HazingPrevention.Org Blog: News Results for Hazing & Views by Hank Nuwer: Tracking Hazing Deaths, Incidents, Trials in Greek Groups, Athletics, High Schools, Military, and on the Job » Search Results » saafir

Hazing Statistics: Updated List of Hazing Deaths 2000 to 2009

Hank Nuwer — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:48:51 +0000

Handouts: Copyright Hank Nuwer, HazingPrevention.org

Agenda: Hazing Trends
1) Introduction
2) The Hank Nuwer Hazing Collection is ready for scholars and students.

http://hanknuwer.com

http://www.buffalostate.edu/library/archives/

3) Trends in fraternity and sorority hazing
4) Trends in high school athletic hazing
5) Hazing deaths and serious incidents internationally
6) Serious changes to hazing law s statewide and policies

HazingPrevention.Org Blog: News Results for Hazing & Views by Hank Nuwer: Tracking Hazing Deaths, Incidents, Trials in Greek Groups, Athletics, High Schools, Military, and on the Job

Hank Nuwer’s Chronology of Deaths Among U.S. College Students as a result of hazing, initiation, and pledging-related accidents (without
criminal charges and/or admissions of hazing by a group or individuals).

Site copyrighted by Hank Nuwer, from Wrongs of Passage (revised ed. 2001, Indiana University Press) and book-in-progress, “A Weed in the Garden of Academe,” by Hank Nuwer (anticipated pub date, 2010).

FYI: This list contains the minimum number of deaths from such causes. The section of the title “of hazing, initiation, and Pledging-Related Accidents” is used because of legal advice due to strong attempts by interest groups to disassociate themselves from certain episodes described below. In my books I have tried to reserve the term “hazing” for those incidents that have been so identified by state and institutional authorities. If a state hazing law has not been invoked (or a grand jury failed to indict), or if a school or victim’s family said hazing did not occur even though the fatal occurrence closely matched standard definitions of hazing, I use the term “Initiation and Pledging-related Accident” instead of the term “hazing.” Obviously, even with 44 laws on the books, the definition of hazing is often disputed by individuals and their organizations–and even
occasionally by grieving families of deceased pledges who prefer to think their loved ones died following “horseplay.” At the same time, some examined deaths due to alcohol use may not fall under the category og hazing. Some deaths may reveal other hazing-related deaths, including the deaths of members at the hands of other members disciplining them, deaths of members during pledge sneaks (pledges taking harsh action against members), and other less typical actions resulting in deaths.

a) Note: since no official statistics of hazing deaths are kept by a legitimate government agency, this clearinghouse of deaths reported in the United States relies on published accounts (newspapers, university histories, other books, and in one case [1838] a family history). Since state laws include felonies for hazing in some states, it is my hope that Uniform Crime Reports or another legitimate federal agency will take over tracking of deaths and felony hazing (along with death cases in initiations where the actual conviction is other than hazing such as serving alcohol to a minor or manslaughter). There also is, in my opinion, a need for more surveys conducted in a responsible manner to track actual incidents of hazing in such groups as collegiate fraternal organizations, bands and athletic teams. For example, it clearly can be shown that the number of articles reporting sexual assaults in high school athletic organizations is up, but there is no way of knowing whether or not those numbers are actually increasing unless surveys are taken or a legitimate agency tracks these. Until a legitimate agency tracks data, media reports of incidents are the only means to keep the public from going back to the days when deaths and serious injuries during hazing were shrugged off by institutional spokespersons as “accidental” or “isolated” cases.

b) Judging from correspondence I’ve received, the general public believes hazing deaths in colleges are higher in number than can be documented. These deaths below can be verified although information related to several early deaths is particularly limited.. I try hard to add any information that might cast doubt on whether a death was actually hazing caused or where the death cause was disputed by a family, members, an educational institution, or an organization.

c) I am open to listening to suggestions and to criticism that can make this a better site. My contention unequivocably is that a legitimate government agency needs to take over the task of recording deaths and criminal hazing statistics. Surveys and accurate crime reports are needed to determine whether serious hazing incidents are increasing or decreasing The number of media articles reporting hazing is clearly higher than ever but that may simply indicate parents, victims, institutions, teams and fraternal organizations are more educated on the subject and thus more likely to come forward when an incident occurs. My position is that even one death a year is one too many, and that prevention is everyone’s responsibility–including that of a potential victim and that of the organization he or she is joining.–Hank Nuwer

See Hanknuwer.com for previous 118 deaths

2000
University of Georgia
Alpha Tau Omega
Road trip death

Pledge sneaks—events in which pledges kidnap members—have widely been condemned by national organizations. Ben Folsom Grantham III died on an apparent pledge sneak. The university condemned the activity but did not rule hazing had occurred.

2000
Chico State University (California)
Pi Kappa Phi
Alcohol death
Pledge Adrian Heideman died after being encouraged to drink. Some members, including chapter officers, received a light jail sentence.

2001
Indiana University
Theta Chi
Accidental rush death

Seth Korona died from the effects of a head injury contracted after consuming beer during a keg stand.

2001
Tennessee State University
Omega Psi Phi
Pledging death

A coroner wrote that Joseph T. Green died during an exercise session suggested by members.

2001
University of Miami
Kappa Sigma
Accidental drowning of pledge (hazing was ruled out until a May 2002 statement by attorney reopened case)

Chad Meredith, 18, of Indianapolis, drowned in Lake Osceola while with two Kappa Sigma brothers. A judgment in a civil suit awarded the family $14 million from those present at Meredith’s death.

2001
University of Minnesota, Duluth
Men’s and women’s rugby initiation
Death ruled an accident

Although Ken Christiansen had been drinking at an initiation party and veteran members scrawled pictures on their faces, he died of an accident when he fell dead drunk into a creek and died, according to a police investigation.

2002
Alfred University
Zeta Beta Tau
Suicide after beating for revealing hazing tradition

Member Ben Klein who was beaten after turning his chapter in for what he considered hazing and later was found dead in a creek near the fraternity house. State investigators ruled Klein’s death a suicide.

2002
San Diego State University
Tau Kappa Epsilon
High-speed Pledging-elated Truck Crash

Two males associated with the SDSU Tekes, on suspension for hazing, were killed when thrown from their truck as pledges were being taken somewhere from campus. The dead were identified as Brian Jimenez and Zachary Jacobs, both 18. An angry mother demanded to know why pledges had been taken out when the chapter was under suspension.

2002
California State, Los Angeles
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority,
Drowning but hazing as yet never established

The Associated Press reports that the mother of a drowning victim and her friend may have been partaking in a sorority ritual. The students Kenitha Saafir, 24, and Kristin High, 22, died in waters off Playa del Rey, according to police officers contacted by AP. High may have been performing an unsanctioned hazing ritual for Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, according to her mother’s allegations. Those present denied hazing occurred. The family has announced a civil suit to come. No hazing charges had been placed by 2006, however.

2002
University of Nevada, Reno
Pi Kappa Alpha
Drowning Death

Pledge Albert (A.J.) Santos drowned in a University of Nevada campus lake. He was a pledge of Pi Kappa Alpha. There were no arrests.

2002
University of Maryland
Phi Sigma Kappa
Alcohol Link Investigated in Bid Night death (February)

Daniel Reardon, 19, was found in a coma in January at the Phi Sigma Kappa house following Bid Night. Authorities and his family blame an alcohol drinking tradition associated with pledging for his death. No hazing charges were filed.

2003
Yale University
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Death after Night of Chapter “Ride” into New York (ruled accident and non-hazing but WAS pledging-related)

Following an old custom of pledges taking a senior fraternity member on a “ride” into New York City, a caravan of brothers and pledges returned to New Haven. Near Bridgeport, one of the DKE vehicles hit a semi that had broken down. Four young men were killed and five were injured. Yale sophomores Nicholas Grass, Kyle Burnat, Andrew Dwyer and junior Sean Fenton perished.

2003
Plattsburgh State (State University of New York)
Psi Epsilon Chi (suspended and unrecognized at time)
Hazing convictions

Following the death of 18-year-old Plattsburgh State University freshman
Walter Dean Jennings, 11 fraternity brothers were convicted of crimes and served smaller sentences. Police stated that Jennings apparently died of swelling of the brain related to water intoxication.

2003
Rochester Institute of Technology (New York)
Kappa Phi Theta
Pledging-related death

Jerry Hopkins, 36, a fraternity pledge attending the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, died on a campout with the Kappa Phi Theta fraternity in Pennsylvania’s Allegany National Forest. Autopsy was inconclusive.

2003
Plymouth State University
Sigma Kappa Omega sorority (a local that formerly was a national sorority)
Pledging-related death in car crash

Pledge Kelly Nester of Coventry, R.I., died following the crash of Jeep Grand Cherokee. 10 pledges were stuffed in the Cherokee and on the floor without seatbelt restraints to protect them, police determined. A lawyer for the driver of the vehicle denies that any swerving or hazing occurred. A civil suit has been launched.

