My name is Michael Fernandes. On the morning of February 2nd, 2005 my good friend and fraternity brother Matthew Carrington died after consuming excessive amounts of water during a pledging ritual which took place the previous night and into the morning. I was present at this ritual for a short time. The hazing took place in the basement of the fraternity house. That night I left around 2 a.m. when I thought the event would soon be over and after I had tried to stop it. The hazing continued until 4 a.m. when Matt had a seizure, after which no one called the ambulance until he stopped breathing an hour later. An hour after that, he was dead. Part of me died that morning as well. I have never been the same since. I have been completely traumatized and have gone into a very deep depression. However, part of me wants to live on and make sure that this never happens to anyone again. This is a terrible ordeal for everybody involved especially Matt’s family. I feel it is important for students to hear my story so that they can avoid the same fate. I am now one of eight men being charged with a misdemeanor hazing crime. I am also facing expulsion from school.

I was hazed and the fraternity made my life miserable, but by the time I realized that it wasn't for me, I had already put so much time and devoted so much effort and endured so much hazing that quitting did not seem like an option to me.

While I was there that night I saw nothing out of the ordinary and nothing different than what I went through. However the pledge activities the night that Matt died turned out to be fatal after they were taken to extremes. The pledges were commanded to drink at least 4 or 5 more gallons of water and dump some of it on themselves in the frigid basement. Hazing seemed to me to be stupid and harmless, however I know now that it is serious and deadly, and I want more people to be aware of that. I feel if this could happen to us it could happen to anybody.

Matthew Carrington (November 10, 1983 – February 2, 2005), was a student at California State University, Chico, who died during a hazing incident at the unrecognized Chi Tau fraternity house. The cause of death was water intoxication.

Seven men (Richard Joseph Hirth, 23; Michael Fernandes, 20; Trent Stiefvater, 21; Gabriel John Maestretti, 22; Jerry Ming Lim, 25; Carlos James DeVilla Abrille, 22; and John Paul Fickes, 20) were charged in connection with his death. Maestretti, Lim, Abrille, and Fickes pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors; all were sentenced to jail time, ranging from 90 days to one year. Hirth and Fernandes pleaded nolo contendere and received shorter sentences, as did Stiefvater, who pleaded guilty. In addition, a wrongful death suit has been filed.