A Texas A&M fraternity has been suspended from campus after several unnamed pledges were hospitalized following torturous hazing at the Kappa Sigma Lodge, sparking an investigation by local authorities.
Brazos County Sheriff’s Office said that they were made aware of the situation on Sept. 23, nine days after an event at the Texas A&M Kappa Sigma fraternity’s lodge.
According to the sheriff’s office, new fraternity members were told to attend an off-campus event on Sept. 14, where the new members, also called pledges, were instructed to participate in “physical activity until exhaustion,” the sheriff’s office said.
Current members brought pledges to a secluded area, and after hours of nonstop physical activity, several pledges faced hospitalization, allegedly from rhabdomyolysis, a serious medical condition in which the breakdown of muscle tissue releases harmful substances into the bloodstream; however, officials have not confirmed this diagnosis.
Some pledges said that they faced numerous health issues in the days following the event, including loss of mobility and black urine.
The pledges were also told to obtain care from different hospitals and lie about how they acquired their ailments, according to the New York Post.
“You have to put your hands on your heels and squat all as a group. And they’re yelling at you, making you squat together. And that’s where we did three, four or 500 of those,” the anonymous victim said of the event, according to KPRC. “All in the mud, all real, real dark, people yelling at you, shining lights in your face, you’re getting dizzy, you’re throwing up.”
The Texas fraternity has remained silent on the matter, only announcing that any member involved was breaking the fraternity’s code of conduct, which prohibits hazing.
A Texas A&M student, Samantha Braudaway, said incidents like this should serve as a warning to members of Texas Greek life.
“I think it should be a very eye-opening thing to not only Greek life students, but every student at A&M,” Braudaway said to KRHD. “I think Greek life is an amazing thing… You find your friends, you find your people. I had a great experience through Greek life, and I still do it in my sorority, but overall, your well-being comes first, and if something doesn’t feel right, it probably is not right.”
Although social clubs and organizations are popular amongst college-aged students, the Hazing Prevention Network says that 55% of college students involved in Greek life face hazing in some form.
The University has become well aware of the Kappa Sigma hazing, and only days after the investigation announcement, it started its National Hazing Prevention Week, where the campus held events and guest speakers to highlight the dangers of hazing.
Two speakers who visited the college were Pam and Robert Champion, who founded the Robert D. Champion Drum Major for Change Foundation. The Champions founded this organization after the death of their 26-year-old son, who was beaten to death in a hazing ritual at Florida A&M University.
While Robert Champion’s killer was sentenced to six consecutive years in prison, the parents have spent the last decade educating on the dangers and consequences of hazing.
During their presentation, the Champions plead for the Aggies to see the crime behind hazing, and to credit the ritual as the violent act that it can be.
“Stop calling it hazing,” Champion said. “As long as you call it hazing, it will continue to exist.”