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Hazing alleged at Montclair State against two TKE brothers

A pledge who said he sustained a severely lacerated arm in a hazing incident has seen charges placed against Tau Kappa Epsilon members Joseph D. Cordasco, 20, of Belleville, NJ and Christian A. Calderon, 21, of Union City, NJ.

Excerpt from Patch.com
The defendants, who were arrested on April 27 and
April 28, respectively, were processed at police headquarters and released
pending arraignments in Superior Court in Newark.

Montclair State University released a statement saying it “strongly condemns all forms of physical and mental hazing and has a zero-tolerance policy toward any University member participating in this type of behavior.

“As soon as the University learned of this incident we took immediate disciplinary action against the fraternity allegedly involved in this incident. With criminal charges having now been filed by the authorities, the University will pursue disciplinary proceedings and will continue to support the Cedar Grove Police Department in their ongoing investigation.”

Steven Ramos, the chief executive officer of the Indianapolis, Ind.-based TKE, was not aware of the incident until asked about it by a reporter. Ramos said the national chapter…will take immediate action.

By Hank Nuwer

Journalist Hank Nuwer tracks hazing deaths in fraternities and schools. Nuwer is the Alaska author of Hazing: Destroying Young Lives; Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, High School Hazing, Wrongs of Passage and The Hazing Reader. In April of 2024, the Alaska Press Club awarded him first place in the Best Columnist division and Best Humorist, second place.

He has written articles or columns on hazing for the Sunday Times of India, Toronto Globe & Mail, Harper's Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. His current book is Hazing: Destroying Young Lives from Indiana University Press. He is married to Malgorzata Wroblewska Nuwer of Warsaw, Poland and Fairbanks, Alaska. Nuwer is a former columnist for the Greenville (Ohio)Early Bird and former managing editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska.
Nuwer was named the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists columnist of the year in 2021 for his “After Darke” column in the Early Bird. He also won third place for the column in 2022 from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He and his wife Gosia, recently of Union City, Ind., have owned 20 acres in Alaska for many years. “The move is a sort-of coming home for us,” said Nuwer. As a journalist, he’s written about the Alaskan Iditarod sled-dog race and other Alaska topics. Read his musings in his blog at Real Alaska Daily--http://realalaskadaily.com and in his weekly column "Far from Randolph" in the Winchester Star-Gazette of Randolph County, Indiana.

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