9 Shitty Things Fraternities Have Done In 2015

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1. Fraternity members kidnap and beat up man before stuffing him into the trunk of a car

On November 4th, local police responded to an incident where seven fraternity members in West Virginia University’s chapter of Phi Gamma Delta kidnaped and beat up a helpless man before shoving him into the trunk of a car as a “prank.”

Witnesses say that the brothers restrained the man with duct-tape before forcing him into the trunk. The students will be charged with disorderly conduct in criminal court.

https://twitter.com/onehitweasel/status/662680548989517824

Incidentally, all greek life was officially suspended at WVU last year after 18-year-old Nolan Burch died two days after a “catastrophic medical emergency” incurred during a Kappa Sigma pledge event. Maybe WVU should just consider suspending greek life again — this time for good.

2. Brothers don’t just party, they can sing too!

Last March the University of Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was in the news after a video of some brothers singing a blatantly racist song went viral:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O79I9GoLe0

“There will never be a n***er SAE, there will never be a n***er SAE. You can hang him from a tree, but he’ll never sign with me, there’ll never be a n***ger SAE.”

The lyrics suggested that the members would rather lynch an African American than admit one to SAE, and it was met with outrage on social media and, well, everywhere else too. The chapter was shuttered by the national organization, and two students were expelled from the University.

An investigation by the University of Oklahoma’s Department of Student Affairs found that the chant had not randomly developed in isolation at OU, but rather, had been taught to brothers while at a national SAE conference:

3. “White girls only” party

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at Yale University has been under fire recently for allegedly denying entry to girls of color because the frat was “only looking for white girls.”

The chapter vehemently denies the claim, and both the University and national organization are investigating the allegations. Below is one of the original social media posts that triggered the outrage:

While Neema has since revised her initial story, leading some to doubt it’s authenticity, there have been half a dozen additional comments of other people sharing their equally terrible experiences with Yale SAE.

The kicker? This chapter of SAE isn’t even officially affiliated with Yale University at the moment due to violations of the school’s sexual misconduct policy “during an initiation ceremony.”

4.  Pending suit claims fraternity stood by while girl was assaulted

A case that is working its way through the court system claims a fraternity turned a blind eye, and perhaps aided, a brother in sexually assaulting a University of Tennessee girl.

The alleged assailant was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. The whole thing began before a fraternity party, when the brother in question texted his ex-girlfriend to brag that he was going to get back at her by having sex with her friend, who he was bringing as a date to the party.

He had a pledge in the fraternity drive them to the event. The pledge offered both he and the girl alcohol multiple times, which the girl consistently declined. Once they got to the party, fraternity members forced her to drink, and circled around them chanting, “F*ck her! She doesn’t care!”. At some point in the evening, the man brought the girl into the bathroom and sexually assaulted her, breaking one of her teeth in the process.

The man then transported the girl back to her dorm room, where she threw up from over consumption, and took a picture of her that he sent to his ex, saying that “we had sex, and it was great.”

The legalisms of this case have been especially messy, in part, because of suspicions that not all the relevant evidence was passed on to the correct authorities.

Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity, or PIKE, claims that there are “factual misrepresentations” in the suit.

5. Oh look, another fraternity that can sing!

Maybe the Acacia fraternity at Ohio University was getting worried that people were starting to think SAE was the only frat that could sing, when they decided to give a sexist serenade to the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

https://twitter.com/ohitchcock/status/659551615809167360

The video was originally recorded and reported on by OU senior, Olivia Hitchcock, who saw and heard the musical number on her way back from the library.

Kate, a student at Ohio University, told Thought Catalog:

It was disrespectful to the sorority, and it’s an embarrassment to our school. The fraternities represent our school and the fact that they did something like that only furthers the bad opinions of our school that many people have.

Shit like this also just contributes to the objectification of women and rape culture on campus. Indeed, perhaps unsurprisingly, a 2014 Change.org petition called for the OU chapter of Acacia to be banned due to numerous accusations of drugging women and rape associated with the organization and its members.

6. Weird-ass graveyard ritual = assault

Four members of the Johnson C. Smith University’s Omega Psi Phi fraternity were found guilty of simple assault after a prospective member reported their bizarre pledging process as hazing.

The 20-year-old victim told about how a large part of the pledging process was going to cemeteries, as well as other locations, and getting hit over and over again with wooden paddles.

The injuries from the assaults got so bad that the victim had to be hospitalized.

7. Not what you would typically think of as “Greek art”

Ya know, with all the media attention given this year to dumbass signs hung from buildings by dumbass students, you would think we would have all learned something by now.

Nah, bro.

In a sad attempt to goad Alabama Crimson head coach Nick Saban, this sign was hung by a Texas A&M fraternity in reference to Saban’s daughter, Kristen.

Like, is there anyway this isn’t completely tasteless?

8. Cocky frat bros try to steal donkey statue, beat the shit out of the guy who tries to stop them.

Five University of Mississippi in Pi Kappa Alpha were arrested on assault charges after beating up a member of a rival fraternity.

The five students were attempting to steal a donkey statute from the rival frat, when Jeremy Boyle — a member of said rival — attempted to stop them. In the altercation that followed, Boyle suffered a concussion, broken teeth, a ruptured eardrum, and lung contusion.

The mug shots of the students are particularly disturbing, as the boys grin ear-to-ear only hours after beating an outnumbered student to an “inch of his life.”

While the incident includes five guys from one frat trying to steal property of another frat, the fraternities insist the altercation had no connection to them, and have expelled all five from their ranks.

9. Frat takes its obscenity to the internet

The Kappa Delta Rho (KDR) chapter at Penn State insists that they were just using their Facebook group called “Covert Business Transactions” as a communication medium for their organization. However, it was a communication medium was riddled with photos of naked, unconscious women, with comments on them like: “banged her lol,” and “Lol delete these photos or we’ll be on cnn in a week.”

The scandal exploded in the media last March, and the brothers honestly seemed to struggle with what they did wrong.

Philly Mag: You said the page was funny. What was funny about it?

KDR member: It’s not funny. Funny’s not always the right word. It’s satire. There’s a certain stereotypical Greek life culture and, as you see in movies, people try to live up to that and people try to kind of incorporate those elements, but it’s like, you know what Snapchat is?

Philly Mag: Yes.

KDR member: Yeah, like you get a Snapchat, and people send like raunchy Snapchats all the time. … It’s not a malicious type of thing …It’s like, yeah, girls pass out or fall asleep all the time and somebody takes a Snapchat or picture and, like, it’s not that it’s funny. But it’s just satire. (Source)

I…don’t think this kid understands what “satire” is.

New evidence has since come forward that the chapter funded itself by selling prescription drugs, and engaged in intense hazing behaviors, like forcing pledges to drink alcohol mixed with hot sauce and urine.

By the end of the investigation, 38 brothers were expelled from the fraternity and Kappa Delta Rho was suspended from Penn State for at least three years.