On Friday, Sep. 27, Florida State University officials confirmed the interim suspension of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity after some troubling hazing allegations. This decision followed in the footsteps of Delta Tau Delta’s national organization, who also suspended the fraternity chapter following the allegations. FSU police were called in to investigate the claims, which were reported to FSU by a residence hall adviser after speaking with a student who was pledging.
According to the Tallahassee Democrat, the unidentified student told the adviser that he was“thinking about dropping,” and that the fraternity members were making him do things that were “against [his] morals.” The student then added that the president of Delta Tau Delta had him “choked out” when he answered a question incorrectly, and explained that other pledges were experiencing far worse.
According to a statement from the Delta Tau Delta national office, “The headquarters office of Delta Tau Delta is working with Florida State University, students and local alumni to investigate a possible violation of the fraternity’s risk management policy. The fraternity will have no further comment until the investigation is complete.”
However, FSU police have been unable to confirm the legitimacy of these violent claims. When interviewing the witness, police found that the student retracted his original statement, claiming that the hazing “never happened to him.” The student went on to explain that he decided to drop the fraternity due to losing sleep and falling grades, not due to any hazing. He refused to disclose any details regarding a chapter meeting he had attended in the previous week.
As of Oct. 6, FSU police have officially closed the investigation against Delta Tau Delta, after not being able to substantiate any of the hazing allegations. It is unclear whether or not the fraternity’s national organization will lift their suspension anytime soon, despite the claims being unclear. The fraternity currently has 91 active members and 12 new pledges, and chapter president Omeed Farajzadeh could not be reached for comment. The suspension will not remove chapter members living in the fraternity house but will prevent them from operating on FSU’s campus and holding any activities or events.
Delta Tau Delta isn’t the only FSU fraternity in hot water as of recent weeks. On Sep. 27, Sigma Alpha Epsilon was suspended for an alcohol violation, and Phi Kappa Tau followed soon after with allegations of hazing. All three fraternity chapters have also been suspended indefinitely by their national organizations.
Courtesy: FSU
These suspensions come in the wake of Andrew’s Law, named after former FSU student Andrew Coffey, who passed away in the fall of 2017 following an alcohol overdose at a fraternity party. This law came into effect in the state of Florida on Oct. 1, and grants immunity to the first person to call 9-1-1 or provide assistance to a hazing victim while waiting for help to arrive. As of right now, it is unclear whether the three FSU fraternities will have their suspension lifted anytime soon. As for hazing in general, FSU President John Thrasher seems to be setting a firm standard when it comes to cracking down on Greek life activities.
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