10 Horrible Tales of College Hazing
The unsavory underbelly of Greek life.
Image via Complex Original
George Desdunes
Where: Cornell University, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity
When: February 25, 2011
19-year-old Cornell sophmore George Desdune, a member of S.A.E., was kidnapped in a reverse-hazing ritual, and tied up with duct tape and zip ties by freshman pledges. Along with another brother, he was then blindfolded and asked trivia questions about the fraternity. The penalty for answering wrong was being force fed vodka, Pixy Stix, hot sauce, chocolate powder, and dish soap continually. His vomiting came intermittently.
Afterward, Desdunes was left on a couch in the fraternity, where he was found dead in the morning. Four students have since been charged in connection to his death and are currently awaiting trial.
Lead.
Thanks to pop culture, hazing has been refashioned into entertainment, producing images like Kevin Bacon famously bent over in Animal House, pleading, "Thank you, sir; may I have another?" But the dark reality of what sometimes goes on in sororities and fraternities is not fit for comedy. It is horrible stuff, a far-too-commonplace terror masquerading as tradition.
Former Darthmouth frat boy Andrew Lohse has brought the nightmares of hazing practices at American universities to the forefront, after describing being "forced to swim in a kiddie pool full of vomit, urine, fecal matter, semen, and rotten food," among other heinous things. The biggest issue raised by Lohse' stomach-churning account, as revealed by his divisive Rolling Stones profile, and the comments of his classmates and administrators, is just how entrenched violent acts of initiation are in our culture.
In wading through the murky history of hazing, these are the stories that most illuminate the gruesome underbelly of Greek life, that we hope will serve as cautionary tales: 10 Horrible Tales of College Hazing.
Matthew Carrington
Where: California State University, Chico, at unrecognized fraternity Chi Tau
When: February 2, 2005
During Chi Tau's "Hell Week," Matthew Carrington and his friend Mike Quintana were forced to do calisthenics in the fraternity's sewage-flooded basement, for hours, while being verbally ridiculed. Throughout the length of the incident, the two were both given five-gallon jugs of water, and left to urinate and vomit on themselves while a fan blew cold air on their damp skin.
After several hours of this, during which Carrington suffered a seizure, his fellow fraternity members put off calling an ambulance for over an hour. When Carrington was finally taken to the hospital, he was pronounced dead due to water intoxication, which had caused his brain and lungs to swell, and resulted in heart failure. The rogue fraternity has since closed its doors, and eight of Carrington's tormentors have each been sentenced, included a felony charge of one year in prison.
Robert Champion
Where: Florida A&M University
When: November 19, 2011
Drum major Robert Champion took part in a hazing ritual called "crossing Bus C" outside an Orlando hotel. Pledges were made to run from one end of the bus to another while other band members hit and kicked them, and if any pledges fell they were stomped, picked up, and forced to do the run again. Champion eventually left the bus to vomit, but was forced to back onto the bus again.
Champion collapsed and died an hour after the incident occcured. An autopsy revealed his death had been caused by blunt trauma to the body, which resulted in severe internal bleeding. Champion's death has since been ruled a homicide, and a lawsuit has been filed.
Benjamin Klein
Where: Alfred University, Zeta Beta Tau fraternity
When: February 9, 2002
When Bradley Calkins and Thomas Lam found out that fellow frat brother Benjamin Klein had been vocal about the hazing rituals being practiced in Zeta Beta Tau, they tied him up and beat him him in a hotel room, holding his head under running water in the bathtub until he agreed to not leave the room.
Three days later, his body was found under in a creek behind the frat house. His death was ruled a suicide, and a month after Klein's death, Alfred University permanently banned fraternities and sororities.
Jasmine Johnson
Where: University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Delta Sigma Theta sorority
When: March 20, 2009
Sorority pledge Jasmine Johnson was forced to go to the hospital when hazing took a brutal turn in a two part incident at Delta Sigma Theta. Johnson alleges that in the first incident, she was punched in the face by one sister, while several others poured ice cold water over her head and squirted her in the eyes with vinegar. In the second incident, eggs were broken over her head and she was punched in her head and abdomen, which resulted in a concussion and vaginal bleeding, respectively. The leader of the group, Seirra Smith, was charged with assault for her role in the incident.
Tulane University
Where: Tulane University, Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity
When: May 6, 2008
Ten members of Pi Kappa Alpha, known as PIKE, were arrested on felony charges when two pledges were sent to the hosptial with severe burns. As part of a "hell night" ritual, the frat boys allegedly poured boiling water, vinegar, and crab boil on the pledges after covering them with flour and wasabi and cayenne pepper. The pledges were also hit with eggs and balloons filled with boiling water. The incident left the pledges with second- and third-degree burns. PIKE is no longer recognized as a fraternity on Tulane's campus.
Carson Starkey
Where: California Polytechnic State University, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity
When: December 1, 2008
While pledging for Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Cal Poly freshman Carson Starkey particpated in a long held rushing tradition at SAE called "brown bag night." The hazing challenge required pledges to drink whatever the Greek leaders put in the brown bag, which in Starkey's case were cans of Sparks, a bottle of rum, and Everclear (a nearly-pure grain alcohol), all consumed in a matter of minutes. While being cheered on by chants of "puke and rally" by the fraternity leaders, Starkey passed out.
The worst part? His frat brothers, fearful of being punished for their involvement, did not take Starkey to the hospital and instead left him on a matress in the frat house, where he died. His blood alcohol was nearly .40, almost five times the legal limit for driving. His parents eventually sued the university, and settled for an undisclosed amount.
Kenitha Saafir and Kristin High
Where: California State University Los Angeles, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority
When: September 9, 2002
During a week of pledging for the revered Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation's first African-American sorority, 24-year-old Kenitha Saafir and 22-year-old Kristin High engaged in an exhausting pledging process. On the night in question, both girls were put through hours of calisthenics at Dockweiler State Beach and told to walk backwards into the ocean. When Kenitha was taken down by a wave, Kristin, knowing Kenitha could not swim, went after her. The two girls were taken under by the tide. Both drowned.
Ravital Segal
Where: Darthmouth University, Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority
When: 2006
After Andrew Lohse's heinous account of hazing at Dartmouth, Ravital Segal, an alumni since 2009, came forward with her own story. She describes being ordered to chug a 64-oz. containter of an "alcoholic punch" and take shots of vodka in the backseat of a car being driven by Greek sisters. After less than 15 minutes of this treatment, Segal passed out, and woke up in intensive care.
When she awoke, she had no recollection of being taken to the hopsital, and was told that her blood alcohol content was .01 away from leaving her comatose or dead. Even after nearly dying as a result of hazing, Ravi still refrains from placing the blame on her sorority sisters. She laments, "I almost lost my life that day and, infuriatingly, nobody—and everybody—was to blame."
Amon Carter IV
Where: Texas Christian University, Kappa Sigma fraternity
When: January 8th, 2010
While on a fraterniy skiing trip, Amon Carter IV was asked to show his pride for his fraternity in a brutally unique way—by being branded with the frat's Greek letters with a hot iron hanger, on his buttcheek, a request he drunkenly obliged to.
But when he passed out, his brothers continued to brand him, this time with Tri Delta Sorority letters, which resulted second and third-degree burns that would require six surgeries to repair. SInce coming out with his story, Carter has been shunned by his former frat brothers, who believe it is a rite of passage, and one Cater willingly submitted to.
