“We really never saw him upset,” Cantu said. “We never really noticed that he was so positive until he was gone and now we reflect on how happy he was all of the time. [The quote on the t-shirts] was really the perfect one to describe him. Some of us are really just sitting around pondering why are we just sitting around wasting away our lives when we should be seizing the day being happy with every moment that we live?”
As the ceremony continued, it seemed to follow Nunez’s philosophy. Friends and family were clearly heartbroken by the situation, and most friends choked back in tears while talking about him in front of the crowd.
Martin Nunez delivered a moving, but comical speech about his little brother and encouraged everyone to come up and tell a funny story. Eventually, the tears dried.
“It started out really sad,” said Zee Hussain, “but as the memorial went on, everyone was laughing by the end because of the stories about good times they had with Ralph. That shows a lot about Ralph’s personality. That even at his memorial, he can have people laughing. He’s not even here anymore and he can still put a smile on our face.”
In the wake of Nunez’s death, many people were skeptical about why he was on the freeway. In an article by the Orange County Register, heavy drinking and partying was listed as a potential cause.
The article focused primarily on the “jungle juice” served on the bus that Ralph took to the club, the drunken state of some of his friends and on the fact that he was reported to have been forced to leave early.
Many members of the fraternity were slightly offended by the article, which they feel presented them as shameless party boys. According to Conway, the main goal of Sigma Pi is to promote brotherhood.
“[We were] frustrated at how the article portrayed [them],” Conway said.
Friends of Nunez like Cantu and Hussain agreed that the fraternity was not to blame.
“There is a lot of controversial stuff going on about it,” Cantu said, “and there always will be. Everyone has their own stereotypes and their own views, but the people that really know those people and know that fraternity know who they are. You can speculate about relationships or about people being jerks, but you cannot talk about someone’s death. It is just worsening the situation.”
Despite rumors circling the accident, it is clear that Nunez has affected those around him and has left a positive impression on UCI despite not being able to finish out his first year. His Facebook profile, which is now coated with loving goodbyes from his friends and acquaintances, stands as a testament to his life.
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Sigma Pi Death & Suspension of Sigma Pi/AEPi
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