2003
Bradley University
Phi Kappa Tau
Rush-related death

Robert Schmalz, 22, died following a rush event in which he consumed a lethal amount of alcohol. He was a member, not a pledge.

2004
University of Colorado
Chi Psi
Hazing

Gordon Bailey, 18, died after pledges consumed massive amounts of alcohol.

2004
University of Oklahoma
Sigma Chi
Alcohol death of pledge

Blake Hammontree was found dead in the house at 10:30 a.m. following a function at the house. Family called incident hazing, but coroner termed death accidental.

2005
Chico State University (California)
Chi Tau (college-banned chapter)
Hazing death

Eight men were charged with crimes in the death of pledge Matthew Carrington, 21. Convictions included one felony count for a sentence of one year in prison.

2005
Lambda Phi Epsilon
University of California Irvine
Pledge death under investigation

Pledge Kenny Luong of Cal Poly Pomona died in August after competing in a football game with other pledges against members of the Irvine chapter. There were many more members than pledges in the roughly played game. The death is under investigation.

2005
University of Texas
Lambda Phi Epsilon
Alcohol death of a pledge

Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath died of acute alcohol intoxication during a fraternity event. Toxicology ruling came January 2006.

2006
University of Texas
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Police said hazing may have been a factor in the death of pledge Tyler Cross who died in a fall while under the influence of alcohol.

2007
Rider University
Phi Kappa Tau
Hazing (word hazing to the left accidentally omitted in first version. Corrected 2/3/08 by Julie Devercelly)

Gary Devercelly Jr. died of alcohol poisoning during a hazing incident at Rider University. He was a baseball player from California prior to coming to Rider.

2008
University of Delaware
Sigma Alpha Mu
Hazing Death

Brett Griffin, 18, of Kendall Park, N.J died in Newark, DE. The Delta Lambda chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu has been charged with midemeanor hazing by the Delaware Attorney General’s office, the Associated Press reported.
Newark Police have charged University of Delaware students, all members or pledges of Sigma Alpha Mu, had already been charged as individuals by Newark police with alcohol and drug offenses stemming from the investigation of the death of Brett Griffin. However, police emphasized the individuals have no links to the death of Griffin. Griffin, died at a party in November. The fraternity is already being sued by Griffin’s family.

2008
Wabash College
Delta Tau Delta
Family member blames death on hazing

The attorney for the family of 18-year-old Johnny D. Smith of Tucson, Arizona who died of alcohol poisoning took the unusual step of calling a press conference calling for investigation of possible hazing. Smith’s grandmother, Monya Ballah, Tucson, wrote that her grandson told her pledges were being pressured to drink alcohol in an e-mail to The Indianapolis Star.

2008
Lenoir Rhyne
Theta Chi
Hazing denied by school but events fit Theta Chi definition of hazing

Police complained that university officials waited two days before asking them to investigate the death of Harrison Kowiak, 18, in what has been called a physical initiation game. The death has not officially been ruled hazing, but the father of Kowiak said the event certainly met the definition of hazing.
Earlier in the year the Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team was videotaped in a hazing incident involving alcohol.

2008
Utah State
Sigma Nu (with Chi Omega participation)
Hazing (alcohol given to male pledges by sorority members)

The death of Michael Starks is sending several fraternity and sorority members to jail in 2009.
Chi Omega and Sigma Nu were suspended following the death.

2008
Cal Poly
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Hazing

The death of pledge Carson Starkey, 18, on December 2, 2008 of alcohol poisoning has resulted in charges against members.

2009
SUNY Geneseo
Pigs Drinking Club (sub-rosa organization)
Hazing

Arman Partamian, a recent Eagle Scout, died from an alcohol overdose.

Information courtesy of Hank Nuwer
Hnuwer@franklincollege.edu
Agent: http://www.ciaspeakers.com/
Web Page: hanknuwer.com
Twitter Handle: Hazing
Hazing Books by Hank Nuwer: Wrongs of passage; The Hazing Reader
Biographical: One Long Wild Conversation (available online through Barnes and Noble). Co-written with Fraser Drew, oldest living member in Hank’s fraternity.

2008: End of year look at fraternal deaths and possible hazing incidents under investigation where death resulted

Hank Nuwer — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 01:41:33 +0000

Deaths Under Investigation: 2008
1) University of Delaware
Sigma Alpha Mu
Brett Griffin, 18, of Kendall Park, N.J died in Newark, DE. Police cited state law in refusing to release toxicology reports, saying that the investigation into the death is ongoing. Newspaper reports said alcohol was suspected in Griffin’s cardiac arrest.
Hazing has not been cited as a cause as of December 29, 2008
2) University of Washington
Alpha Sigma Phi
Kevin MacDonald, a 21-year-old University of Washington student died in a fall from the fraternity house window. He had been drinking. Hazing was not a factor.
3) Wabash College
Delta Tau Delta
The attorney for the family of 18-year-old Johnny D. Smith of Tucson, Arizona who died of alcohol poisoning took the unusual step of calling a press conference calling for investigation of possible hazing.

4) Lenoir Rhyne
Theta Chi
Police complained that university officials waited two days before asking them to investigate the death of Harrison Kowiak, 18, in what has been called a physical initiation game. The death has not officially been ruled hazing.

Earlier in the year the Lenoir-Rhyne women’s soccer team was videotaped in a hazing incident involving alcohol.

5) Utah State
Sigma Nu
The death of Michael Starks is under police investigation for possible hazing. Chi Omega and Sigma Nu were suspended following the death.

6) Cal Poly
Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Ci Omega
The death of pledge Carson Starkey, 18, on December 2 of alcohol poisoning is under investigation for possible hazing.
________
Through 2007

ank Nuwer’s Chronology of Deaths Among U.S. College Students as a result of hazing, initiation, and pledging-related accidents (without
criminal charges and/or admissions of hazing by a group or individuals).

1) 1838
Franklin Seminary (Kentucky)
Class Hazing

John Butler Groves died in a hazing incident, according to a family history.

2) 1847
Amherst College (Massachusetts)
Class Hazing

Jonathan D. Torrance died of illness following a drenching with iced water during a hazing custom called “freshman visitation,” according to then-President Edward Hitchcock of Amherst.

3) 1873
Cornell University (New York)
Kappa Alpha Society

Mortimer N. Leggett died in a fall into a steep gorge while on a walk in the dark required by fraternity members. Family claims that Leggett was blindfolded were disputed by the chapter.

4) 1892
Yale University (Connecticut)
Delta Kappa Epsilon

A blindfolded student was killed in an accident in an initiation incident condemned then as outdated “criminal recklessness” by the national fraternity, according to a published article by Fred Kershner (now deceased), formerly of Columbia Teachers College and a fraternity member.

5) 1894
Cornell University
Bystander accidental death

A non-Cornell bystander accidentally died during a class prank.

6) 1899
Cornell University
Kappa Alpha Society

Pledge Edward F. Berkeley drowned while completing a pledging errand.

7) 1900
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Class Scrap

Hugh C. Moore died following a snapped neck in a traditional fight between first- and second-year students.

8) 1900
United States Military Academy (New York)
Illness that revealed hazing abuses

Although the death of plebe Oscar Booz was considered illness-caused by a committee of inquiry, those members of the U.S. House of Representatives on the committee determined that he also had been maliciously hazed by upperclassmen.

9) 1903
University of Maryland, Baltimore campus
Phi Psi Chi

Inadequate forensic techniques of the day were unable to provide an exact cause of death other than “congestion of the lungs” for Martin Loew following a hazing by fellow students of the local dental fraternity that left Loew’s body bruised.

10) 1905
Kenyon College (Ohio)
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Accidental Death Following a Hazing

Stuart L. Pierson was struck by a train after fraternity brothers left him on a bridge in an incident called “a mystery death” by Kenyon historian George Franklin Smythe.

11) 1912
University of North Carolina
Class hazing

Freshman Isaac Rand bled to death following a stunt in which his throat was accidentally sliced by a broken bottle.

12) 1913
Purdue University (Indiana)
Class hazing

Frances W. Obenchain died while participating in an annual scrap pitting first-year students against upperclass students. Newspaper accounts of the day and an official Purdue history have differing deductions for the death’s physical cause that occurred during the chaotic traditional battle under a water tank.

13) 1914
St. John’s Military College (Maryland)
Class Hazing

William R. Bowlus was shot and killed while hazing a first-year student.

14) 1915
University of Kentucky
Class Hazing-Related Accident

Freshman Eldridge Griffith was accidentally killed during a celebration over his class’s victory in a traditional class contest.

15) 1915
New Mexico Military Institute
Class hazing

The family of Ludwig Von Gerichten Jr. blamed his illness-related death on hazing after he was dunked in a horse tank and abandoned in the country.

16) 1917
College of the City of New York
Phi Sigma Kappa

William Ashcom Bullock died of spinal meningitis, and his mother attributed the cause to hazing because members rolled the already ill Bullock on the ground in a wet blanket.

17) 1919
Colgate University New York)
Class hazing

Freshman Frank McCullough drowned when he tried swimming to shore after sophomores abandoned him on an island.

