South Carolina Phi Beta Sigma chapter suspended

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USC suspends fraternity after report of hazing
By LEE HIGGINS
lhiggins@thestate.com
The USC chapter of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity was suspended this week after the university received information about possible hazing at an off-campus apartment, according to USC spokesman Russ McKinney.

Terry Hall, 20, a USC junior, was punched in the head and stomach, hit with a baseball bat in the toes and paddled in the buttocks and back of the legs for hours while pledging the fraternity at a West Columbia apartment late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, Hall said.

Five pledges were lined up and questioned by fraternity brothers about fraternity history and beaten whether they provided correct answers or not, Hall said.

“It went too far,” he said. “I don’t feel that’s brotherhood. Brotherhood is not beating someone down. If that’s brotherhood, I don’t want it.”

Hall sustained bruises to his upper arms, chest, feet, back and buttocks during the incident at an apartment at 100 Riverbend Drive, according to a report from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

Hazing is illegal and not tolerated by the university, according to McKinney. The fraternity has been suspended indefinitely, meaning members cannot participate in any campus activities other than going to class, according to McKinney.

The university’s division of student affairs and law enforcement are investigating, McKinney said.

“We want to talk to all the students that have allegedly been involved,” he said.

Attempts to reach the fraternity president were unsuccessful. There was no answer at the fraternity’s international headquarters late Thursday.

The incident is under investigation and was “definitely an aggravated assault,” but it’s not clear yet whether it fits the hazing law, according to Lexington County Sheriff James Metts.

Along with pledges, about 15 fraternity brothers were there, Hall said.

About 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, Hall said, his shirt was torn and he was blindfolded with a piece of it and later punched in the stomach so hard he couldn’t breathe.

“I couldn’t breathe at all, and I was shaking severely, and they thought I was just playing around,” he said.

Hall has a history of seizures, which he told fraternity brothers about, when they stopped, he said.

He estimates he was punched 60 times during the night.

After the incident, Hall was driven by a fraternity brother to his off-campus apartment in Columbia, where he collapsed, he said.

Hall was later taken by his uncle to Palmetto Health Richland, treated and released. He was evaluated again at Palmetto Health Baptist and released.

Hall, who is at his home in Charleston, is a media arts major and aspiring hip-hop artist. He has not returned to school. Hall is unable to drive and can hardly move his arms, he said.

“It’s unfortunate that now I can’t pledge or be a member because of someone else’s ignorance or definition of manhood,” he said.