Pledges burned, paddled, forced to drink urine among hazing allegations against some University of Maryland fraternities

BALTIMORE - The University of Maryland is still investigating allegations of life-threatening hazing and alcohol abuse at fraternities and sororities on the College Park campus. 

They include people being burned and assaulted and several taken to hospitals for alcohol poisoning. 

The alleged hazing led to a suspension of most social activities that has now been lifted.

Investigator Mike Hellgren is continuing to look into the allegations WJZ reported when they came to light Friday evening.

"I'm just flabbergasted that the University of Maryland can act like 'We solved it, back to business as usual,'" said Lucy Taylor, a former sorority member who says she endured abusive behavior. 

Her "Snapped" podcast has been downloaded more than 700,000 times. 

"At one of these events, a person was forced to drink straight vodka, and he passed out," Taylor told WJZ. "They did nothing to help him, and they hit him in the face with a plastic bat and poured beer on him until he woke up. In this instance, he could have died. We've seen across the country this same scenario play out, but someone dies."

That is just one of the allegations the Maryland attorney general's office laid out in court documents WJZ obtained. 

Others include two students who drank so much, ambulances had to be called to take them to hospitals. 

Students were allegedly spat on, burned with torches and cigarettes, forced to lay on nails, eat live fish, drink urine, endure beatings with paddles, and sustain physical assaults for hours while nude for public humiliation.

One anonymous student reported, "Being forced to attend a "Line Up" at which they abuse you for hours on end (5 in my experience) where they force you to wall sit, do push-ups, plank, intentionally harm oneself, be naked/in underwear for public humiliation, and be physically assaulted. At one of these events, one individual passed out as they refused to provide us with water and forced us to drink straight vodka and they did nothing to help him, in fact, they hit him in the face with a plastic bat and poured beer on him until he woke up."

One student was treated for possible hypothermia after being hazed outside in the cold for hours.

"When the mom wrote in to describe her son was forced to stand outside in the cold, members of that fraternity provided inconsistent and apparently false statements, so I'm wondering what will be different with this ongoing investigation?" Taylor asked.

The university produced records showing a 224% increase in Greek-letter members seeking counseling between January and February and a 36% rise in visits to the University Health Center. 

The school declined interviews and would not publicly detail specific allegations.

However, in court records, administrators described "allegations of widespread physical abuse and dangerous rituals, severe mental and emotional distress, financial exploitation and forced labor, drug and alcohol abuse, and a general atmosphere of fear and intimidation."

"It was very brave for whoever came forward, and I think that it's a rare occurrence for someone to report because of the culture of secrecy that they mention in court documents so it's clear that they are aware of this," Taylor said. 

The allegations first came to light because of a lawsuit the fraternities filed saying students' rights were violated because of a ban on social events involving alcohol and recruitment. Their spokesman criticized the suspension last week and insisted they want to hold people accountable. 

"We want to find out if we have a member who is not behaving appropriately or if we have a chapter that is not behaving appropriately so that we can address that, correct that, take punitive measures if we need to and move on," Wynn Smiley of the Fraternity Forward Coalition said on Thursday. 

Five chapters remain under investigation, and the university has interviewed more than 150 people as part of its investigation. 

They described the behavior as unlawful. Hazing is a misdemeanor in Maryland that carries a maximum of six months in jail. 

The University of Maryland announced last week they are taking the following actions:

• Fraternity and Sorority Life Working Group – We will assemble a working group of students, staff, faculty, and alumni to assess ways we can improve safety and well-being, and foster a culture of integrity and accountability.
• Training Review – We will conduct a comprehensive review of all existing IFC and PHA training programs on recruitment and alcohol-related activities to address gaps and reinforce healthy behaviors.
• Reporting – We will establish expanded reporting mechanisms for students, faculty, staff, families and alumni to share possible instances of hazing or other concerns in real time.
• Student Conduct – We will review the Code of Student Conduct, as it relates to hazing and alcohol-related incidents to align with best practices.
• Partnership and Communication – The Department of Fraternity and Sorority Life leadership will continue to identify ways to work and facilitate communication with chapter advisors and national organization leadership on matters related to our fraternity and sorority community.
• Alcohol and Other Drug Education – We will develop more comprehensive and evidence-based educational opportunities for all chapter members regarding alcohol and other drug use.