Southeastern Louisiana University Sorority Members Accused of Hazing
By Leigh Culbert Weekend Anchor/Reporter
April 26 2008 |
NEW ORLEANS – Seven sorority members accused of hazing another student at Southeastern Louisiana University are seeking a court order allowing them to return to school while they appeal their suspensions.
A lawyer for the University of Louisiana System asked a federal judge Friday to dissolve a temporary restraining order that allowed the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members back on SLU’s Hammond campus this month.
The students’ lawyers want to extend the order, which a state judge issued April 14.
U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon says she expects to rule by Monday.
The students’ accuser, Arieal Ellis, claims she was hazed during an off-campus party in January. Ellis says she was locked in a room, told to take off her clothes, struck with a belt and a paddle and slapped in her face.
Ellis recanted her allegations several days after she made them. But a school official said Ellis changed her story again and “reiterated†the allegations shortly after she recanted them.