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26 J.C. & U.L. 511 (1999-2000)
Dangerous Traditions: Hazing Rituals on Campus and University Liability

handle is hein.journals/jcolunly26 and id is 555 raw text is: DANGEROUS TRADITIONS: HAZING RITUALS ON CAMPUS AND UNIVERSITY LIABILITY JENNA MACLACHLAN* INTRODUCTION In 1945, at St. Louis University, a Phi Beta Pi Fraternity pledge named Robert Perry went up in flames and died when he was forced to lie naked on a table and receive shocks to his skin coated with flammable chemicals.' More recently, Michael Davis,2 Chuck Stenzel,3 Scott Krueger,4 Michael Nis- bet,5 Binaya Oja,6 Lurie Barry Ballou,7 Harold Thomas8 and Nicholas * B.A. SUNY Geneseo 1995; J.D. Notre Dame 1998. Ms. MacLachlan is an attorney in Syracuse, NY at the Law Offices of Thomas J. Lynch. Her practice consists of insurance defense for municipalities and school districts. The author would like to thank her husband, David, for his constant support and Professor John H. Robinson for his assistance during the draft stages of this article. 1. Jan Pudlow, Hazing Hangs Tough, Despite Efforts to Eradicate It, Tim RECORD (Bergen County, NJ), February 23, 1999, at E2. 2. Pledge, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at Southeast Missouri State University; died February 15, 1994 after repeated physical abuse by members of the fraternity. An autopsy revealed that Davis had broken ribs, a lacerated kidney, a lacerated liver, and bruises over his upper body. The cause of death was a subdural hematoma to the brain. See State v. Allen, 905 S.W.2d 874, 875 (Mo. 1995). 3. Pledge, Klan Alpine Fraternity at Alfred University; died February 24, 1978 after being forced into a car trunk with two other pledges to drink a pint of bourbon and a mixture of wine and beer. The autopsy revealed that Stenzel's knuckles were bruised, indicating that he had banged on the trunk in an attempt to get out. Eileen Stevens, Chuck Stenzel's mother, is the founder of the Committee to Halt Useless College Killings (CHUCK). Mrs. Stevens retired from CHUCK in November, 1998. See Steve Wick, In the Schools! Labor of Love and Loss! Mom's War on Hazing Comes to End, NEW YORK NEWSDAY, November 3, 1998, at A8. 4. Died 40 hours after collapsing at an Animal House party at the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity at MIT in the fall of 1997. Krueger's blood alcohol was five times the legal limit. See Andy Dabilis, MIT Student's Parents Discuss Death, Lawsuit, THE BOSTON GLOBE, January 18, 1999, at D6. 5. Initiate, St. Pat's Board, Inc. a campus organization at the University of Missouri at Rolla; died October 21, 1991. See Nisbet v. Bucher, 949 S.W.2d 111, 113 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997). 6. Pledge, Theta Chi Fraternity at Clarkson University; died February 9, 1997 when he aspirated his own vomit after a hazing ritual. See Oja v. Grand Chapter of Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc., 255 A.D.2d 781 (N.Y. App. Div. 1998); Court Allows Suit in Death of Fraternity Pledge, THE BUFFALO NEWS, November 20, 1998, at 18A. 7. Pledge, Sigma Nu Fraternity at the University of South Carolina; died on his Hell Night January 25, 1980 with a blood alcohol content (B.A.C.) of .46%. See Ballou v. Sigma Nu Fraternity, 352 S.E.2d 488, 491-92 (S.C. Ct. App. 1986). 8. Pledge, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Lamar University-Beaumont; died during a six-mile pledge run on the Lamar University track. See Thomas v. Lamar Univ.-Beau- mont, 830 S.W.2d 217, 218 (Tex. App. 1992).

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