18) 1921
Northwestern University (Illinois)
Cause of Death Unknown following a Class Hazing

Leighton Mount disappeared after a traditional class rush, and his body was found beneath a pier two years later. His demise is a mystery.

19) 1922
Hamilton College (New York)
Class Hazing or Horseplay

Duncan Saunders, 15, died of a skull fracture and ruptured aorta when he was roughly flung from a bed during an incident variously described as horseplay unrelated to hazing and hazing.

20) 1923
University of Alabama
Sigma Nu
Illness following Initiation

Glenn Kersh, who had a faulty heart, died “from psychic effects of excitement” following his fraternal initiation, according to the coroner’s report.

21) 1923
Franklin and Marshall College (Pennsylvania)
Class Hazing

Sophomore Ainsworth Brown died while injured in a scrap between classes.

22) 1923
Northwestern University (Illinois)
Class Hazing

Louis Aubere was accidentally killed by a passing car while on the running board of a car as he searched for fellow freshmen abducted by sophomores, according to a letter written by Northwestern archivist Patrick Quinn addressed to researcher Mike Moskos.

23) 1928
University of Texas
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Hazing

Pledge Nolte McElroy, an athlete, died from the electric shock when he had to crawl through mattresses charged with electric current.

24) 1929
Indiana University
Delta Chi
Illness-related Hazing

George Steinmetz Jr. died from lung disease after being physically hazed. The death was blamed by his mother on hazing, but cited as illness-related by university then-administrators who nonetheless strongly condemned all acts of hazing.

25) 1940
University of Missouri
Theta Nu Epsilon
Alcohol-related hazing

Hubert L. Spake Jr. died following a drinking session mandated by a fraternity chapter unrecognized by the university. He likely was the first of many fraternity pledges or members to die from alcohol intoxication during an initiation, according to Hank Nuwer’s historical research.

26) 1945
St. Louis University (Missouri)
Phi Beta Pi
Falal Accident During Hazing

Robert Perry was turned into a human torch and died after members coated his naked body with flammable substances and applied an electric shock to his skin.

27) 1949
Brown University (Rhode Island)
Fraternity Rush Night

While on a tour of a fraternity house intended as a rush event to introduce pledges to different fraternal chapters, H. T. Gehl, 19, fell down a set of stairs and died two days later.

28) 1950
University of California, Berkeley
Sigma Pi
Death Following Hazing Dropoff

Pledge Gerald L. Foletta died when hit by an automobile after members dropped him off in the countryside.

29) 1950
Wittenberg University (Ohio)
Alpha Tau Omega
Death Following Hazing Dropoff

Pledge Dean J. Niswonger was hit by a car as he slept after being dropped off on a road far from campus.

30) 1954
Swarthmore College (Pennsylvania)
Delta Upsilon
Death during Hazing Dropoff

Peter Mertz was killed by a passing car after members abandoned him in the country.

31) 1956
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Death Following Hazing Dropoff

Disoriented pledge Thomas Clark drowned in a reservoir after members dropped him off in countryside unfamiliar to him.

32) 1957
University of California, Santa Barbara
Delta Tau Delta
Death During “Pinning” Pseudo-initiation

Max Caulk, 22, drowned in a harbor following a silly initiation practiced by members after fellow members got pinned or engaged to a sorority woman.

33) 1959
University of Southern California
Kappa Sigma
Physical hazing (eating ritual)

Pledge Richard Swanson choked to death while trying to swallow a slab of liver at the request of members.

34) 1965
Georgetown College (Kentucky)
Pi Kappa Alpha
Death During “Pinning” Pseudo-initiation

Member Richard Winder drowned in dam waters while hazing a fellow member during a silly initiation practiced by members after someone in the chapter was pinned or engaged.

35) 1967
Baylor University (Texas)
Physical hazing (eating ritual)

John E. Clifton died while choking down a foul concoction requested by members. The state ruled the incident an accident, and the then-college president said the incident did not meet his definition of hazing.

36) 1970
Eastern Illinois University
Alpha Gamma Delta sorority
Accidental death of member during prank abduction

A sorority member jumped on the bumper of a moving car as pledges tried to abandon her in the country as a joke. The death was ruled accidental by authorities, and a family member argued that her death should be called a prank, not hazing.

37) 1971
Tulane University
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Rush-related horseplay or hazing

Wayne Kennedy, 17, drowned after being thrown in a lake during a rush party. Authorities at the time called the incident non-hazing horseplay.

38) 1972
Pierce College (California)
Chi Chi Chi
Death Following Hazing Dropoff

Member Fred Bronner was taken on a dropoff for his alleged bad attitude by members. Taken without his glasses, he plunged into a gorge and died.

39) 1972
University of Maryland
Sigma Alpha Mu
Physical hazing

Member Brian Cursack collapsed and died after performing calisthenics during pledging.

40) 1973
Lehigh University (Pennsylvania)
Delta Phi
Pledge leaped from car during abduction

Pledge Mitchell Fishkin died when he jumped from car while being taken to a dropoff far from campus. School and fraternity officials called the incident horseplay, not hazing.

41, 42, 43, 44) 1974
Grove City College (Pennsylvania)
Adelphikos
Four pledges died following dropoff

Four of the 17 pledges taken on a dropoff were killed by a car whose driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. The dead were Thomas M. Elliot, John Curtin, Rudolph Mion, and Gary Gilliland, all 18.

45) 1974
Monmouth College (New Jersey)
Zeta Beta Tau
Physical hazing

William E. Flowers, 19, suffocated after being entombed in a grave members asked him to dig on a sandy ocean beach.

46) 1974
Bluefield State College (West Virginia)
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Shooting during pre-induction

Michael Bishop, a fraternity member, was shot and killed by the chapter’s graduate adviser during a bizarre hazing. Cans were put on heads of pledges and knocked off with a stick simultaneously as a gun was fired by a member or the adviser.

47) 1975
Northern Illinois University
Wine Psi Phi
Alcohol-related hazing death

Richard A. Gowins died following alcohol poisoning mandated by members of a social club not affiliated with the university.

48) 1975
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
Siasefi fraternity (spelling is correct)
Alcohol-related hazing death

Pledge David Hoffman died in his sleep after members took him on a so-called “Death March” during which students drank at local bars.

49) 1975
University of Nevada, Reno
Sundowners (local drinking fraternity)
Alcohol-related initiation drinking death

Pledge John Davies died on the bed of a pickup truck at Pyramid Lake after members required three days of marathon drinking. The club was under suspension by the university at the time of death.

50) 1975
Washington State University
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Hell Week death from pneumonia

Sleep-deprived pledge John Asher died of pneumonia following a Hell Week in which he voluntarily participated in heavy exercises despite being very ill.

51) 1975
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (then-Cheyney State College)
Freshman-sophomore class hazing
Physical hazing

During a brutal session, an upperclassman slammed freshman Theodore Ben into a wall. He went into a coma and died. The then-college president denied all responsibility.

52) 1976
Texas Tech University
Pi Kappa Alpha
Member death during scavenger hunt

Fraternity pledges and members lost track of member Samuel Mark Click. A search party found he had been hit and killed by a train.

53) 1976
St. John’s University (New York)
Pershing Rifles
Bayonet stabbing during hazing incident

ROTC pledge Thomas Fitzgerald, a student at another school who had applied for admission into the elite St. John’s chapter, was accidentally impaled by a bayonet blade during a stunt meant merely to intimidate him.

54) 1977
North Carolina Central University
Unrecognized renegade chapter
Physical hazing

A pledge died performing heavy exercises at the request of an outlaw group which falsely had claimed a connection with a national historically black fraternity.

55) 1977
University of Pennsylvania
Unrecognized renegade chapter
Physical hazing

A pledge died of a heart attack after weeks of beatings and physical exertion at the bequest of a chapter which claimed it had a connection with a national historically black fraternity. The national disavowed all ties.

56) 1977
University of Missouri, Rolla
Kappa Alpha Order, and Daughters of Lee
Initiation accident

A cannon misfired and exploded during a Daughters of Lee little sisters’ initiation, killing fraternity member Randall Crustals, 21.

57) 1978
Loras College (Iowa)
Gamma Psi (drinking club unrecognized by the school)
Alcohol-related death

Stephen J. McNamara died in a residence hall room following a drinking marathon with members.

58) 1978
Alfred University (New York)
Klan Alpine fraternity
Alcohol-related hazing death

Pledge Charles (Chuck) Stenzel died following an intense drinking bout requested by local chapter members as part of Tapping Night, the school’s traditional opening night of pledging. The investigation by a local prosecuting attorney never formally was closed, but no charges ever were forthcoming.
59) 1979
Louisiana State University
Theta Xi
Ritual march

Bruce Wiseman was blindfolded when a car plowed into him and other pledges on a dark road in the countryside. He alone died.

