Guess they didn't get the word. Or, maybe they're just dumb...
 

University of California, Santa Barbara
October 3, 2003

FIJI Faces Hazing Lawsuit
Former Pledge Charges Fraternity With Abuse, Illness

By Bonnie Holladay -Staff Writer

A former UCSB student who claims he was hazed
while pledging the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI)
fraternity last fall is suing the fraternity.

The lawsuit alleges that, as part of his pledging
process in Fall 2002, Jason Belsky, a freshman at
the time, was physically and verbally abused, was
forced to consume large amounts of alcohol and
was put into unsanitary conditions.

As a result of these allegations, the university
no longer recognizes the local chapter. According
to the complaint, Belsky was hospitalized as a
result of acts committed against him by FIJI.

Belsky's complaint alleges that, as part of the
pledging process, he and his eight fellow pledges
were required to go on a "pledge retreat." After
arriving at the fraternity house with sleeping
bags and warm clothes, as they were instructed,
they were blindfolded and escorted into cars.
Upon arriving at their destination, an isolated
location near a beach, the fraternity members
took their keys, wallets, cell phones and all
other forms of identification from them. If
caught or questioned by police, the pledges were
instructed to identify themselves as members of
the Santa Barbara City College water polo team.
They were also instructed to consume several
30-packs of beer. The actives then left the
pledges for the night.

The actives said they would pick up the pledges
at 4 a.m. and again at 7 a.m. so the pledges
would be on time to athletic practice and
midterms, according to the complaint. The members
missed the 4 a.m. pickup time, and Belsky and
another pledge walked to a hotel for help. After
the hotel staff refused to help the pledges, they
walked several miles back to the fraternity
house. The members never returned to pick up the
other pledges, who eventually hitchhiked back to
the house.

The complaint states that another portion of
initiation consisted of two "poker nights." At
these events, pledges were forced to stand in
physically strenuous positions and to answer
questions about the fraternity. In the lawsuit,
Belsky said he was forced to consume large
amounts of alcohol: approximately a pint of
Jagermeister and several beers in 10 to 20
minutes. In the second poker night, he was forced
to consume two whole onions with his fellow
pledges. Most pledges were sick afterward and
vomited.

The complaint also alleges that, as part of the
pledge period, the pledges were required to hoist
the FIJI flag every morning. One night in
November, after a pledge raised the flag upside
down, the entire pledge class was forced to sit
vigil at the base of the flag in retribution. The
vigil lasted from 9 p.m. until 6:48 a.m, during
which time the pledges had to keep a flashlight
trained on the flag at all times and were not
allowed to sleep. Over the course of the night,
"the actives ridiculed [them], spraying them with
water hoses, and threw hundreds of water balloons
and buckets of freezing water at them."

During the final stage of the pledging process,
Belsky and the other pledges were forced to live
in a small storage closet known by the fraternity
as "The Cage," according to the complaint. During
"Hell Week," if the pledges "were not in class or
involved in a fraternity event, they were
expected to be in The Cage." The cage contained
two buckets: one for urination and one for
defecation. At one point, one of the cage walls
was smeared with raw meat, which the pledges were
not allowed to clean up. Inside the cage a stereo
"continuously played the song 'Wild Honeypie' by
the Beatles at extremely loud volumes."

The complaint states that, as part of Hell Week,
the pledges were forced to race around the house
on all fours as the fraternity brothers hit them
with cushions in what were known as "rat races."
The pledges were also allegedly forced to perform
strenuous exercises in the ocean and then to run
nearly two hours to return to the house. They
were also sent on a scavenger hunt in which they
allegedly had to, among other things, steal a
FIJI sign in Los Angeles, go to a Kentucky Fried
Chicken restaurant in Compton, and "engage in
public acts of humiliation at Universal Studios
and Union Station." On his final day of
initiation, Belsky said in the lawsuit, he was
beat with a paddle by members of FIJI.

Belsky also said in the lawsuit that other events
over the course of Hell Week included meals
consisting entirely of food covered in hot sauces
and spices, carrying sand from the beach in the
middle of the night to add to the volleyball
court at the house, and strenuous calisthenics.

The complaint alleges that, as a result of his
initiation, Belsky became ill with a viral
infection, a bacterial infection, mononucleosis
and tonsillitis. His liver and spleen were also
"inflamed and significantly enlarged." He
withdrew from school to recover from his illness,
during which time his parents wrote letters of
complaint to the school and the local and
international chapters of FIJI. In a response to
these letters, the president of the local chapter
wrote back, "Since our first pledge class 11
years ago, every man has endured the same,"
according to the suit.

