Zeta Psi, U Wash.: ditto

[hoosier]

UW Fraternity Investigated After Hazing Complaint

February 25, 2005
_
By Kevin Reece

SEATTLE - The Zeta Psi fraternity is under investigation at the University of Washington for allegedly kicking three members out of the house when they complained about hazing.

The UW Interfraternity Council held a hearing Wednesday to address the complaints. Three former members say they were asked to leave the house when they began to complain last November.

"It was on a dangerous level," said sophomore Justin Muhlbeier about one incident where he claims a pledge was coerced to drink large amounts of alcohol. His accusations of hazing also included forced two-hour cleaning sessions in the frat house kitchen and exercise sessions with spit covering the floor.

"Well, they'd been smoking in there so it was really cloudy and smoky to begin with but there was spit all over the floor" as they were forced to do pushups Muhlbeier said. "They call it work week. It's truly just a hell week. You don't get to sleep you only get to eat when they tell you you can eat."

"And their actual response to that would be it's not really hazing. You've got to understand what we're doing isn't really that bad," he says he was told by the house leaders.

In a written statement the president of the local house denied Muhlbeier's claims.

"None of our members have ever been or will ever be kicked out for taking a stand against hazing," wrote William Hoff. "We do not support or condone hazing of any kind. Our status with the University and the IFC is pending appeal and we are confident that these appeals will allow the full truth to be shed on these charges."

The Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs at the university says no action has been taken. They have not yet received a report or recommendation from the UW Interfraternity Council.

The university web site lists the fraternity's "recognition status" as "pending."

More serious allegations did result in sanctions against another UW fraternity last year. The UW lists the recognition status of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity as "suspended" as of November for alcohol and hazing violations.

The Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity is nearing the end of a one year probation also for hazing violations. Two other houses, Delta Chi and Delta Tau Delta, received reprimands just last month for incidents of underage drinking.

[kdonline]

This was the top story on the 11pm news last night, here in Seattle.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by kdonline
This was the top story on the 11pm news last night, here in Seattle.

Must have been a slow news day.

[mmcat]

ditto slow news day.
but it sounds like they aren't the only one.

[Tom Earp]

Whether is was a slow news day or not, if it is true, then there in lies the problem!

I always wonder, if these young men are acceptable to become New Associates, then why belittle and debase them?

If they do become Members, will they just keep doing the very same thing with "I did it attitude"?

[SmartBlondeGPhB]

It's funny though because everything they said they had to go through as pledges sounds just like the stories my ex-bf told me about what his fraternity (also at the UW) did to their pledges.

[exlurker]

Update: More Details on Alleged Zeta Psi Hazing at U. of Washington

The May 19, 2005 student paper has a story with more details about the hazing allegations:

http://thedaily.washington.edu/news....=13222&-search

The paper has an "extra" (in PDF) that's apparently a copy of a university memo generated during the investigation:

http://www.thedaily.washington.edu/d...llegations.pdf

[hoosier]