60) 1979
Rutgers University (New Jersey)
Delta Phi
Alcohol-related Pledging Death

University officials ruled non-hazing a voluntary drinking bout at dawn that afterwards was a factor when pledge Richard C. Fuhs, Jr., died in an auto accident

61 and 62) 1979
Virginia State College
Beta Phi Burgundy (female) and Wine Psi Phi (male)
Pledging-related accident

Pledge Norsha Lynn Delk died in a river drowning during a so-called cleansing ceremony and pledge Robert Etheridge died trying to rescue her.

63) 1980
University of North Dakota
Sigma Nu
Member stabbed by member during Discipline Session

A member who was being punished with a “cherry belly” by other members disciplining him for his alleged bad attitude accidentally stabbed and killed Kingsley Davidson, 19. The member was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

64) 1980
Clarkson University (New York)
Alpha Epsilon Pi
Pledging-related accident

Pledge David Masciantonio, 19, died while jogging at 3 a.m. with other pledges when a car struck him. A school spokesman at the time said no hazing occurred in spite of the hour, but a hazing activist attacked the denial.

65) 1980
Mississippi State University
Pi Kappa Alpha
Pledging-related accident

Member Curtis Huntley, 20, went into a coma and died after leaping from a car filled with pledges who wanted to dunk him in a mudhole, possibly to celebrate his birthday.

66) 1980
University of Missouri
Phi Kappa Psi
Pledging-related incident then-termed horseplay

Pledge Lex Dean Batson fell to his death from a bluff following a prank in which pledges and members tried to urinate on a statue below. A family member disputed officials’ finding that the incident was horseplay, not hazing.

67) 1980
Ithaca College
Delta Kappa
Physical hazing

Pledge Joseph Parella, 18, died exercising in a steam room.

68) 1980
University of Lowell (Massachusetts)
Delta Kappa Phi
Physical hazing

Pledge Steve Call lapsed into a coma and died following heavy exertion exercises.

69) 1980
University of South Carolina
Sigma Nu
Alcohol-related Hazing Death

Pledge Barry Ballou choked to death after passing out at a ritualized drinking session attended by an alumnus and members.

70) 1981
University of Wisconsin, Superior
FEX local fraternity
Physical hazing

Pledge Rick Cerra, 21, collapsed and died while exercising in heavy clothing on a warm day at the behest of members.

71) 1982
Towson State University
Alpha Omega Lambda
Sleep-deprivation related accident during servitude act

Victor (Ricky) Siegel died wearing a Playboy bunny costume when he rolled his car while on a mission to get signatures from chapter alumni members.

72 and 73) 1982
University of Virginia
Sigma Chi
Alcohol-related accident during pledging

Two young pledges were killed when the rental van they were stuffed into with other pledges and members collided with another vehicle.

74) 1983
Tennessee State University
Omega Psi Phi
Pledging-related drinking and physical hazing session

Pledge Vann Watts died of an alcohol overdose. A fellow pledge claimed they had been beaten and made to drink, but other pledges denied hazing had occurred.

75) 1984
University of California, Davis
Kappa Alpha Order
Alcohol-related death

A truck filled with pledges and members on a mission to paint a rock with graffiti crashed on Interstate 80, killing Brad Bing, 21.

76) 1984
Texas A & M University
Corps of Cadets
Hazing by calisthenics

Second-year member Bruce Ward Goodrich, 20, died from heatstroke while performing strenuous exercises at 2:30 a.m. One student was found guilty of destroying evidence (a company exercise schedule, and three pleaded guilty to hazing.

77) 1984
American International College
Zeta Chi local chapter of athletic team fraternity
Alcohol-related hazing death

Pledge Jay Lenaghan, 19, died following a drinking marathon with a blood-alcohol level of 0.48.

78) 1984
California State University, Chico
Tau Gamma Theta local fraternity
Alcohol-related pledging death

Pledge Jeffrey Franklin Long, 23, was killed by a fellow pledge’s speeding car. Ten pledges consumed at least two gallons of wine the night of the death. Members still maintain that the press overreacted to the death.

79) 1985
University of Colorado
Kappa Alpha Theta
Alcohol-related Pledging death

Under-aged Pledge Sherri Ann Clark’s blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit when she fell to her death at a party sponsored by two sororities. Fraternity and sorority national executives then and now have defined giving alcohol to pledges to be a form of hazing, but Clark’s death at the time was classified as a non-hazing alcohol-related death.

80) 1985
University of Missouri, Columbia
Lambda Chi Alpha
Alcohol-related Pledging-related Accident

A rushee being driven home from a rush party by a member was killed in a car accident.

81) 1986
Lamar University (Texas)
Omega Psi Phi with involvement by non-member
Physical hazing

Pledge Harold Thomas, 25, died on a track of heart failure when a non-member in a fraternity shirt made him exercise. Authorities ruled the death non-hazing, but the incident sparked national interest in taking strong measures against renegade chapters and members. Thomas did not have the university-mandated gradepoint average required for pledging eligibility.

82) 1986
University of Texas
Phi Kappa Psi
Alcohol-related hazing

Mark Seeberger, 18, died with a blood-alcohol level of 0.43 when members gave him rum and beer. A Travis County grand jury refused to indict anyone.

83) 1987
University of Mississippi
Kappa Alpha Order
Alcohol-related fall

Although the death of Harry (Skip) Cline Jr., 18, was ruled an accidental, non-hazing death by university officials, it occurred after an annual drinking party at the house in which pledges were encouraged to drink.

84) 1987
University of Arkansas
Pi Kappa Alpha
Alcohol-related pledging death

Rushee Todd Prince, an underage drinker, was killed outside a restroom by a passing vehicle during a fraternity hayride in which the chapter supplied alcohol.

85) 1987
Stanford University
Zeta Psi
Alcohol-related Pledging Death

Rushee David Dunshee, 20, died during a fraternity party held on a lake. Alcohol was a factor in the death.

86) 1988
Rutgers University
Lambda Chi Alpha
Alcohol-related Pledging Death

Pledge James Callahan died after members set up more than two hundred mixed drinks for he and other pledges to consume.

87) 1988
State University of New York at Albany
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Electrocution during pre-initiation “cleansing” ritual

School and law-enforcement officials ruled that hazing did not occur when pledges and members agreed to enter a lake that, unknown to them, was laced with an electric current due to a malfunctioning cable. Pledge Bryan Higgins died in the high-voltage death trap.

88) 1988
University of Richmond (Virginia)
Pi Kappa Alpha
Accidental death during servitude

Matthew S. McCoy, 18, died asleep at the wheel while on a pledge errand. A school official ruled the incident was non-hazing although such pledging errands were not permitted by the international fraternity.

89) 1988
University of Texas
Delta Tau Delta
Pledging-related Accidental Death

Member Gregg Scott Phillips, 21, fell from a cliff while trying to escape pledges intent on tossing him fully clothed into a swimming pool.

90) 1988
Rider College (New Jersey)
Theta Chi
Pledging- and Alcohol-related Death

Pledge Sean Hickey, 19, died in a car filled with pledges and a kidnapped chapter member. A 19-year-old driver received a one-year sentence for his reckless speeding at the time of the accident.

91) 1989
Morehouse College (Georgia)
Alpha Phi Alpha
Physical hazing

Pledge Joel Harris, 18, who had an enlarged heart, died after rough physical hazing.

92) 1990
Dickinson College (Pennsylvania)
Alpha Chi Rho
Pledging-related death

Rushee Steven Butterworth fell out a window to his death after consuming ten quick drinks at a rush party. The death was ruled accidental, not a hazing.

93) 1990
Western Illinois University
Lacrosse Club
Athletic hazing

Nick Haben, a non-drinker ordinarily, died from an alcohol overdose while participating in alcohol games for a school athletic club. Several members were convicted by the courts of serving alcohol to a minor.

94) 1991
University of Missouri, Rolla
St. Pat’s Board
Alcohol-related hazing

Mike Nisbet, 28, choked on his own vomit during a drinking initiation into a campus local club.

95) 1991
University of California, Berkeley
Phi Gamma Delta
Alcohol-related pledging death

Pledge John Moncello, 18, came to the house when ordered even though he warned members he had been drinking. Unsteady, he fell to his death from a fire escape.

96) 1991
Trinity University (Texas)
Triniteers
Alcohol-related Pledging Accident

Pledge Rolland C. Pederson died when struck by a car on the side of the road while headed to a pledge retreat. Even though alcohol was involved, the school ruled the incident merely violated its alcohol policy and was not hazing.

97) 1992
University of Vermont
Sigma Phi Society
Rush party alcohol-related accidental death

Rushee Jonathan S. McNamara, 17, fell from a cliff when he lost his balance while on an outing with members of the chapter he wished to pledge. His blood-alcohol level was 0.125.

98) 1992
University of Virginia
Alpha Phi Alpha
Pledging-related Accidental Death

Grossly sleep-deprived pledge Gregory Batipps died at the wheel of a car. A county commonwealth attorney called the death accidental, but the victim’s father disputed that hazing had not occurred.

99) 1992
Frostburg State University
Phi Sigma Kappa
Pledging-related death

An ill and exhausted J.B. Joynt III died following a pledge sneak in which pledges rough-housed with members. The fraternity blamed the death on illness and argued that hazing had not occurred. No charges were filed, and police destroyed Joynt’s pledge book.

