By JEFF AMY, Staff Reporter
Mobile Register
A number of members of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity
have been disciplined by the University of South Alabama because of their roles
in hazing
prospective members, fraternity adviser Lamar Odom said.
At least some of the members are appealing their punishments and are still enrolled at the school, Odom said.
A prospective member of the chapter
reported to university officials in early December that fraternity members were
physically abusing prospective
members, Odom and USA fraternity and sorority adviser Emily Ulmer said.
The disciplinary proceedings remain
cloaked in secrecy, in part because of federal law that bars the release of
a student's educational records
without that student's consent.
USA Dean of Students Tim Beard, who
hears disciplinary appeals, and other officials wouldn't say how many people
had been disciplined or what
sentences had been issued.
"I prefer not to say anything now because each of the students who are accused, their cases are still pending," Beard said.
USA policies allow its Undergraduate
Disciplinary Committee to assess penalties, including probation, a fine, community
service, suspension and
expulsion.
Odom said he didn't know how many students were disciplined. When asked if the students were expelled, he replied, "Not expelled. Suspended is the word I heard."
In addition, USA could take additional
action against the chapter. The chapter was indefinitely suspended on Dec. 9
in a letter signed by Ulmer,
but school officials could choose to expel the chapter permanently. Beard said
he expected a decision on the chapter within two weeks.
A Dec. 7 letter sent by regional
Kappa Alpha Psi leader Ronald E. Range said the reported violations included
"hazing" and "paddling, stroking" or
"indecent acts."
Ulmer said in the letter and again
Tuesday that the abuse is believed to have happened between the beginning of
the fall semester and early
December. She said Tuesday that she had no information about any hazing prior
to fall 2005.
Three USA fraternities have seen charges of hazing since 1994.USA suspended Sigma Alpha Epsilon in 1994 and Pi Kappa Alpha in 2000. Individual members of Sigma Chi faced university disciplinary action in 1996.
Beard said in December that a chapter member had been hospitalized, and USA officials were trying to determine if the hospitalization stemmed from hazing injuries. It's unclear what determination was made.
Interim USA police Chief Norman Gamache
said USA Police are not investigating because no victim has contacted police.
Beard and other USA
officials said in December that they were having difficulty getting students
to talk.
"Until the person who made the accusation comes down to talk to us, I don't have anything to go on," Gamache said.
Mobile County District Attorney John
Tyson's office is also not investigating, an office employee said. Hazing itself
is listed as a
misdemeanor in Alabama law, which means it would probably be prosecuted in Mobile
Municipal Court. But if the abuse was severe enough that a victim was hospitalized,
it's possible that prosecutors could bring felony charges.
Odom said the fraternity organization is still preparing a report. When it's complete, Range will decide on penalties. "It's his call," Odom said.
Range, who lives near Birmingham and oversees chapters in Alabama, Florida and the Bahamas, did not return a phone call Tuesday. A call to the Kappa Alpha Psi headquarters in Philadelphia also was not returned.
"It's my hope that it's an individual
and an isolated act," Odom said. "The fraternity as a whole still
has a no hazing policy -- zero tolerance to
hazing."
Jermaine Thomas, the student leader of the 18-member chapter, also declined comment, citing ongoing hearings.
The USA chapter, which can include members from other local colleges, was founded in 1974. Kappa Alpha Psi was the only historically black fraternity or sorority with its own house, but the chapter was ordered to vacate the Old Shell Road house in December.
Two of the fraternity members are
officers of USA's Student Government Association -- Vice President Will Lewis
and SGA Senate Pro Tem Jamion Burney.
SGA President Ellie Day had said that Lewis and Burney would be stepping down
because of the hazing scandal. However Day said Monday that
information was incorrect.
"I have been told at this moment they can continue on with their duties," Day said.