Upon Belsky's return to UCSB, FIJI member and
then-President of the Interfraternity Council
Andrew Re "told Jason that he was 'unwelc ome' at
the fraternity house."

Current FIJI President Andrew Nicolai was reticent to comment on the lawsuit

"Personally, I don't believe that any physical
harm is done to the pledges. Nobody is doing
anybody any physical harm nor wants to," Nicolai
said.

The complaint was filed Sept. 23, but Nicolai,
who was named in the suit, said he had not seen
it or heard anything about a lawsuit until Oct. 2.

Nicolai refused to comment on the hazing allegations.

UCSB attempted to convince the international
chapter to revoke the local charter last spring
when the university withdrew its recognition of
the house, according to Director of Greek Affairs
Stephan Franklin. The national chapter put FIJI
on suspension, which means that the local chapter
should not be recruiting, holding meetings that
are not informational in purpose, or holding
events, Franklin said.

On Sept. 27, FIJI held a concert at their house
that they advertised as their "Fall Kickoff."

"They haven't only defied the university, but
also their national headquarters," Franklin said.

Nicolai refused to comment on the concert.

J.B. Goll, the director of Chapter Services at
FIJI International Headquarters, confirmed that
the local chapter was still recognized but on
suspension and under investigation.

"They are on temporary suspension based on hazing allegations," Goll said.

Nicolai refused to comment on the suspension.

FIJI will be eligible to reapply for university
recognition in four years; however, the
university will not start the four-year wait
until the fraternity removes its Greek letters
from its house.

"As long as FIJI calls themselves [an] operating
chapter, they're not going to be considered for
reinstatement. They decide when the four-year
process starts when they become compliant,"
Franklin said. "The process will begin then and
no sooner."

On Sept. 22, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Michael Young sent out a campuswide e-mail
warning students from participating in an
"unauthorized" rush sponsored by FIJI. In the
e-mail he wrote that the fraternity had been
"associated with illegal hazing, underage
drinking and behavior counter to student health
and safety."

FIJI members said on their International
Headquarters' advice they had not held a rush
this quarter.

- Daniel Haier also contributed to this story.
The full text of the lawsuit can be downloaded as
a PDF document at

I'm just wondering why Belsky(I assume not an active) waited a year later to file a lawsuit after the incident.

Could be a "gold digger." Or whatever the male equivilent is.

Perge,

That was a very fine response. Most impressive.

You should know whether these "alleded allegations" (which is redundant, but that's beside the point -- just made me chuckle a little), are true or not.

I'm not going to ask you to comment, but if your chapter does ANY of the things alleged, I think the topic of the thread fits. And, if you (collectively) are guilty, you're not being slandered.

Frankly, the fact that they haven't been "disclaimed" is part of what bothers me. Your president's comment that nobody intends to hurt anyone really doesn't change the fact that it appears that laws and rules have been broken. If I'm incorrect in that impression, I will be much relieved. I hope that's the case.

I think we all wish you luck, (I certainly do) because none of us ever wants to see a chapter close.

However, again, if you do any of these things, you bring unwanted hardships and bad feelings toward all of the rest of us as well as yourselves.

i'm curious, as a law student, what is a "cival" law suit? After criticizing someone else's grammar, you should be a bit more observant of what you type.

It's truly disturbing that you make a post as you did about FIJI's ideals, etc. and combine it with the rest of the trash that you wrote.

Better check with your lawyer... if he or she knew you were running your mouth on here, they wouldn't be very thrilled.

WTH are you asking for advice/help on a public message board?

ETA: asking for "support" when it's people like you who give us such a bad reputation is pretty silly

I can certainly understand this being a very difficult time for you and your brothers. However, it doesn't justify the comments that you made about Delta Tau Delta and the comments you made towards Delt Alum. I highly encourage you to go back and edit your post.

Thank you for your kind words about KD. Unfortunately FIJI left my campus the semester I pledged (fraternties have slowing been dying at my school) and I never had the opportunity to get to know them.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, your brothers, and everyone involved in this drama. I'm sure it's a very hard time, and hopefully whatever the truth is will come out and it can all be dealt with properly.

Reid,

I think you were a little rough on DeltAlumn.