100) 1993
Auburn University (Alabama)
Phi Delta Theta
Alcohol-related Death

Chad Saucier, a pledge even though he was a community college student, died from alcohol intoxication following an annual bottle exchange between members and pledges.

101) 1993
Alcorn State University (Mississippi)
Alpha Phi Omega (inactive, banned chapter at the time)
Death During So-Called Prank

Leslie Ware, 18, was shot at 1 a.m. on a school light while stealing a chair. He was shot by the boyfriend of the woman who owned the chair. The surviving pledges originally said they were procuring the chair for a member who requested it, but then retracted the claim to say they were pulling a prank on their own.

102) 1994
Bloomsburg University (Pennsylvania)
Delta Chi
Alcohol-Related Death of Member at Hell Night

Member Terry Linn, 21, died following pledging Hell Night with a blood-alcohol count of 0.40.

103) 1994
Southeast Missouri State
Kappa Alpha Psi
Physical Hazing

“Candidate for initiation” Michael Davis was pummeled to death by members. Several members served small sentences.

104) 1995
University of Texas
Texas Cowboys
Alcohol-related Death by Drowning

Gabriel Higgins drowned in the Colorado River after participating in silly drinking games at the initiation party on the ranch of an alumnus who did not partake in the games.

105) 1996
University of Virginia
Pi Kappa Phi
Alcohol-related Death Following Rush Function

Member Brian Cook, 21, died in an auto accident following a rush event he himself had chaired. A fraternity brother was convicted of driving under the influence.

106) 1997
Texas A & M
Phi Gamma Delta
Asthma attack during pledging activities

A Brazos County grand jury brought no charges against members who soaked a pledge with water on a chilly January day. Although Walker was cleaning the house, members insisted no hazing had occurred. Walker’s family argued hazing was a factor in his death.

107 and 108) 1997
UCLA
Lambda Chi Alpha
Accidental drowning during Drinking Event During Pledging

Pledges Brian T. Sanders and Brian Pearce died during a pledge and member outing in which alcohol was served pledges.

109) 1997
North Carolina State University
Tau Kappa Epsilon
Drowning Following Initiation

Steven Velazquez, 19, died when he and other members and new members dove into a lake for a traditional swim following the initiation of pledges. A 911 call reporting the accident said all had been “roughing around” when the death occurred.Hazing was denied by participants.

110) 1997
Louisiana State University
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Alcohol-related Pledging death

Benjamin Wynne, 20, died at the start of the school year while celebrating his acceptance as a pledge. His alcohol level was nearly six times the legal limit.

111) 1997
Clarkson University and State University of New York at Potsdam
Theta Chi
Alcohol-related hazing

Binaya Oja, 17, died from alcohol intoxication on bid night.

112) 1997
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Phi Gamma Delta
Alcohol-related Pledging Death

Pledge Scott Krueger, 18, went into a coma and died at a pledge party. Charges were filed against the chapter instead of members, and the chapter merely dissolved with little or no consequence to individuals. The school settled with Krueger’s parents for $6 million.

113) 1998
University of Washington
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Suicide following hazing incident

John Laduca, 18, a newly initiated member who had endured hazing but also had personal problems, killed himself in the house. The national fraternity said the personal problems, not hazing, contributed to Laduca’s suicide. Laduca’s family insisted the hazing and sleep deprivation might have clouded their son’s judgment.

114) 1998
University of Michigan
Phi Delta Theta and Chi Omega
Fall of Pledge

Courtney Cantor had a small amount of alcohol and possibly a date-rape drug in her system as she plunged from a dormitory to her death. In some ways, her death was a mystery in that her final movements were unknown. However, both national organizations strongly insist on alcohol-free pledging.

115) 1998
University of Mississippi
Sigma Chi
Suicide

Dudley R. Moore IV died by hanging. He had been hazed prior to dying, but the family and university blamed personal problems, not the chapter, as the main cause for Moore’s actions.

116) 1998
University of Texas
Phi Kappa Sigma
Alcohol-related death

Member Jack L. Ivey, Jr., 23, died after pledges played a drinking game with him. His blood-alcohol level was 0.40.

117) 1999
Iona College (New York)
Sigma Tau Omega
Alcohol-related death

Pledge Kevin Lawless, 18, died during pledging from an alcohol overdose. Seven members were fined and given a one-year conditional discharge.

118) 1999
Ferris State University
Knights of College Leadership (disbanded from former national fraternity)
Alcohol death

Pledge Stephen Petz, 19, died during an initiation that was videotaped. Members were convicted for serving alcohol to a minor. Michigan later passed a state hazing law.

119) 1999
University of Richmond
First-year class orientation tradition
Drowning accident

First-year student Donnie Lindsey Jr. drowned after jumping into a campus lake in an unsanctioned ritual following a university-sanctioned signing of the school’s honor code.
No hazing charges were brought against event organizers.

120) 2000
University of Georgia
Alpha Tau Omega
Road trip death

121) 2000
Chico State University (California)
Pi Kappa Phi
Alcohol death
Pledge Adrian Heideman died after being encouraged to drink. Some members, including chapter officers, received a light jail sentence.

122) 2001
Indiana University
Theta Chi
Accidental rush death

Seth Korona died from the effects of a head injury contracted after consuming beer during a keg stand.

123) 2001
Tennessee State University
Omega Psi Phi
Pledging death

A coroner wrote that Joseph T. Green died during an exercise session suggested by members.

124) 2001
University of Miami
Kappa Sigma
Accidental drowning of pledge (hazing was ruled out until a May 2002 statement by attorney reopened case)

Chad Meredith, 18, of Indianapolis, drowned in Lake Osceola while with two Kappa Sigma brothers. A judgment in a civil suit awarded the family $14 million from those present at Meredith’s death.

125) 2001
University of Minnesota, Duluth
Men’s and women’s rugby initiation
Death ruled an accident

126) 2002
Alfred University
Zeta Beta Tau
Suicide after beating for revealing hazing tradition

127 and 128) 2002
San Diego State University
Tau Kappa Epsilon
High-speed Pledging-elated Truck Crash

129 and 130) 2002
California State, Los Angeles
Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority,
Drowning but hazing as yet never established

131) 2002
University of Nevada, Reno
Pi Kappa Alpha
Drowning Death

Pledge Albert (A.J.) Santos drowned in a University of Nevada campus lake. He was a pledge of Pi Kappa Alpha. There were no arrests.

132) 2002
University of Maryland
Phi Sigma Kappa
Alcohol Link Investigated in Bid Night death (February)

133. 134, 135), 136) 2003
Yale University
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Death after Night of Chapter “Ride” into New York (ruled accident and non-hazing but WAS pledging-related)

137) 2003
Plattsburgh State (State University of New York)
Psi Epsilon Chi (suspended and unrecognized at time)
Hazing convictions

138) 2003
Rochester Institute of Technology (New York)
Kappa Phi Theta
Pledging-related death

139) 2003
Plymouth State University
Sigma Kappa Omega sorority (a local that formerly was a national sorority)
Pledging-related death in car crash

140) 2003
Bradley University
Phi Kappa Tau
Rush-related death

Robert Schmalz, 22, died following a rush event in which he consumed a lethal amount of alcohol. He was a member, not a pledge.

141) 2004
University of Colorado
Chi Psi
Hazing

Gordon Bailey, 18, died after pledges consumed massive amounts of alcohol.

142) 2004
University of Oklahoma
Sigma Chi
Alcohol death of pledge

Blake Hammontree was found dead in the house at 10:30 a.m. following a function at the house. Family called incident hazing, but coroner termed death accidental.

143) 2004
San Diego State University
Delta Sigma Phi
Possible alcohol-related

Douglas DeWitt, a 21-year-old member, was found dead at the house. He died during Pledge Week, but was member, not pledge.

144) 2005
Chico State University (California)
Chi Tau (college-banned chapter)
Hazing death

Eight men were charged with crimes in the death of pledge Matthew Carrington, 21. Convictions included one felony count for a sentence of one year in prison.

145) 2005
Lambda Phi Epsilon
University of California Irvine
Pledge death under investigation

146) 2005
University of Texas
Lambda Phi Epsilon
Alcohol death of a pledge

Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath died of acute alcohol intoxication during a fraternity event. Toxicology ruling came January 2006.

147) 2006
University of Texas
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Police said hazing may have been a factor in the death of pledge Tyler Cross who died in a fall while under the influence of alcohol.
148)
Rider University
Phi Kappa Tau
Hazing (word hazing to the left accidentally omitted in first version. Corrected 2/3/08 by Julie Devercelly)

Gary Devercelly Jr. died of alcohol poisoning during a hazing incident at Rider University. He was a baseball player from California prior to coming to Rider.

