Family sues over drowning during alleged LA sorority hazing
 

LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - The family of one of two women who drowned during an alleged college hazing sued a sorority for wrongful death Wednesday, saying its members should have known it was dangerous to send pledges into heavy surf at night.

Kenitha Saafir, 24, had told her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters that she was afraid of the water and could not swim, attorney Carl Douglas said at a news conference. He claimed she was blindfolded and sent into the ocean at Dockweiler Beach dressed in a heavy sweatsuit, socks and tennis shoes.

"The ocean waters were at high tide and experiencing sets of waves that reached 6 to 8 feet high," said the lawsuit. "Deadly rip currents lurked just off the shoreline, invisible to the untrained eye against the moonlit sky. The night was dark."

Alpha Kappa Alpha, founded in 1908, is the oldest African-American sorority in America. The suit names its leaders and those present at the beach when the women drowned on Sept. 9, 2002.

Charles Albert, an attorney for the Chicago-based sorority, said in a telephone interview: "We don't believe the sorority has any liability. The individuals involved were pledging for a chapter that was suspended at the time."

Douglas said Saafir had spoken of her fear of water during a visit to the same beach two days before she and another pledge, Kristin High, 22, drowned there.

High's family sued the sorority earlier and a trial is scheduled in January. Douglas said he expects the suits to be joined.

Both Saafir and High were seniors at California State University, Los Angeles.

The new lawsuit claims several sorority sisters took four pledges to the beach, had them do strenuous calisthenics, blindfolded them, then ordered them into the ocean for more pledging activities.

"While Kenitha was performing one of the pledging rituals, she was knocked down by the violent surf and pulled underwater by the rip currents," the suit said. "Her lifeless body was eventually pulled to shore by rescuing law enforcement officers."

Saafir's husband, mother and siblings appeared at the news conference, bringing pictures of the young woman who was studying photography and had launched a graphic arts company with her husband.

Hazing is against the law in California, but Douglas said police have filed no charges.

"We are doubtful anything substantial is going to evolve of a criminal nature and so we have been left with the remedy of seeking justice in civil court," the attorney said.

Douglas said he was aware of the sorority's claim that the chapter was suspended. But he said that on the day of Saafir's death it was listed as an official chapter on the sorority's national Web site.

Albert said the sorority has an official policy against hazing which is included in its handbooks and brochures.

Douglas said the practice is banned in 42 states but continues nevertheless.

"Hazing is the dirty little secret of sororities and fraternities nationwide," he said.
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What I don't understand is what more can the national organization do? They have suspend the chapter, but the chapter became an underground chapter and hazed which resulted in a death. I think the national should sue the individuals because they gone against national policies. Isn't this also happening in Platsburgh where the national organization is suing the individual for keeping the chapter alive after they got their chapter revoked?

Re: Family sues over drowning during alleged LA sorority hazing
 

You're right, Arya, but it does show the tendency in these cases to go after everyone who could possibly be involved.

The other thing that bothers me about this particular case, which has been the topic of previous threads, is that the LAPD could find no evidence of wrongdoing.

There are some inconsistencies in this and earlier stories as well. As I recall, originally the families charged the two women had their hands tied behind them -- but the police found no evidence of that.

Re: Re: Family sues over drowning during alleged LA sorority hazing
 

My understanding is that a party can be sued in civil court on charges of wrongful death or something alongs those lines.

Just look at the families of Nicole Brown and Rob Goldman. Their families sued OJ in civil court for wrongful death and won, even though he was found not guilty in a criminal court.

There's an existing thread
 

In the Delta Sigma Theta room that discusses this case.

Re: There's an existing thread
 

Hey Soror, do you have the link? Thanks. Peace

I couldn't find the topic either.

Thread in DST Forum

I believe that is the thread from the DST forum that was previously mentioned.

ETA: If you are going to go look at the thread, I would very much like to see this stay away from flaming. NPHC "recruitment" is very different than what most of us experienced, and just because two young women died (in an unauthorized pledging incident) is no reason for us to criticize them. They don't come into our forums and criticize NPC Formal Recruitment.

Re: Re: Re: Family sues over drowning during alleged LA sorority hazing
 

True. The difference I see here is that the cops found no evidence to charge anyone.

Obviously, that wasn't the case with OJ.

I personally think AKA should sue the individuals for any damages they incur from the lawsuits. It's rediculous that AKA could he held liable for a chapter that doesn't exist. And I've believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that the mother of one of the victims knew that it was an underground chapter.

Bottom line is that we, as GLOs in general, need to cut down on stupidity so that we can continued to function. My own organizations was sued for our entire assets. That will be the end of if. Thank god we have capable lawyers to negotiate something. But who knows, maybe one day a parent might refuse to settle and go for everything.

May I once again humbly point out that a number of us have said for years on this forum that there is serious danger for all of our organizations individually, and the Greek System entirely because of situations like this -- whether they are real or not.

Between attorneys going for "the Corporate Death Penalty," to rising liability insurance costs (or total inability to get insurance), to lawyers adding everyone they can think of to suite (kind of a shotgun approach), to the FACT that there still IS hazing in some places -- the ramnifications scare the hell out of me.

As for a counter suit, that's a great idea initially, but I doubt that any of our organizations would want to spend the time and money it would take to do that. While a win would be most satisfying, a loss would set a very bad precedent, and open the door wider for ridiculous suits.

The bottom line to me always comes up the same: Obey the law and the rules of your organization, and most suits will be avoided.

Edited to add:

I see real danger in what we refer to as "underground" chapters. I have read some things here regarding how good it would be to not have Nationals or the University constantly looking over their shoulders and enforcing rules. Frankly, if this alleged situation turns out to be true, it will be a case of chapter members breaking the rules and the law. We see, again and again, chapters (even members of a national organization) breaking the law. I also wonder how many of these "underground" organizations bother with things like insurance, etc.

I'm sure that there are some that are well run and do everything they can to do things correctly -- but logic tell me that they would be the exception, not the rule.

Thank you for this comment and for recognizing that our systems go about things in different ways.

I actually found out that one of those girls that got killed was related to me and I ain't even know it. Dang, I wish I'd known her before she was killed.

Imperial1