Details on alleged fraternity hazing released by UW

Brian Turner
2005-05-19
Sanding a wood table for hours on end and imitating sexual acts on a banana were part of long list of alleged hazing activities at the Zeta Psi fraternity, according to documents recently released by the UW.
The fraternity was sanctioned this spring by the University and a fraternity governance board for hazing incoming members, known as pledges.
But documents released Tuesday suggest this to be the worst case of hazing brought to light at the UW since Delta Kappa Epsilon found itself in a wrongful death lawsuit seven years ago.
Based on interviews with three former members who went through the fraternity's initiation process, the University compiled a list of events alleged to have occurred within the fraternity during 2003 and 2004.
The members, two sophomores and a junior, were evicted from the house after they reported hazing to University officials in early November.
"I don't know of anything to compare it to, but as far as most people's understanding, it was pretty severe," said sophomore Kyle Thompson, one of the former members who reported the hazing. "It's beyond anything qualified as normal."
Some of the activities described by the three former members include:
? Older Zeta Psi fraternity members tore apart the kitchen and defecated and urinated on the porch where the pledges slept. The pledges could not go to sleep until the kitchen and sleeping porch were cleaned.
? The fraternity organized several "sneaks" throughout autumn quarter of 2003. In one such "sneak," members would spit tobacco juice and dump cigarette ash on the floor. The pledges lowered themselves to a push-up position and held steady for 30 seconds to a minute. In another "sneak," the members sprayed Ajax cleaner in bathrooms around the house. The pledges were forced on their hands and scrubbed with a steel wool pad for up to five hours.
? Pledges also went through a "Big Sis" initiation in autumn of 2004. For the initiation, sorority members from various houses were invited to the house. Pledges were taken downstairs, blindfolded and coerced to drink alcohol. Some pledges drank an entire fifth of alcohol. While blindfolded, the pledges put a banana between a person's legs and sucked on the banana. Chocolate syrup and honey were poured onto the stomach of a pledge and another pledge was forced to lick it off.
In Washington State, hazing is a crime.
Members of the fraternity have not denied that many of the activities described by the former members occurred, but they dispute that it was hazing.
John Sheppard, the fraternity's alumni advisery board president between 2000 and 2004, was reached yesterday but declined to comment.
The fraternity's current alumni president, Rob Carlisle, did not return a phone call yesterday.
Mark Gwaltney, former president of the fraternity's alumni advisery board, said he was shocked when fraternity members told him about the activities. He said he approached current alumni board members, but was rebuked and members threatened to pull his membership.
Gwaltney reported hazing to the UW Nov. 9 of last year, and the three whistleblowers followed suit.
"[The fraternity] pushed the envelope to the edge," said Gwaltney, a 1980 graduate. "It's the good grace of God that no one died."
The documents released by the UW through public records laws also detail "Work Week" -- the brutish four days that 16 pledges endured before the fraternity's initiation in January 2004.
Between Wednesday, Jan. 7 and the following Friday night, pledges slept for an estimated five hours. The pledges were confined to sleep in a small weight room. While still in their clothes, shoes and wearing knee pads, the pledges had to sleep on top of one another because the room was so small.
During "Work Week," breakfast was a piece of toast with ketchup. At lunch, the pledges had one minute to eat as many tacos as possible.
A severe part of the week was "Idiot Central." For this assignment, the large wood tables from the dining room were taken apart and the pledges were given a wood block with sandpaper. The sandpaper was held by hand to the wood block and the pledges had to sand the table. The sanding lasted so long that some pledges got blisters that were later covered with duct tape.
After dinner Friday night, each pledge was taken into the kitchen and hosed off with the dishwashing sprayer. Then the pledges were sent outside soaking wet to wait in the winter night. The pledges couldn't come in until each pledge finished the process.
Throughout Friday and Saturday, the pledges were periodically relieved of their cleaning duties only to be taken to "Hell." When taken to Hell -- the fraternity's darkened laundry room -- the pledges were forced to do wall sits while holding out one-gallon jugs of water in each hand.
The following Wednesday, the pledges each wrote a heartfelt letter to a fraternity member. The next night, the older members read the letter in front of the chapter. The letters, however, were altered so the pledge appeared gay. The chapter would yell, "We don't initiate fags!"
Zeta Psi is on suspension by the UW and the Interfraternity Council until Sept. 27. The sanctions will limit the fraternity's ability to recruit new members, ban them from Greek-sponsored events, and force them to revamp their pledge program.

[m0rgan]

Several fraternaties at the UW have had hazing and alcohol violations. Only one sorority has recently, Pi Beta Phi. Does anyone have any details about what Pi Beta Phi did? They're on probation for the rest of the year.

I'm getting this info from:

http://depts.washington.edu/ovpsa/greek/fratstat.html
http://depts.washington.edu/ovpsa/greek/sorstat.html

[exlurker]

Originally posted by m0rgan
Several fraternaties at the UW have had hazing and alcohol violations. Only one sorority has recently, Pi Beta Phi. Does anyone have any details about what Pi Beta Phi did? They're on probation for the rest of the year.

I'm getting this info from:

http://depts.washington.edu/ovpsa/greek/fratstat.html
http://depts.washington.edu/ovpsa/greek/sorstat.html

m0rgan, see this thread:

http://forums.greekchat.com/gcforums...on+beta+phi%2A

[m0rgan]

Originally posted by exlurker
m0rgan, see this thread:

http://forums.greekchat.com/gcforums...on+beta+phi%2A

Thank you!