Those who study hazing offer theories as to why it continues: Eastern Kentucky University

Hank Nuwer — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:10:49 +0000

Posted on Mon, Mar. 24, 2008
‘Culture of denial’ in fraternity hazings
EKU CASE LATEST IN HISTORY OF BLACK GREEK ORGANIZATIONS
By Ashlee Clark
ACLARK@HERALD-LEADER.COM

Lexington Herald Leader link

An Eastern Kentucky University student who was allegedly the victim of hazing could be just one of many young people who endure violent and humiliating behavior to join a black Greek organization, experts say.

EKU student Brent Whiteside was hospitalized this month after allegedly being hazed while he pledged Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, a historically black organization. EKU and the national Kappa Alpha Psi organization have suspended the chapter pending an investigation.

University officials call it an isolated incident. But hazing allegations such as this one only chip away at a problem that has festered throughout the black Greek community nationwide, experts say.

Fraternities and sororities of all types have hazed incoming members, or pledges, for decades. But the practice has become dangerous and sometimes deadly since hazing was officially banned from black Greek organizations in 1990. That is when the practice went “underground,” meaning it was performed secretly and without being regulated.

“There is this culture of secrecy, culture of denial,” said Ricky L. Jones, a professor at the University of Louisville and author of Black Haze: Violence and Manhood in Black Greek-letter Fraternities.

Experts say it will be a formidable task to end hazing in fraternities and sororities. Organizations would need to confront and change a mind-set ingrained in the black Greek culture that condones hazing.

“It’s a deadly cycle, and it’s a cycle that unfortunately goes so deep and so far that a lot of our members are not even aware of the illogical arguments that they make in terms of hazing,” said Lawrence Ross Jr., author of The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities and member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

“No one wants to say that their experience really didn’t have any worth,” he said. “They have to hang on to a piece of it.”

Few details given

EKU officials and those involved in the investigation have been tight-lipped about what happened. Whiteside and his family could not be reached for comment. The national organization also did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. EKU has not revealed details of the alleged hazing, including the extent of Whiteside’s injuries, because the investigation is ongoing.

The case was reported March 8. Whiteside spent several days at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington.

An EKU police officer investigating what happened contacted Whiteside on March 11. The student told the investigator that he “wanted to focus on his health issues at this time and stated that he would contact this investigator when he was fully recovered,” according to the call response run report.

No criminal charges have been filed against the Kappas, said Marc Whitt, associate vice president for public relations and marketing at EKU.

Wardell Johnson, the campus adviser for the Kappas, said Whiteside is out of the hospital. He declined to comment further.

Mike Reagle, the associate vice president for student affairs at EKU, stressed that this is an isolated event.

“The one thing that I always want to say is this is an isolated circumstance for us,” Reagle said. “Sometimes it gets blown out to the entire Greek population.”

Long history of hazing

Experts say hazing can include a wide range of activities, from running errands and performing calisthenics to paddling and severe beatings.

The practice became prevalent at colleges and universities in the United States in the mid-1800s. Upperclassmen would ridicule freshmen and sophomores so the younger students could prove they were worthy of being in college, said Walter Kimbrough, author of Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities.

The hazing of underclassmen began to be outlawed around the 1920s. But the practice then trickled into fraternities and sororities, Kimbrough said.

Around this time, black fraternities and sororities began to adopt a pledge process. The initial purpose of the process was to create a uniform way to disseminate information about the organization to chapters across the country, Ross said. The Kappas were the first group to organize a pledge club in 1919, Ross said.

Ironically, the founders of black fraternities and sororities didn’t have to go through a pledging or hazing process, Ross said. The members were initially picked based on their previous actions on campus and high academic standards.

Over the next few years, pledging continued within black Greek organizations. Hazing also began to play a role in the pledge process, experts say.

The death of one student who was pledging Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity led the National Pan-Hellenic Council, which oversees the nine historically black fraternities and sororities, to ban hazing in 1990 and establish a membership intake program.

Difficult to stop

But the proclamation didn’t stop the hazing.

Two women pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha drowned during a hazing ritual in 2002. A student pledging Kappa Alpha Psi at Florida A&M University was beaten with canes in 2006, and two fraternity brothers were sent to jail.

Ross said black Greeks believe there is an intangible quality that comes out of pledging that transforms those seeking membership into valuable members of the organization. However, there’s no quantifiable way to measure that, he said.

Hank Nuwer, a hazing expert who has studied the topic for 30 years, said the pledge process and hazing is comparable to the military in terms of forging a bond between members. However, hazing becomes dangerous because students tend to think they are “superhuman” and not at risk of getting hurt during the process, Nuwer said.

Pledges are also less inclined to quit the hazing process to avoid the stigma of not being able to withstand the rituals.

The cycle continues when new members complete the pledge process; they will haze the next group of new members because they were hazed themselves.

“I hate that this is going on,” said Jones, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. “It breaks my heart.”

Short of completely disbanding the organizations, experts have made various suggestions to confront the problem. These include establishing a moratorium so experts can figure out how to stop hazing, enforcing penalties, and reducing the number of chapters.

All agree that a change of mind-set would be required to prevent such cases from overshadowing the good things these groups accomplish, such as volunteer work and mentorship in the black community.

“When the details come out, it casts a cloud over these groups, and that’s not what they’re all about,” Nuwer said.

Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers them regardless of a person’s willingness to participate, according to the National Center for Hazing Research and Prevention.The following are some instances of hazing nationwide.

1983: Van L. Watts, 20, found dead after an Omega Psi Phi fraternity initiation party. The Tennessee State University student had a blood alcohol level five times the limit to be considered legally intoxicated.

1997: Shawn A. Blackstone, a student at the University of Louisville pledging Omega Psi Phi fraternity, was beaten with a wooden paddle and hospitalized with renal failure. The fraternity settled the case for $1 million.

2002: Kristin High, 22, and Kenitha Saafir, 24, students at California State University, Los Angeles, drowned in the Pacific Ocean while pledging Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. According to the families of the victims, the women were tied together, blindfolded and led out to the water during a hazing ritual and overcome by waves.

2006: Marcus Jones was beaten four consecutive nights with canes while pledging Kappa Alpha Psi at Florida A&M University. He suffered from a broken eardrum and severe bruises to his buttocks. Two fraternity members, Michael Morton and Jason Harris, were sentenced to two years in jail under new hazing laws in Florida.

Thoughtful essay from BCH

Hank Nuwer — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:27:24 +0000

The Need to Haze

By J. Samuel Cook-Dormoh
Black College Wire

The word excites people on both sides of the debate, those who see it as a sacred rite of passage and those who view it as a barbaric form of torture.

Hazing incidents have occurred recently at Jackson State, Florida A&M and Southeast Missouri State universities, all involving black students. The incidents have placed the spotlight on initiation practices among the historically black fraternities and sororities that comprise the “Divine Nine” as well as some of the marching bands.
Kenon White

A study published in College Student Journal in 2001 found African American students have “more positive beliefs about the purpose of pledging” and are more likely to support and conform to pledging practices. According to the study, African Americans also held a significant belief that hazing processes should be intense, difficult and lengthy. The study also reported that African-American students had more positive perceptions of Greek organizations compared to white and Hispanic students.

Dr. Alvin T. Simpson, a professor of psychology at Alcorn State University and member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., agreed that African-Americans are more likely to engage in or accept hazing as a means of joining fraternities or sororities because they are looking for an identity. He also said that brutal or intense hazing rituals are rooted in the tradition of slavery.

“Based on some of the historical events that happened during slavery, one expression that a lot of black males use to demonstrate their level of empowerment or level of masculinity is to present it during this type of initiation or process leading to initiation into a fraternity,” he said. “I strongly believe that it, too, represents something that heightens the esteem of males making them feel as if they are ‘better than’ and they also have dominion over someone else temporarily.”

Both hazing and pledging were abolished in 2000 in a joint effort by the National Pan-Hellenic Council . Though prohibited among the national offices of each black fraternity and sorority, hazing is viewed by some members of the African American Greek community as a rite of passage for prospective members.

Merwin Brown, 28, of Hattiesburg, Miss., a member of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., said that he believes hazing will always exist in fraternities and sororities. While many Greeks claim that “hazing” and “pledging” are synonymous, Brown disagrees.

“I feel like if you pledge an organization then there is a membership intake process,” he said. “But it’s a membership intake process designed as a learning process more than it is with hazing being about physical punishment for not learning the things that are essential to the organization.”

While Brown doesn’t believe the intake programs have failed, he does believe that the membership has.

“I don’t think that [membership intake programs] have failed, but I think some of the members of the organizations have failed to uphold them,” he said. “I feel like there is always going to be some degree of hazing. That’s almost something that you almost can’t get around. For every good person in the organization trying to uphold it, there are going to be people who are going to try to slide certain things through the cracks.”
Philander Smith College
Walter M. Kimbrough

Dr. Walter Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College and author of the book “Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs, and Challenges of Black Fraternities and Sororities,” says pledging and hazing represent poor values.

“Students place such value on pledging, even though the rules prohibit it, that they punish students who actually follow the rules,” Kimbrough wrote in a 2004 article in Black Issues in Higher Education.

