Berkeley police have labeled Saturday's death at a UC Berkeley fraternity house "suspicious."
Just before 7:30 a.m., authorities arrived on the 2900 block of Channing Way on a report of an unresponsive person. The victim, a man in his early 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a news release from the Berkeley Police Department.
Berkeleyside is reporting that the man died at Pi Kappa Phi, a fraternity that has more than 140 active chapters nationwide, according to its website. National representatives have spoken with Berkeley members and have advised them to cooperate with police, the site reported.
Officers were still on the scene just after 2 p.m. A spokesperson for the department declined to release any additional information, citing an ongoing investigation.
UC Berkeley’s fall semester ended Friday and there were reports of numerous parties in the area, students said. The circumstances surrounding the death, however, remain unknown.
Almost exactly one year ago, another student was found dead in the 2500 block of Piedmont Avenue after falling and hitting his head. His blood alchohol level was revealed to be .31, which is near fatal levels.
The victim, later identified as Apoorve Agarwal, 20, was a double major in applied mathematics and economics, according to UC Berkeley campus newspaper The Daily Californian.
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Like many college campuses, UC Berkeley has required that newly-matriculating students take an alcohol-awareness course before starting on campus.
But recent deaths have made people question whether educational courses are enough. More than 1820 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
