The University of Georgia chapter of Delta Sigma Phi has been suspended for allegedly ordering pledges to recite the organization's history while sitting in trash cans filled with freezing water.
According to the Athens Banner-Herald, the incident took place on Sep. 26, and school officials received word about the alleged hazing a few days later. The Banner-Herald added that an internal investigation began after a mother of one of the pledges called the school to report that a pledge had been injured during an initiation ceremony:
Police and UGA administrators began investigating after the mother of one of the fraternity’s 32 pledges called UGA officials anonymously, saying a pledge had been injured in an initiation ceremony.
UGA police interviewed the pledges as well as some fraternity officers, or at least tried. “Most people are not willing to discuss it with the police department,” Williamson said. One of the pledges had visible injuries, but said they were sustained in a fall, the police chief said.
Other pledges told police that they had been made to get into a trash can filled with ice water and recite fraternity history. The quicker they recited the history, the sooner they could get out of the water.
In addition to being suspended by the university and the national organization, the fraternity could face criminal charges pending the outcome of the investigation.
[via Athens Banner-Herald]