He basically said,

(1) if you guys aren't guilty, why doesn't somebody SAY, "hey, this stuff never happened?"
(2) He hopes you're NOT guilty, because this sort of activity isn't really conducive to brotherhood or being a part of a gentlemanly fraternity.
(3) If you are guilty, then it's obviously not slander.

Nobody on here wants anything but the best for FIJI, UCSB or otherwise. However, I also don't think you're going to find supporters of hazing on this board.

Your second post was just plain strange. Your first was so eloquent and wise; the second was head-scratchingly juvenile and angry.

What's up?

This is def. the place to come for support! It's a community of greeks who can appreciate what brotherhood and sisterhood truly mean, even if we don't share the same specific bonds. Regardless of if you guys never hazed or if you hazed before and don't now, I think you'll find this group'll stand behind you.

And lay off Delta Tau Delta. They've got some fantastic guys, just like Phi Gamma Delta does. :)

Oh well. So much for trying to offer the benefit of the doubt.

"A" for effort.

Huh. Missed that the first time around.

That's it. He's fired.

Perhaps UCSB has put ammunition on sale to allow the brothers of FIJI to shoot themselves in the foot a little more.

They're gone
 

FIJI Leaves I.V. Frat House
__Lack of New Pledges Prompted Move-Out, Property Manager Says
By Matt Dozier - Staff Writer
Friday, November 14, 2003
_

Jeff Howell / Daily Nexus
The Greek letters were removed from the FIJI house earlier this week in response to university disciplinary action.

_The Greek letters are down, the fraternity crest is gone and the house that was once home to the Santa Barbara chapter of Phi Gamma Delta - also known as FIJI - is all but empty.

In a lawsuit filed Sept. 24, Jason Belsky, a member of FIJI's Fall 2002 pledge class, accused the fraternity of hazing him and his fellow pledges during their pledging process. The university withdrew its recognition of FIJI in Spring 2003 as a result of hazing allegations and ordered the fraternity to remove its letters and crest from the front of its frat house and to cease all participation in greek functions and activities. FIJI is still allowed to participate in greek informational meetings.

As part of the disciplinary action taken against the fraternity, the university announced that there would be a four-year waiting period before any group could apply to operate under the name Phi Gamma Delta and this period would not begin until FIJI complied with all of the university's requests. Despite the university's orders, members of FIJI did not remove their fraternal emblems, which have remained in view at the frat house at 765 Embarcadero del Norte, for several months.

Dennis Emory, a representative of El Greco Investors, LLC, the group that owns the property, said the house has been FIJI's home since it was built in 1995. Now, the property has been deserted by all but a few tenants. Emory said he did not evict the fraternity from the house and that its members moved out on their own volition.

Emory said the reason most of FIJI moved out is because without an incoming pledge class they did not have enough members to fill the house, which was built to accommodate approximately 30 residents. Following their international chapter's request, FIJI did not hold a rush this Fall Quarter.

"They were good tenants, and they would still be living there if it weren't for the lawsuit," Emory said.

Emory said he had the fraternity's letters and crest removed earlier this week and he took down the fraternal symbols as part of the process of preparing the house for a new group of tenants.

"We are starting to think about [new tenants] right now," Emory said. "We're looking for a group to come in and take FIJI's place."

El Greco Investors is one of the defendants named in the suit, but the company is exempted from all charges except for "Negligence (Premises Liability)." Emory said he is not especially worried about the lawsuit, but that there is no way to predict who a judge might hold responsible.

"I don't think I did anything negligent," Emory said. "I feel badly that someone was damaged."

Joshua Finestone, president of the Interfraternity Council, said the lawsuit has been an "eye-opener" for the greek system.

"It shows us that we are not untouchable and we do need to follow the rules," Finestone said.

J. B. Goll, director of Chapter Services at FIJI International, said the UCSB FIJI chapter is still recognized by the international chapter even though it is no longer sanctioned by the university. The international chapter has put the local chapter on suspension. FIJI International is not currently working with the university to investigate the hazing allegations.

"Both parties are conducting separate investigations," Goll said.

Now that the FIJI house is nearly deserted, Emory said he was eager to pursue the idea of turning the property into an international house, which could provide students who come to Santa Barbara from foreign countries for three or four weeks at a time with a place to live. Such students might otherwise have trouble finding housing because many landlords want tenants to sign year-long leases.

"It would be nice if the university would take over the place and turn it into something like an international house for short-term students," Emory said.