Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

According to the Associated Press, Alpha Omicron Pi will pay more than $250,000 in refunds to students at the University of Washington under a consent decree announced by the Washington Attorney General’s Office. The office accused the sorority of violating emergency regulations by charging University of Washington members housing fees even as students couldn’t stay in the sorority’s house during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Although the…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Last week

The New York Times highlighted the conviction of five men on charges relating to the March 2021 hazing-related death of a 20-year-old Bowling Green State University student. The men, who are between the ages of 20 and 22, were among eight who were indicted in connection with the death of Stone Foltz, a sophomore who died due to hazing-induced alcohol poisoning at a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity initiation. Three of the men received jail sentences of up to…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

The Associated Press reports that police have issued arrest warrants charging 46 Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity members at the University of New Hampshire with student hazing, which is classified as a misdemeanor. Police said they investigated the hazing allegations involving new members of the SAE chapter house on April 13, and the warrants were issued June 7. The school was made aware of the incident by the fraternity national headquarters, and…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

Inside Higher Ed and KRON4 report that a group of Theta Delta Chi Fraternity alumni has filed a lawsuit against Stanford University, accusing administrators of “arbitrarily punishing the organization” after a fraternity member died from a drug overdose two years ago. The student, Eitan Weiner, died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity house in January 2020. In response to Weiner’s death, Stanford imposed a six-year…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

MLive reports Sigma Kappa and Theta Chi at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) have reached settlements with survivors of sexual assault, according to federal court records. The organizations were named in a pair of 2020 lawsuits that are now combined with 24 claims of sexual assault, as well as accusations EMU mishandled the cases. The lawsuit has been in mediation since early February, and Sigma Kappa and Theta Chi have been dismissed from the lawsuit…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

According to The Associated Press, former fraternity president Daylen Dunson has pled guilty in the hazing death of Bowling Green State University student Stone Foltz. Dunson pled guilty last Thursday to several charges, including reckless homicide, tampering with evidence, obstruction, and eight counts of misdemeanor hazing. The charges stem from the March 2021 death of Foltz, a sophomore from Delaware, Ohio. Dunson became the sixth person to plead…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

According to VT Digger and Inside Higher Ed, three Norwich University students are facing criminal charges following an investigation into allegations of branding and waterboarding involving female athletes at the military college in Vermont. One student is being charged with simple assault, one with reckless endangerment and one with both simple assault and reckless endangerment, police said. In addition, they and three other students are being…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

This week

Inside Higher Ed reports that according to recent trends and data from the Piazza Center, women are increasingly mixing alcohol and hazing, which often leads to more dangerous incidents. The article referenced two recent incidents as evidence of a brighter spotlight on hazing within women’s organizations. At Norwich University, a 22-year-old female student on the rugby team was found intoxicated and branded with pliers. Additionally, an incident at…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Independent (of the UK) reports that a recent University of Michigan graduate and social media content creator, Eli Rallo, “exposed” in a now-viral video how collegiate members of her former sorority, Sigma Kappa, ranked potential new members. In the video, Rallo reviews an old email that describes a ranking system in which potential new members were scored based on factors such as if they are “weird,” “average,” or “just nice.” Rallo has called the rankings…