Two University of Kansas fraternities suspended for ‘extreme hazing’

Two University of Kansas fraternity houses have been suspended for their ‘exceedingly dangerous’ hazing practices. 

Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Delta Theta have both had their status as ‘registered student organizations’ suspended until 2027 – until all of its current members graduate – after investigators uncovered shocking allegations of abuse against pledges.

Pledges were allegedly forced to sleep in sheets soiled with vomit and urine, were rolled into mattresses and violently slammed into walls – leaving one brother with a concussion – and one pledge was even forced to watch a video of a dolphin being mutilated and tortured as a sick punishment.

Others were reportedly made to go for extended periods without sleeping and forced to drink lots of alcohol in a pattern of ’emotional torture’ and ‘forced servitude’. 

Probes into the two fraternities were opened by their national chapters after KU students reported their treatment. 

Both chapters have undergone probes before – Phi Gamma Delta was scrutinized in 2012, 2015 and 2020, while Phi Delta Theta underwent probes in 2010, 2019 and August of this year.  

Pledges at Phi Gamma Delta, known as ‘Fiji,’ were ‘under the control and authority of members every waking minute each day’ and subjected to an ‘undisputed level of forced alcohol consumption,’ according to a heavily-redacted 30-page report compiled by outside investigators hired by the fraternities and obtained by the Kansas City Star. 

‘[A] largely undisputed level of forced alcohol consumption is exceedingly dangerous and is reflective of the dangerous systemic hazing taking place within Phi Gamma Delta,’ wrote Vice Provost Tammara Durham in the document.  

To hide what was going on inside the frat house on Louisiana Street in Lawrence, black garbage bags were often taped onto its windows.  

Phi Gamma Delta’s locker room was ‘covered in vomit, liquor, pee, old food, trash, and who knows what else,’ a prospective brother told investigators.   

‘When we tried to clean it up, we were told to go immediately to bed without showering and do it in the morning,’ the pledge wrote of an incident in September, saying he and others were forced to ‘sleep in vomit covered sheets.’  

‘I don’t know what else to say other than that being a part of this fraternity has been very difficult, has caused us physical harm, emotional torture, and interfered with our chances of success in college.’

Another pledge described being partially restrained with a pillowcase over his face as he struggled to breathe. Nine lines describing what led up to the punishment were redacted, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.

‘I was getting lightheaded and tried to tilt my head down in order to get the pillowcase off my face for a good breath, but was told to tilt my head back up and yelled at as consequence,’ the student  told investigators. 

It is unclear whether that student was subjected to ‘forced alcohol consumption.’ 

When Fiji brothers would come home drunk from parties or bars, they would subject new members to a hazing ritual called ‘tacoing,’ forcing new members to ‘stand or lie on [their] mattress[es] and then rolling up both sides so [they] would be the “meat inside a taco” and then spray[ing them] with substances to simulate condiments.’

Then, they would slam the folded mattresses into lockers and walls. 

The new member who originally filed the complaint against the fraternity that would spark the university’s investigation alleged that one of his pledge brothers who was subjected to the treatment suffered a concussion and was sick for a week.  

The student who described the conditions of the locker room said he once didn’t sleep for four nights in a row under the constant threat of the ‘tacoing’ practice.   

Pledges at Fiji were forced to carry cigarettes and vapes on them at all times for fraternity brothers to use, the Star reported.

Phi Delta Theta wasn’t cited for forcing its pledges to drink alcohol – however, their personal belongings were often rifled through and destroyed, their mattresses were often thrown out of windows and they were subjected to a routine of emotional torture and mental intimidation. 

One pledge was forced to watch a graphic video of a dolphin being mutilated, ‘wherein the dolphin is brutally slaughtered,’ investigators wrote in their report. 

He was then given the name ‘Dolphin,’ because he was the ‘one who is the most hated and should be slaughtered.’

Late at night, fraternity brothers would ‘rough up’ new members in their sleeping areas with ‘pushing, shouting, jumping on their bed, etc,’ with one member injured after he fell out off his mattress and onto the floor. 

New members were also forced to perform calisthenics that ‘resulted in physical injury to new members and contributed to sleep deprivation.’

One new member told investigators that he slept in his car on multiple occasions in order to get sleep.  

The hazing, which investigators said took place once or twice a week, included ‘personal servitude,’ the details of which were redacted from the report. 

The new member who blew the whistle on Phi Delta Theta was pushed, spit on and pelted with beer bottles when fraternity brothers found out, the report said. 

 The received several derogatory messages, one using a homosexual slur and another attacking his belief in Christianity. Another said: ‘I have never met someone in my life that I hate as much as you.’ 

That student chose to attend classes remotely for the semester. 

KU spokesman Joe Monaco told the Journal-World that ‘members of these two fraternities – including the organization’s leadership – knowingly engaged in systemic hazing that threatened the health and safety of students.’

‘Moreover, this behavior was the continuation of a well-documented pattern of hazing during the previous decade, demonstrating these organizations are unwilling to address this behavior themselves. This is not acceptable.’

Two former KU students from each fraternity listed as the chapters’ presidents could not be reached by DailyMail.com for comment at press time.

Both organizations can appeal the university’s decision within the next 30 days. 

The two houses are the most recent in a string of Greek organizations pulled from the University of Kansas campus. 

In 2018, Sigma Alphia Epsilon was suspended for ‘at least’ four years for ‘multipe health and safety violations’ by its national chapter. In 2020, Phi Kappa Phi was suspended for at least five years for an ‘open culture’ of drug use and hazing.       

 ‘Breaking the cycle requires an opportunity for the organization to ‘reset’ without current members and leaders who have been an active part of the problematic culture and activities,’ Durham wrote of the 2020 decision.

Two separate accusations of rape were made at University of Kansas earlier this year, with more than 1,000 protestors gathering around Phi Kappa Psi’s fraternity house a female student was allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted there on September 11. 

Less than two weeks later, a student was accused and arrested for allegedly raping a female student in a dorm room. 

After the September 13 protests, a recent KU graduate told The Daily Beast that the school’s Panhellenic Association provided students in sororities with a list of ‘safe’ parties to attend while she was enrolled. 

Of the fraternities, she told the outlet, ‘none of them are safe.’         

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk

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