Miami University suspends fraternity accused of beating new recruits with paddles, canes

A fraternity at Miami University was dealt a 15-year suspension last week after some of its current members and alumni were accused of physically beating and verbally abusing four new recruits.

In a letter issued to the fraternity on April 11, Jayne Brownell, the senior vice president for student life, outlined her decision to suspend the school’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi until March 15, 2040, for “hazing and endangering health and safety” during the fall of 2024.

Wesley Highley, associate director of the Office of Community Standards, initially banned the fraternity permanently following a hearing on March 6. However, Brownell modified the sanction, reducing it to 15 years after fraternity leaders appealed the permanent ban.

While Brownell agreed the original permanent ban was “unprecedented,” she said a case this serious requires significant disciplinary action and a lengthy timeframe of punishment, especially because alumni were involved.

“Our hope is by that time, the alumni from Miami will no longer be an influence on the culture for a recolonization,” Brownell said in the letter, adding that the university noticed a “troubling pattern” with Kappa Alpha Psi, which had already been on probation since 2022 for similar conduct.

“There may be a time when Kappa Alpha Psi could become a thriving chapter after a long enough period of time has passed to erase this culture,” she added.

Under the suspension from Miami University, the fraternity “forfeits all the rights and privileges afforded to them by University policy,” Brownell’s letter states. Should the fraternity petition to be reinstated by Miami University after its suspension expires, it may have to undergo a schedule of mandatory anti-hazing education, the letter adds.

The Enquirer reached out to the International Headquarters of Kappa Alpha Psi Inc. to request comment on the suspension but has yet to receive a response.

What the victim’s attorneys say happened

Merriman Legal LLC, a law firm based in Cleveland, represented one of the four hazing victims during the university’s disciplinary process.

In a news release last month, the firm claimed its client, a junior at Miami University, and three other students, who were seeking Kappa Alpha Psi membership, were beat with paddles and canes during “nightly hazing rituals” at their campus apartment.

Lead attorney Tom Merriman also told The Enquirer that there were at least two occasions where fraternity alumni members beat the students during “unauthorized meetings” at a house in the Dayton area. Merriman claims these alumni members are the same ones who were involved in the fraternity’s 2022 hazing incident, which resulted in them being placed on probation.

During the disciplinary hearings in February and March, the law firm’s client testified that he was beaten with paddles and canes up to 60 times a night, was forced to perform wall sits and was subjected to constant verbal humiliation during hazing sessions that would often last past 3 a.m.

Additionally, according to the release, the initiates were punished for failing to recite fraternity-related information on command, making eye contact with members or stepping on grass.

The hazing lasted from late August to early October, and by the end of it, the law firm’s client had “endured five weeks of beatings, sleep deprivation, and psychological manipulation,” the release said. Merriman told The Enquirer his client was a “shell of himself” and in a “catatonic” state.

Merriman added that it was their client’s girlfriend who first called his mother to express concern about his well-being. The mother then filed a complaint with the university, which kicked off the investigation into the case.

Has anyone been arrested?

A Miami University spokesperson told The Enquirer that “anytime someone uses the university’s reporting form for hazing, Miami police are notified.”

The Enquirer has reached out to Miami University police, Oxford police and Dayton police to determine if any arrests have been reported, or if those involved in the hazings have been criminally charged, but no responses have been received.

Hazing of any kind is illegal and strictly prohibited at Miami University, according to the school’s website.

“Miami seeks to promote a safe environment where students may participate in activities and organizations without compromising their health, safety, or welfare,” the website says.

In Ohio, Collin’s Law makes general hazing a misdemeanor and any hazing involving drugs or alcohol a third-degree felony. Those kinds of felonies in Ohio typically carry sentences of nine to 36 months and up to $10,000 in fines.

Failing to report a hazing offense with physical harm is a misdemeanor itself, carrying a possible sentence of up to six months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.

The law is named in honor of Collin Wiant, an 18-year-old freshman who died at Ohio University during a hazing ritual in 2018.

Collin’s Law and Miami’s policy defines hazing as doing, requiring, encouraging or coercing another, including the victim, to do:

• any act of initiation into any student organization or other university-sanctioned organization or athletic team; or

• any act to continue or reinstate membership in or affiliation with any student organization or other university-sanctioned organization or athletic team

The law requires the act cause or create a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person, including coercing another to consume alcohol or another drug.

History of Kappa Alpha Psi

Kappa Alpha Psi is a historically Black fraternity that was founded in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1991, according to its national website. The Khaotik Kappa Delta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi was chartered on Miami University’s campus in 1980, according to the school’s website.

“Since then, the Kappa Delta chapter has done many successful programs on campus including, but not limited to a commemorative 40 mile walk to celebrate the Underground Railroad, annual panels for freshman to gain an understanding of life in college, and much more,” the website says.

Two fraternities suspended for hazing this year

Kappa Alpha Psi is the second fraternity at Miami University to be suspended this year after being accused of hazing.

In February, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was suspended after the school opened an investigation into a hazing report that alleges new members were forced to ingest chewing tobacco, perform wall sits covered in baby oil and other “inhumane” activities.

Enquirer reporters David Ferrara contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Miami University suspends Kappa Alpha Psi amid reports of hazing