Despite restrictive state laws and tight regulations supposedly in place at colleges and universities, fraternity hazing remains a major problem across the United States. Fraternity hazing incidents in Ohio illustrate the point.
A Bowling Green State University freshman is listed in critical condition following a fraternity hazing incident. The case is said to have involved the misuse of alcohol. The critically injured pledge is Stone Folz.
The most recent Ohio fraternity hazing case comes about a year after a pair of Ohio University students pleaded guilty to the death of a freshman pledge of Sigma Pi Epsilon. In the Ohio University fraternity hazing case, the pledge died by asphyxiation from nitrous oxide ingestion. Pursuant to the plea agreement reached in that particular case, neither fraternity brother received any prison time despite the pledge’s hazing death.
The specifics of the Bowling Green State University alcohol-related fraternity hazing case have yet to be released to the public. This includes little information about the prognosis of the freshman pledge who remains in critical condition at a local hospital.
Bowling Green State University administrators have placed the Delta Beta chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity on an indefinite administrative suspension following the fraternity hazing incident. The current suspension is in place to permit an investigation into the illicit conduct by the fraternity members. Once the investigation is concluded, the university will determine what type of permanent sanction may be in order.
Action by the university may be irrelevant on some level. The international office of Pi Kappa Alpha has stated that the organization is pursuing the permanent suspension of the Bowling Green State University chapter. The international organization evidently is already in the midst of expelling all of the Bowling Green chapter members from the fraternity as well.
The Bowling Green Pi Kappa Alpha chapter aggravated the already tragic situation by erroneously announcing that the pledge had died. The fraternity retracted that false statement, apologizing for the dreadful mistake.
A university spokesperson issued a statement about the Bowling Green fraternity hazing incident. In the statement, the university spokesperson remarked: “We want to express our care and support of our students and community affected.”
Across the United States, there have been nearly 40 fraternity hazing deaths in the past decade. In addition, scores of young people have been injured in fraternity hazing incidents across the country.
Fraternities remain popular organizations on college and university campuses across the country. Nearly 400,000 college students are members of fraternities. The number of men involved in fraternities has been on the increase during the past 10 years.
Hazing at colleges and universities is not limited to fraternities. Sorority hazing is also a problem in the United States. While sorority hazing injuries happen at a lower rate, Greek organizations for women continue to violate laws and school rules regarding hazing.
Beyond Greek organizations, other groups also haze. These include everything from sports teams to other types of college and university organizations on campuses across the country.
Alcohol is a consistent feature in fraternity hazing incidents. Every year, fraternity members and pledges are injured as a result of excessive alcohol ingestion. Indeed, almost every year, at least one and usually more fraternity members die in an alcohol-related hazing death.
If you or a loved one have been injured or even killed in a fraternity hazing incident, the experienced legal team at The Doan Law Firm is here for you. We’ve established a 24-hour hotline at (800) 349-0000. Our fraternity hazing lawyer hotline is staffed seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, including all major holidays.
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