Police: DKE frat members arrested for hazing, urinating upon LSU pledges

LSU hazing: Lafayette man ‘seemed to be controlling the situation’ in some of the most egregious rituals

Cade Rain Duckworth, 23, of Lafayette was one of nine members of LSU’s Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity arrested Thursday after details emerged about alleged hazing that took place at the fraternity.

The DKE national organization — one of the oldest fraternities in the nation — announced the sudden closure of its LSU chapter last month.

Read more:  www.theadvocate.com/

 

 

Duke University suspends fraternities pending hazing investigation

Duke University has suspended Delta Tau Delta and Pi Kappa Phi fraternities, along with new member activities at Sigma Phi Epsilon, pending a hazing investigation, a Duke spokesperson confirmed Saturday.

“Interim suspension of a student group simply means that the group is prohibited from operating as a recognized Duke student group on Duke’s campus or elsewhere using any Duke identification until the investigation and determination of action to be taken, if any, is completed,” Keith Lawrence, Duke’s executive director of News & Communications, said in an email Saturday.

The university’s student newspaper The Chronicle, first reported the story on Friday. Duke is working with campus police and the fraternities’ national offices to investigate the alleged incidents, The Chronicle reported.  Read more:  https://www.newsobserver.com

Wrestling team threatened to assault classmate with a broomstick

Four student wrestlers at a New Jersey high school threatened to assault a classmate with a broomstick during a hazing ritual, officials said.

The students, all of whom attend Arthur P. Schalick High School in Pittsgrove Township, are not being publicly identified. They are charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, criminal restraint, hazing and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, Salem County Prosecutor John T. Lenahan told NJ.com. None of the teens were detained after they were charged.

On Saturday, members of the school’s wrestling team, the Cougars, allegedly stripped the victim in the shower, restrained him, and threatened to attack him with a broomstick, police said.

Read more at:  https://nypost.com/2018/

By Alexandra Klausner

TCU student facing hazing charge dies, police say

A TCU student who was arrested in September in a hazing incident died Thursday evening when he jumped from the fourth floor of a parking garage on the university campus, police say.

Andrew Walker of Westford, Massachusetts, was 19.

He was pronounced dead shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday in the 3000 block of Greene Avenue.

Police spokesman Tracy Carter said Friday morning via email that there were no signs of foul play.
A spokeswoman for TCU said she was preparing a statement for release later Friday morning.

In September, Walker and fellow Kappa Sigma fraternity classmate Christopher Barksdale were involved in a hazing incident at the school in which an ambulance was summoned to take a pledge who had drunk too much to the hospital, police said. Barksdale was expelled from the university.  Read more:  https://www.star-telegram.com

 

This report includes material from Star-Telegram archives.

 

After hazing deaths, parents unite with fraternities to make change

Jim Piazza speaks about the importance of passing anti-hazing legislation at a March event with his wife, Evelyn, outside a courthouse in Bellefonte, Pa. Their son, Timothy Piazza, a Penn State University student, died after a night of hazing and drinking at a fraternity. (Abby Drey/Centre Daily Times)

September 10, 2018

Early this spring, Jim Piazza emailed the leader of a national association of fraternities and said: We need to talk.

Piazza’s son Tim died after falling down stairs at a Penn State University fraternity bid event, one of several horrific deaths of young people in recent years that brought national attention to the dangers of hazing. Colleges across the country have grappled with the issue unsuccessfully for many years, with initiation traditions continuing in many places despite rules barring them.

Judson Horras, president and chief executive officer of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, agreed to meet with Piazza and another father whose son had died after hazing, Rich Braham. There was trepidation on both sides, Braham said. “We lost our kids to Greek-life organizations and we’re meeting with the enemy,” he said.

New Law Prompted by Death of 19-Year-Old Baruch College Student in New York

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed anti-hazing legislation to help keep students safe as they go back to school. The law (S.2755/A.5200) prohibits certain physical contact or requiring physical activity in any organization’s initiating ceremony to prevent the deaths or serious injuries of students during fraternity pledging ceremonies.

“These hazing rituals are dangerous and reckless with potentially fatal consequences, and I’m proud to sign this legislation to protect college students across this great state,” Governor Cuomo said. “As we prepare for the beginning of another school year, parents and students alike deserve to have peace of mind that we take hazing seriously and will have zero tolerance for these abuses in New York.”

“The safety of our students is a top priority and these hazing rituals put them at risk of physical and emotional harm,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “This legislation will help to combat these dangerous rituals and prevent injury and potential fatality of our students. We will not tolerate these actions that threaten the lives of students in New York State.”

 

Read more:  https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/

Football coach suspended after locker room hazing video in Alabama

MOBILE, Ala. — An Alabama school system has placed a prep football coach on leave after players were videotaped beating a teammate in a locker room.

The action announced Wednesday against Davidson High School coach Fred Riley was effective immediately, Mobile County schools spokeswoman Rena Phillips told news outlets.

Nine players have been suspended and a $12 million lawsuit was filed after video showed a then-freshman quarterback, Rodney Kim Jr., being beaten in April in what his parents say was a hazing attack.

The young player suffered a broken arm, and police say they were called about an assault complaint.

Mary Kim, the player’s mother, said she was “elated” about the coach being placed on leave, but she still wants Riley to be suspended and arrested.

“The truth is finally coming out,” she told WALA-TV.  Read more:  https://nypost.com

By Associated Press

Five enter plea agreements in Coffey hazing death

Every day, Andrew Coffey’s parents light a candle at their Pompano Beach home. It’s a painful reminder their son is no longer with them.

“A candle gets lit every morning and it burns until it can burn no more,” Coffey’s mother, Sandy, said tearfully in a plea hearing Monday for five men charged with her son’s death. “No parent should have to light a candle remembering their son next to his ashes.”

She recalled how Tallahassee and Florida State were Coffey’s first stop on his way to joining the U.S. Navy. But she, her husband Tom and their daughter, will never get to see the 20-year-old don an FSU cap and gown or military uniform.

Coffey died of alcohol poisoning while pledging FSU’s Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. At a November house party, he drank an entire bottle of Wild Turkey 101 bourbon at the coercion of older fraternity members, investigators say.

Read more:  https://www.tallahassee.com/

, Democrat staff writerPublished 11:06 a.m. ET April 16, 2018 | Updated 7:07 p.m. ET April 16, 2018

One Hazing Death is Too Many: Fraternity hazing deaths 2017

Let us help your organization with education and stop hazing!

University campuses across the country were rocked by a series of fraternity deaths in 2017, fueling an unprecedented national conversation about the dangers of fraternity culture and what can be done to keep students safe.

Timothy Piazza, 19, of Readington Township, N.J., died after being fed 18 alcoholic drinks in less than 90 minutes at a Penn State fraternity, stumbling and severely injuring himself.

Matthew Ellis, 20, a Phi Kappa Psi pledge at Texas State University, died after attending an off-campus social event.

The young men who perished – learn more

Greek Life: 5 things parents should know

Greek Life: 5 things parents should know 01:43

(CNN)A grand jury report on a pattern of disturbing hazing incidents at Penn State was released Friday, more than 10 months after the death of fraternity pledge Timothy Piazza.

In that time, at least three other fraternity pledges have died at campuses across the country. Hazing or alcohol is suspected to have played a factor in each of them.

Updated 1:47 PM ET, Fri December 15, 2017