ATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) – Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with an alleged hazing incident involving the Southern University Band. Both men are members of the band.
East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested Harvey Harrison and Carlos-Andres Carter, both 19 years old. They are each charged with aggravated battery and ritualistic acts.
Two male band members are hospitalized in the intensive care unit at a Baton Rouge hospital as a result of injuries they suffered during the incident. As of Tuesday morning, both victims were listed in serious condition.
“We have interviewed a witness, and have several suspects to interview today,” sheriff’s office spokeswoman Kellie Engels said Tuesday morning. Deputies are investigating the incident, which reportedly happened last Friday. The band took part in Saturday’s Bayou Classic football game in New Orleans, which featured Southern University versus Grambling State.
Sources say hazing is nothing new within the Southern University band, but it depends on your definition
of hazing. Our source within the band says most often, hazing usually hovers around paddling, slapping, or neckin,’ which is a stiff slap to the back of the head. It is in the form of older studen
ts picking on younger students, so they may earn their letters.
The incident that has left two students hospitalized went well beyond that. Sources say the two students in the hospital are both freshmen and from out of state. The band members usually hang with others in the sections they play in. Sources say these students played horns and that the hazing took place off-campus, near Zachary. It also allegedly involved people not in the band.
The university would not release specific details of the incident and issued only a brief statement late Monday afternoon. In a two-line statement, the university wrote:
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