Miss America Kira Kazantsev Admits She Was Forced Out Of Hofstra Sorority
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Miss America Kira Kazantsev said Tuesday that she was removed from her college sorority over a letter that made light of hazing, but she denied a report that she was involved in aggressively hazing fellow students.
The website Jezebel reported Monday, based on an anonymous source, that Kazantsev was involved with aggressively hazing pledges.
Kazantsev denied the report on "Good Morning America" and elaborated about her sorority termination in a blog she wrote entitled "The Reality Of Miss America."
"I was never involved with any name-calling or use of profanity toward a girl during my time with the sorority," Kazantsev said. "I was never involved in any physical hazing or any degradation of physical appearance of any kind. This has all been immensely taken out of context and manipulated purposefully because I am now in a public position."
Kazantsev, 23, says she was hazed herself as a pledge and that she took part in some hazing activities. She had been in charge of the sorority's recruitment committee.
"Everyone wants to be a part of something," she said. "At that time, unfortunately, that was just the culture of the university. I was hazed. I was brought up through the organization thinking that was appropriate behavior."
She said the hazing included being forced to stand in line, reciting information and sleepless nights crafting "menial tasks."
"When I was a senior, as one of the older sisters in the sorority, I was asked by a new member educator at the time to send an email to alumni asking them to attend an event," Kazantsev said. "In the email, I joked that we could make the evening scary for the pledges. That statement was a joke – we never intended to actually engage in the wrongful behavior that I have been accused of – and the alumni event I spoke of never came to fruition anyway. But this is when I learned a very important communications lesson that will stick with me for life. The email was forwarded by someone to the national organization. Based on that information, the national office summoned me for a judiciary hearing. At the time, it was the end of the school year. Finals, graduation, and moving to New York City were at the forefront of my concerns. Based on the fact that I did not attend this hearing that was the official reason given for my termination."The Miss America organization says that Kazantsev was open with them about being terminated from the sorority.
Kazantsev's pageant causes included preventing domestic violence and eliminating sexual assaults in the military.
In regard to domestic violence, Kazantev wrote "I was one of those girls who fell victim not only to the abuse of an intimate partner but the abuse of people who I thought were my friends."
A Hofstra spokeswoman said the university doesn't comment on or confirm the existence of any student conduct proceedings due to student privacy laws. A spokeswoman for Alpha Phi confirmed that Kazantsev is a former member of the sorority, but said that its privacy policy doesn't allow it to comment on details related to membership status changes.
Earlier this month, Kazantsev became the third consecutive Miss New York to win the pageant. She became an Internet viral video sensation after singing Pharrell Williams' "Happy" while sitting cross-legged and banging a red plastic cup on the floor during the talent competition.
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)