Fox 40 continues to bring you updates after the "New Parade Day" event which took place in the City of Binghamton on Saturday, March 18th.  The event was not sanctioned by Binghamton University or the City of Binghamton.

According to Binghamton Police, 18-year-old Binghamton University student Conor Donnelly died accidentally Saturday, after falling from the fourth floor balcony of the Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity in Binghamton.  Police have not released a direct connection between the death and Saturday's unsanctioned event.

On Monday, police said Donnelly was a pledge for the fraternity -- and that alcohol was believed to have played a factor in his death, but not hazing.

On Tuesday, Fox 40 obtained a copy of an email allegedly sent to Binghamton University's Greek life from its director, L.C. Coghill, denouncing "New Parade Day" before it happened.  We received the copy from the university's news organization Binghamton University Pipe Dream -- who first reported on its contents Monday.  According to BU Pipe Dream, it was sent on March 12th.  Representatives from the news organization told Fox 40 they got that information from a source who gave them the screen shot. 

The email includes a statement allegedly from Coghill: "Unlike actual parade day, this day will not have the approval of the city nor will it have appropriate police presence and security." 

Below is the copy Fox 40 received from Binghamton University Pipe Dream.  It reads:

"Whatever you may have planned as a chapter for Saturday, my general recommendation would be just don't.  Unlike actual Parade Day, this day will not have the approval of the city nor will it have appropriate police presence and security.  It is my understanding that the police do not support this day and therefore it is likely they will have very little patience for questionable behavior.  This is likely to lead to many students being ticketed and/or arrested.  

In addition, in the next couple of days I will be notifying the national staff/officers of each organization in order to alert them to the concept being promoted so you can likely expect a call reminding you of your organization's policies regarding social events and risk management.  

Finally, any chapters found to be in violation of the student code of conduct will be dealt with swiftly and any chapters violating policies set forth by your respective governing councils will be forwarded to those respective judicial boards.  Despite what you may see on social media, the law and all university policies still apply to March 18.

On a personal note, I think this whole thing is absurd and I am extremely disappointed that our community is buying into a scheme that has been created to promote binge drinking and increase the revenues of the bars on State Street.  We have to be better than this.

As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to let me know. 

Have a great week!

L.C. Coghill"

When Fox 40 reached out on Tuesday, Binghamton University officials would not comment.  Fox 40 was able to speak with some BU students about their take on "New Parade Day".

Some students said they took part in the event to continue annual Parade Day celebrations, others said they chose not to take part in an unsanctioned event.  

"I think it was kind of a stupid idea because it wasn't like an official thing, it was just a whole bunch of BU students going downtown in the middle of the day to drink," said Patrick Dimock, BU Sophomore.

"I didn't see any problems downtown at the bars or anything, but I wasn't there way too long.  I know people spent a lot of time there and stayed overnight.  But I was in and out pretty early, and I didn't see anything too crazy," said Mitch Idtensohn, BU Junior. 
 
The "New Parade Day" event came after BU closed down its campus for a mid-semester break from March 3rd through the 8th. The city's official Parade Day was on March 4th. 

On Tuesday, Binghamton Mayor Rich David declined to go on camera, but told Fox 40 "New Parade Day" wasn't a city sanctioned event and said he didn't have further comment at this time. 

Fox 40 will continue to bring updates as they become available.