Forty-four states have anti-hazing laws which are punishable by stiff fines and jail sentences with the exceptions of Alaska, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Hazing was officially eliminated as a means of initiation among black Greek organizations after the death of a student pledging Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. at Morehouse College in 1990.

The National Pan-Hellenic Council, the governing body for black fraternities and sororities, instituted membership intake programs as a means of fraternity or sorority admissions, but. numerous underground hazing incidents have caused some critics to question the efficacy of intake programs.

“We don’t haze, we don’t pledge, we don’t have line names or numbers, we don’t do any of that,” said Teyonda Hamilton, basileus of the Rho Delta Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho, Inc., a historically black sorority at the University of New Orleans. Hamilton said improper conduct doesn’t take place because of “head officials staying on our backs big-time.”

Hamilton’s organization is known for its service projects, as are many other Greek-letter organizations.

“Community service is a very big thing with fraternities and sororities and helping out not only black communities, but helping out the nation. We’re behind elections, we’re behind small-town communities, we’re behind companies, so I think that’s a positive thing about fraternities and sororities,” said Phaon Spurlock, a senior at Southeastern Louisiana University.

The 22-year-old member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., points to the camaraderie of brotherhood and sisterhood within the organizations, as well as their work in the community.

But Spurlock says that camaraderie is not extended to individuals who are considered to be “paper,” a term used for individuals who are not hazed to become members of their respective organizations.

“It’s something that needs to be changed. Everyone goes through a different process,” he said. “People call people [paper] for certain reasons, but I think that after you become a member and you have that card or whatever, you are a member. I have seen people not allow them to have certain things or participate in certain events, but when it comes to networking in response to what they did and what they didn’t do, they are still a part of this organization and should receive something from it.”

Kimbrough addressed that issue in the Black Issues article, which was titled “Are You Paper?”

“Paper has become a fighting word,” Kimbrough wrote. It is similar to a gay student being labeled a “fag” and then facing taunts, slurs or even physical assault. In fact, one student told me that being called paper was just like a white person calling them a “nigger.”

Brown and Spurlock disagree with the Survey of Attitudes About Fraternities and Sororities’ findings regarding African Americans in relation to their non-black counterparts.

“I’m not trying to be on one side of the fence, but the media is going to make the African American culture look bad. I know plenty of white fraternities and sororities that haze,” said Spurlock.”They have paddles, they do all that in their actual fraternity and sorority houses. Just because you hear one study about African-American fraternities and sororities hazing, it becomes a big issue, but it’s happening all the time with white fraternities and sororities.”

Hamilton agreed: “I think it’s a problem, period, and I think it’s the same between the races.”

Simpson offered a different view.

“I think [African Americans] are more accepting because they subscribe to tradition with the pledging process,” he said. “During the 1960′s and 1970′s there was an era wherein pledging was legal and the test of one’s manhood for a fraternity was based on his ability to withstand many physical challenges, and it became a norm. And in today’s society, there are those who want to have a story to tell in terms of what their pledge period was like. They want to be hazed to validate themselves as members of the organizations and to show themselves worthy of getting in.”

Underground hazing was thrust once again into the national spotlight in 2001 when Kenitha Saafir and Kristin High were both drowned while pledging the California State University at Los Angeles chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Since that time, black Greek organizations have gotten tough on hazing. Still, two members of FAMU’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. were convicted in 2006 of hazing and each sentenced to 24 months in jail for an incident in which a prospective member was hospitalized after being caned. Three members of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. were charged with third-degree assault and hazing after forcing a pledge to eat a mixture of food from a garbage can, spraying her with liquid from a bottle, and striking her with a closed fist.

Hazing rituals are not limited to Greek-letter organizations. Earlier this month, Jackson State University’s band, the Sonic Boom of the South made headlines when administrators briefly suspended its activities, following accusations of “mental hazing” by parents. An investigation resulted in the band’s reinstatement before the next game. Although some thought the initial punishment was severe, the administration had grounds for exercising caution.

In 2004, a former Florida A&M University Marching 100 member won a $1.8 million verdict in a civil battery case. Marcus Parker was beaten so badly with a paddling board during a band initiation that one of his kidneys temporarily shut down, and his attorney said he required four surgeries and probably would need a kidney transplant. And in 2001, Doug E. Fierburg, an attorney who won a $375,000 lawsuit against Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1997, told Black Issues in Higher Education that the fraternity was unable to obtain liability insurance because of the high number of lost court cases resulting from hazing incidents.

Kimbrough said the makeup of the organizations must change if pledging and hazing are going to end. He added that a “thug element” has infiltrated the organizations. “This ‘gangsta’ mentality holds promising students hostage, causing them to sacrifice their morals and values in order to be accepted.”

J. Samuel Cook-Dormoh is a recent graduate of Alcorn State University and a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity. To comment, please e-mail Black College Wire.

Posted Oct. 26, 2007

5 years after the Alpha sorority drownings: nothing but loss all around, writes Sandy Banks

Hank Nuwer — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:58:15 +0000

Excerpt from the LA Times

Five years later, still haunted by drowning
September 15, 2007

She doesn’t talk much about her daughter these days. She’s accepted the fact that Kristin is gone, that life goes on, that the answers she needs may never come.

It’s been five years since police showed up in the middle of the night to tell Patricia Strong-Fargas that her 22-year-old daughter, Kristin High, had drowned in high surf at Dockweiler State Beach.

Police said it was an accidental drowning. Officers pulled the bodies of Kristin and 24-year-old old Kenitha Saafir from the water just before midnight Sept. 9, 2002.

Television news reports would later describe the dead women, both Cal State L.A. students, as “coeds partying at the beach.”

But a lawsuit filed in 2002 by Strong-Fargas alleged a more troubling explanation: The young women died in a hazing ritual while pledging one of the country’s most venerated black sororities.

The sorority denied responsibility and said there was no official chapter at Cal State L.A. No criminal charges were ever filed against anyone involved. But the official explanations have never comforted Strong-Fargas.

Kristin was always a type-A daughter. Super student, athlete, campus leader, mother of a 2-year-old son. Joining Alpha Kappa Alpha was something she had always wanted.

But her mother said the weeks-long process of pledging was more grueling than Kristin had imagined. She’d straggle home late at night, exhausted and edgy. She wouldn’t talk about what was going on. “I didn’t worry as much as I should,” Strong-Fargas said this week. “There were things I missed, because I trusted her. Kristin was always on top of things.”

According to her family’s lawsuit, Kristin, Kenitha and two other pledges were worked nightly to exhaustion, in sessions that often lasted until 1 or 2 a.m.

The night they died, the lawsuit claims, they’d spent hours at the beach doing calisthenics before they were ordered to walk backward into the ocean. A wave hit Kenitha and knocked her down. Kristin knew Kenitha couldn’t swim, so she went in after her. Both were dragged by high waves under the water, the lawsuit alleges.

That is what Kristin’s mother believes, based on witness accounts collected by the family’s private investigator, Robert Freeman.

She doesn’t know for sure because the two pledges who survived won’t talk to her.

The next day, when the young women brought Kristin’s car home, her mother said Kristin’s pledge journal was missing and numbers had been deleted from her cellphone. “They wanted to just drop the keys and run,” Strong-Fargas said when I interviewed her this week at the small Christian school she runs in South Los Angeles.

“These were girls who had spent hours at our home, who had eaten with my family, played with Kristin’s son. They were the only ones who could tell me what happened to my daughter. And they couldn’t even look at me in my face.”

Accusations of hazing surfaced almost immediately, but were never proven.

“I’ve had an easier time infiltrating street gangs than penetrating this organization,” Freeman, a former cop, told me not long after the young women died, a few months into his investigation for the family.

Alpha Kappa Alpha leaders said from the start that the group had no role in the deaths. The sorority’s chapter at Cal State L.A. had been suspended for hazing, so the pledging process was unsanctioned.

Like every collegiate Greek organization, the sorority has rules against hazing — a “risk management” policy, their website calls it.

According to those who track hazing injuries, more than 80 pledges have been killed or injured around the country in the last 15 years during rites that involve binge drinking, beatings or extreme physical exertion. But the deaths of Kristin and Kenitha had special resonance among Greek-letter organizations. “Their deaths were like 9/11 for fraternities and sororities,” said Lawrence Ross Jr., the author of a book on black Greek organizations and an anti-hazing lecturer on campuses. “It forced a lot of people out of denial.”

As a reporter, I covered the story when they died. I suspected from the first bare-bones account that this was no simple jaunt on the beach. Because when I was a college student, I pledged a sorority.

The insults, the paddling, the forced exercise routines that I endured went beyond humiliating and veered perilously close to dangerous. But I didn’t balk.

Then, I believed the party line: Surviving brutality was a badge of honor, keeping secrets a measure of loyalty. Now, I’m not so sure.

I’ve always been glad that I pledged and proud I made it through. As difficult as it sometimes was, the process gave me confidence, and taught me to draw on an inner strength that’s served me well in adulthood.

But then I made it out alive.

