Ohio fraternity suspended after student hospitalized
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (AP) — Bowling Green State University has placed a fraternity on interim suspension over “alleged hazing activity” following the hospitalization of a student in an alcohol-related incident.
The university said it was working with law enforcement investigating Pi Kappa Alpha in what the fraternity’s parent organization called “an alleged incident of alcohol-related hazing at an off-campus event” that left officials “horrified and outraged.”
The parent organization said the case involved “a student and an unreported new member” of the Delta Beta chapter. The Toledo Blade reports that the term refers to someone who has not gone through the initiation process, and the student was seeking to join the fraternity commonly known as “Pike.”
“This tragic incident has certainly impacted our students and community,” the university said on Twitter, adding that officials were meeting with student leaders “to decide the short- and long-term future of fraternity and sorority life” at the school.
“In the days to come, we will also be reviewing all other student organizations,” the university said.
Officials also urged people to moderate their comments and not share “potentially misleading” details on social media, saying the hospitalized student’s family and friends “are living every loved one’s worst nightmare, and we owe them the utmost respect and privacy at this time.”
The national chapter of the fraternity also announced an administrative suspension of the chapter, advised leaders to cooperate with the probe and vowed to pursue permanent suspension of the chapter and expulsion of members “as more details are confirmed.”
“The fraternity has a zero-tolerance policy toward illegal activity, substance abuse, bullying, and hazing of any kind,” the Memphis, Tennessee-based parent organization said in a statement. “Let us reiterate in the strongest terms: We refuse to defend or condone any behavior that creates dangerous environments or situations for our members or the larger campus community at any of our 200-plus chapters in the United States and abroad.”
