Student injured in hazing incident

University officials, Lawrence police launch investigations

Lawrence police and Kansas University officials are investigating after a 19-year-old student suffered a head injury in an apparent hazing incident at Sigma Nu fraternity.

Police said Monday they had five suspects who also were being investigated for allegedly furnishing alcohol to a minor.

Word of the alleged hazing drew a stern warning from the university, which issued a statement saying such activities would not be tolerated.

The incident occurred Wednesday evening, police said. Officers were called just before 10 p.m. to the Sigma Nu house, 1501 Sigma Nu Place.

When they arrived, police found an Olathe student unconscious. They soon learned the teen had been injured during a pledge ritual, said Lawrence Police Sgt. Mike Pattrick.

“During some portion of this ritual, the pledge is thrown and is supposed to land on his feet,” Pattrick said. “He did not. He struck his head and was unconscious.”

The student was taken by ambulance to Lawrence Memorial Hospital, then transferred to KU Med. Officials at the hospital in Kansas City, Kan., said he was released Thursday.

Pattrick said the five suspects ranged in age from 19 to 21.

The president of the KU chapter of Sigma Nu declined to comment.

Sigma Nu headquarters in Lexington, Va., which oversees the fraternity’s 200 chapters nationwide, also is looking into events leading up to the injury, according to Dave Fron of the fraternity’s public relations firm, Intermark Public Relations of Birmingham, Ala.

KU’s Center for Campus Life is conducting an independent investigation. The center’s director, Danny Kaiser, said the university took allegations of hazing seriously.

“We tell them from day one that we don’t accept it,” he said. “We’ll take serious steps when we need to, and we’re prepared to do that.”

The university’s official response came in a prepared statement from Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success.

“Hazing of any kind is a violation of human dignity. It is always taken seriously and immediately confronted by this university,” she said. “We absolutely will not tolerate this type of behavior.”

She called hazing “an egregious violation of our student code” and said the penalties could be severe.

In the past, Kaiser said, fraternities found to be in violation of KU’s Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities have received discipline ranging from being put on probation to a two-year suspension.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to make that punishment be something that will in the long run bring them back as a better chapter again, back to doing what they were originally supposed to be doing,” Kaiser said.

As students in KU’s 24 fraternities prepare to welcome new members, Kaiser asked that common sense prevail.

“You don’t have to think real hard to know whether or not something is appropriate or inappropriate to do,” Kaiser said. “If you wouldn’t invite your parents to sit there and watch it with you, you probably ought to be re-thinking it, and if you wouldn’t invite an administrator from the university to sit there and watch you do it, well, should you be doing it?”

KU officials have been in contact with the injured student’s family members.

“We are thankful that this young man is recovering and will be in class this semester,” Roney said.

Lawrence police have not made any arrests. The department will forward results of its investigation to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office for possible criminal charges. Promoting or permitting hazing is a misdemeanor offense in Kansas.

University officials said they expected their investigation into the pledging rituals at the fraternity to take several weeks.

KU classes begin Thursday.