ERAU fraternity faces sanctions after hazing by Mark Harper
DAYTONA BEACH — The gator didn’t bite, but the university did.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is sanctioning one of its fraternities after determining its members were involved in hazing.
Daytona Beach Shores police arrested five men April 17, charging them with attempting to capture an alligator from a miniature golf course. The five, all 19 or 18, were pledging Sigma Alpha Epsilon and had been dared by the fraternity to get a picture with a live alligator, said Aaron Clevenger, the university’s director of student activities.
“It was presented to them as a challenge,” said Cathy Downes, associate dean of students. “That, by definition, is hazing.”
The university is requiring the fraternity to perform community service and sponsor a hazing workshop. It is taking no action against the individual students, Clevenger said. The criminal cases are ongoing.
— Mark.Harper
