On March 21, 1999, Penn alumnus Michael Tobin died on campus after falling several stories at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house, where he had been drinking heavily.
He had a blood alcohol content level of .23 percent, almost three times the .08 legal limit in Pennsylvania. His body was discovered by a fraternity member the next morning face down in a pile of garbage behind the fraternity house.
Shortly after the incident, following a University investigation, Phi Gamma Delta -- also known as FIJI -- was disbanded on campus, and Penn adopted a new comprehensive alcohol policy, which has not changed significantly since that time. The new policy included a "Bring Your Own Beer" option for parties that was in effect only for a year.
The Tobin family sued the University, the fraternity and Trammell Crow, a company to which the University had outsourced maintenance duties on the fraternity house. They filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming the building was in violation of municipal codes.
Four years after Tobin's death, the lawsuit was confidentially settled. Penn did not admit fault in the death, and University officials created two funds to maintain facilities on campus.