Now, 35 years down the line, I’m no longer courting the respect of would-be sorority sisters. I’m a mother with a daughter in college. And I’m wondering what secrets I’ll be willing to share if she comes to me one day and says, “Mom, I’m thinking of pledging a sorority.”

The full story from that night may never be told. Both families sued the sorority. After months of depositions — and Strong-Fargas sat through every one — the lawsuits against Alpha Kappa Alpha were settled. The deal that kept the cases out of court included a financial payout that the families are not allowed to disclose and a promise by the sorority to work harder to end hazing.

Today, to mark the fifth anniversary of her daughter’s drowning, Strong-Fargas is speaking at a forum on hazing, where students and parents can talk about how to recognize abuse and stand up to it; how to tell the difference between a wacky request and a dangerous stunt that could lead to death.

sandy.banks@latimes.com

The forum will be from 3 to 5 p.m. at St. Augustine Baptist Church, 8704 S. Figueroa Ave, South Los Angeles.

Ricky Jones offers sobering assessment of historically African American Greek groups

Hank Nuwer — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 22:36:29 +0000

Perspectives:*
*From ‘School Daze’ to ‘Stomp the Yard:’ Why Black Greeks Must Go
*By Ricky L. Jones
Feb 5, 2007, 07:52
http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_6961.shtml
Most Americans are not very familiar with Black Greek-letter organizations.
Their small numbers and obscurity, however, do not lessen their threat, and
it is high time we give it serious attention. I would advise college and
university administrators, students, parents and all others of good
conscience to educate themselves.
Mainstream America’s greatest exposure to Black Greeks has been filmmaker
Spike Lee’s “School Daze.” Among his numerous critiques was a story thread
that took the organizations to task for their cultural shallowness,
retrograde apoliticism and unchecked misogyny. Even though Lee intended
“School Daze” to, at least in part, chastise and even condemn Black Greeks,
he failed to effectively highlight the groups’ greatest problem —
ubiquitous, life-threatening hazing. In fairness to Lee, “School Daze” was
released a year before Joel Harris died attempting to join the Alpha Phi
Alpha fraternity at Lee’s and my alma mater, Morehouse College, in 1989.
Almost two decades later, another theatrical representation of Black Greek
life has entered into America’s public sphere. Disturbingly, “Stomp the
Yard” does little to address some of the troubling issues Lee touched upon.
Contrarily, it largely plays like a “brag piece” centering on one of the
most superficial, but popularized aspects of Black Greekdom — stepping. At
the same time, the movie emphasizes the romanticized benefits of membership
that Black Greeks glorify without end — purpose, unity, sacrifice, teamwork
and love. Unlike Lee’s movie, “Stomp the Yard” makes little effort to
substantively speak to the deeper sociopolitical quandaries faced by Black
folk. This latest characterization is unfortunate and dangerous.
It should be understood that Black Greek-letter organizations are almost
exclusively populated by college-educated African-Americans. Hence, one
would expect them to be in the vanguard of the struggle for an egalitarian
society. This, however, is not the case. Organizationally, Black Greek
voices are, in fact, absent in most discussions of today’s pressing issues.
When have they substantively addressed Black poverty, political
disempowerment, disproportionate incarceration, police brutality, etc.? Make
no mistake, the intentional or unintentional simultaneous glorification of
certain aspects of Black Greekdom coupled with the refusal or inability to
speak to its underbelly literally has deadly consequences.
When I finished writing *Black Haze*, the only book to date to solely center
on the violence of the Black Greek pledge process* *at the end of 2002, I
did not give the idea that the organizations may need to be eradicated any
serious consideration. Since then, Black Greeks themselves have forced me to
reexamine that commitment. At various speaking engagements on campuses
around the country, I have talked about students being abused, injured and
killed while pledging. Non-Greeks in the audiences often sit with mouths
open — aghast. Greeks, however, are unflinching — emotionless. Often, they
even openly defend the processes in spite of the deaths and damage recounted
during our sessions.
It was disturbing. Their attitudes persist in the wake of hazing deaths and
damage across the country. Joel Harris at Morehouse: Dead. Shawn Blackston
at Louisville: Kidney damage. Kenitha Saafir and Kristin High in Los
Angeles: Dead. Michael Davis at Southeast Missouri State: Dead. Braylon
Curry at Southern Methodist: Brain damaged. Joseph Green and Vann Watts at
Tennessee State: Dead. The list goes on.
In October of 2005, in the wake of an injury at Fisk University involving my
own fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, I penned “Is it Time to Disband Black
Greek-letter Fraternities and Sororities?” for *Diverse*, then *Black Issues
in Higher Education.* The very title of this short piece ignited a firestorm
of the likes *Black Haze *never did. The reason, of course, was simple. Even
though I had not arrived at the point where I openly pushed for the
dissolution of Black Greek fraternities and sororities, I certainly posed
the question as to whether or not they should be. I never took that step in
*Black Haze.* I must now not only pose the question, but answer it with a
resounding “yes.”
Here are a number of stark and disturbing realities we must consider. In an
effort to eradicate hazing, Black Greeks have constructed various Membership
Intake Programs, which, in many respects, created more problems than they
solved. Pledging did not die, it simply moved underground. So many chapters
augment illegal underground pledging to the point where it is now the norm
instead of the exception.
Black Greeks continue to deploy the empty argument that pledging and hazing
are not the same thing. This is a semantic ruse only effective with those
not familiar with the organizations. In fact, the activities are
inextricably tied.
National organizations refuse to admit that hazing is not an activity
limited to small groups of “renegade” members. In fact, it is deeply rooted
in the cultures of the groups and is actively or passively condoned by a
majority of members. Little has been done to effectively curb it. This
indicates that the groups’ leaders have largely lost control of their
memberships. Consequently, they have resorted to rule changes and public
stances which they hope will shield them from legal attack, but have little
or no effect on stopping the dangerous behavior of their members.
So, what is to be done?
Greek leadership, like alcoholics, must first publicly admit they have a
serious, deep-seated problem that they have little idea how to stop and seek
real help. To date, they have proven that they cannot, or do not want to,
stop hazing on their own. It is essential that they, and their members, stop
making excuses and demonizing those who offer real and legitimate critiques.
Until then, they must accept responsibility for each and every injury and
death resulting from hazing in their organizations.
National organizations must immediately adopt a real zero-tolerance policy
on hazing. Any chapter involved in such activities should not be suspended —
it must be closed forever. There are too many instances of the same chapters
incurring suspension after suspension without end. In fact, some see
frequent suspension as a badge of honor rather than a mark of shame. If
Greek leadership is serious about stopping hazing, these chapters simply
will have to cease to exist.
Black Greek leadership should also proactively seek legislators in every
state who will sponsor bills to make hazing a felony instead of a
misdemeanor. When faced with hazing cases, they should then join in the
prosecution of hazers to the fullest extent of the law. I wonder how many
Black Greeks will be committed to “keeping it real” when people are sent to
jail or prison?
If none of these measures stops the hazing in these organizations, they must
disband. If they will not do so voluntarily, colleges and universities
should mobilize their in-house counsels to seek legal redress and have them
banned from their campuses. There is no other choice. From an
administrator’s point of view, these groups are risk-management nightmares
and can no longer be tolerated in their present incarnations. From a
concerned citizen’s point of view, they offer a continuous threat to life
and mental health, and that cannot be tolerated either.
In 2006, while attempting to join Kappa Alpha Psi, Florida A&M student
Marcus Jones was beaten so badly that he required surgery on his buttocks.
At points, Jones and others were literally knocked out by Kappas, revived
and hazed more. I stated my belief to a Tallahassee newspaper that Kappa was
“primarily concerned about protecting the fraternity from legal
entanglement. I, on the other hand, am concerned about Black children
continuously put at risk by this process [pledging]. I don’t think one more
life should be lost because of Kappa or any other fraternity. Where do you
draw the line? Two? Five? Twenty? Fifty? Five hundred? I think I have the
high ground.”
I still think I do.
Like many Black Greeks, I love my fraternity and believe in its ideals. But
after years of this hazing madness, I must, without apology, take the stand
that either Black Greeks have to stop it or they must go! I hope other
reasonable people of good conscience will join me.
*Dr. Ricky L. Jones is associate professor and chair of the University of
Louisville’s Pan-African studies department and author of *Black Haze:
Violence, Sacrifice and Manhood in Black Greek-letter Fraternities.* He is a
life-member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.*
* *

Hazing Deaths: a Grim Accounting by Hank Nuwer

Hank Nuwer — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 03:18:20 +0000

c) I am open to listening to suggestions and to criticism that can make this a better site. My contention unequivocably is that a legitimate government agency needs to take over the task of recording deaths and criminal hazing statistics. Surveys and accurate crime reports are needed to determine whether serious hazing incidents are increasing or decreasing The number of media articles reporting hazing is clearly higher than ever but that may simply indicate parents, victims, institutions, teams and fraternal organizations are more educated on the subject and thus more likely to come forward when an incident occurs. My position is that even one death a year is one too many, and that prevention is everyone’s responsibility–including that of a potential victim and that of the organization he or she is joining.–Hank Nuwer