The dangers of underage drinking flooded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last night as students reacted emotionally to a tragic incident Saturday involving a first-year fraternity pledge and alcohol.

Yesterday night, 18-year-old Scott Krueger of Orchard Park, N.Y., died, according to his cousin, William W. Burke-White '98.

Meanwhile, MIT vowed to reevaluate its social structure in light of the tragedy. The Inter Fraternity Council voted Sunday night to suspend alcohol consumption at all fraternities and sororities.

What happened to Krueger-who lasped into a coma after suffering from alcohol poisoning at a fraternity Saturday night-and its meaning for the future of fraternities at MIT has provoked a strong reaction from current and former students.

A member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, known commonly as "Fiji," refused to comment last night on the house's suspension by MIT administrators after Saturday's incident.

"All I can say is that our thoughts and prayers are with Scott's family," he said. The fraternity member would not give his name.

At least one former fraternity pledge, sophomore Pedro Fuentes, said the fraternity has a campus reputation for wild parties.

"They take pride in being a party house," he said.

As a first-year pledge, Fuentes said he had never drunk alcohol before. But that changed on a fraternity trip to visit frat brothers in Vermont.

"They gave us each a beer. But I didn't like beer, so they gave me gin, to chug it, to see who would finish first," he said.

Still, Fuentes said the MIT chapter did not pressure pledges to drink, and in fact, several fraternity members never took to drinking alcohol at all.

"They'd ask you, but if you just told them no they were cool," he said. "But if you said 'I don't know,' they'd work on you."

Alcohol was omnipresent at Fiji, according to Fuentes.

"If someone wanted to drink, there was alcohol everywhere," he said. "People had bottles in their room. We had a kegerator. There usually would be one or two. [Even during] the driest, there'd only be one or two kegs in the refrigerator downstairs."

"[At] every Fiji party, we'd never run out of alcohol, we'd take pride in [that]," he added.

Heavy drinking at the fraternity took the form of theme nights, Fuentes said.