Alcohol may have contributed to USC student’s death

Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the death of a USC student who was found lifeless over the weekend in his off-campus apartment, a law enforcement official said.

A final determination on how 22-year-old Thu Yain “Roy” Kyaw died is still pending, but the revelation comes as the university is struggling to control alcohol-related incidents.

This month, campus officials placed the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon on probation after a female student visiting from Loyola Marymount University fell while dancing on a table and hurt her head and neck, according to USC officials and safety reports.

That incident, in addition to several alcohol-related hospitalizations, prompted USC officials to strictly enforce a ban on weekday parties on the campus’ Greek Row for the rest of the semester.

According to the student-run Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council, the ban came as USC was experiencing an apparent increase in undergraduate drinking.

“The trends this semester in alcohol-related incidents are not promising,” according to a statement by the groups.

Kyaw, a student in the Marshall School of Business from Singapore, was found dead in his bed Sunday night, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The LAPD said Kyaw’s roommates came home to the apartment in the 1300 block of West 29th Street about 9:30 p.m. and found him not breathing.

However, a spokesman from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, which is making the final determination of the cause of death, said it was Kyaw’s brother who discovered him.

Kyaw was seen two days earlier at a party, officials said.

Three years ago, after eight students were taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning, 16 USC fraternities were temporarily banned from having parties, according to the Daily Trojan, the student newspaper.

A year later, fraternities were barred from having parties on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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