USC (South Carolina) Hazing Incident

[Wolfman]

Six members of Phi Beta Sigma accused of attacking another student with bat; fraternity status suspended
Chelsea Hadaway
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: News
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Six USC students were arrested by the Lexington County Sheriff Department on Thursday for hazing charges that left another USC student in the hospital back in October.

Deputies arrested Brandon Bomar on Wednesday and later released him from the Lexington County Detention Center after he posted bond. Six other students turned themselves in on Thursday.

They each posted their $1,000 bond at the hearing Thursday afternoon and were released from the detention center late Thursday night.

They face a maximum punishment of one year in prison and a $500 fine for hazing charges, said Lexington County Sheriff James Metts.

The complainant, USC student Terry Hall, went to Riverbend Apartments near West Columbia on Oct. 9 as part of initiation into the fraternity.

According to the police report, he was blindfolded and hit more than 100 times and beaten with a metal baseball bat. He was taken to Palmetto Health Baptist Hospital.

Since then, the sheriff's department has been working to get information about who to charge in the hazing incident.

"It took a lot of time to get information out of fraternity members about who was present and who was involved in the hazing incident," said John Allard, a deputy with the Lexington County Sheriff's Department.

Phi Beta Sigma was suspended in October after the incident, but after the arrest on Wednesday, the fraternity is suspended from any activity until 2014.

Jerry Brewer, USC director of student life, said the procedure is for the university to contact the regional and national organization to let them decide how to handle the local chapter.

"When we got the official word [Wednesday night], we contacted their regional vice president and shared the info. And then he contacted the national president and the executive director," Brewer said.

The national chapter contacted USC on Thursday morning to let them know of their decision to suspend the fraternity for the next seven years.

"Phi Beta Sigma is a very well-established national organization," Brewer said. "Unfortunately the local members decided not to live up to the standards."

At the university's disciplinary level, the students will go through USC's judicial system to see what sanctions the university will enforce.

"The university sees hazing as a very, very serious matter. We have a zero tolerance policy," university spokesman Russ McKinney said.

Brewer said the university receives about six or seven inquiries about hazing every semester, but this is the first time criminal charges of this magnitude were brought against this many students.

"This is unprecedented at the University of South Carolina," Brewer said.

Representatives from Phi Beta Sigma declined to comment and representatives from Greek Life didn't return phone calls as of press time.



- News writer Carolyn Rumsey contributed to this story