2nd fraternity booted from the University of Virginia after hazing investigation
Jul 16, 2024, 12:28 PM
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The University of Virginia has terminated a second campus fraternity after an investigation found stomach-turning hazing incidents earlier this year.
The Theta Chi fraternity is the second at U.Va. to have its fraternity agreement terminated. Pi Kappa Alpha was terminated earlier this year.
Two other fraternities, Sigma Alpha Mu and Pi Lambda Phi, remain under investigation, according to a report made public by the university earlier this month.
That report details specific incidents of hazing that had not been released previously.
At Theta Chi, the report concluded that new members in the spring semester were subjected to ridicule and verbal harassment, and were forced to run errands for existing members. During lineups at the chapter house, new members “had to consume various food and non-food items, including a mixture of heinous/unknown items and habanero peppers,” according to the report.
The ingestion of the foods caused vomiting and loss of sensation in limbs, according to the report.
The newly detailed hazing examples at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity were more disturbing. The report found that earlier this year, new members there were blindfolded and stripped to their underwear and slapped on their face and chest. New members were forced to eat cat food and other unpleasant foods, and new members had hot sauce placed on their genitals.
One specific member “had their arms duct taped to a wooden cross, whereafter, they were force-fed a mixture of cottage cheese and hot sauce and had hot sauce placed on their body, including their genitals,” according to the report.
Neither Theta Chi nor Pi Kappa Alpha can seek reinstatement until at least 2028, according to the university.
Theta Chi and Pi Kappa Alpha’s international headquarters did not respond to emails seeking comment Tuesday.
In Virginia, the 2021 death of a Virginia Commonwealth University student, Adam Oakes, after a fraternity hazing incident resulted in the passage of anti-hazing legislation and a nearly $1 million settlement payment from the university to Oakes’ family.
