StemCell Therapy

TUCSON, AZ A week after the University of Arizona in Tucson announced its withdrawal of recognition of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity on hazing charges, the U of A announced Wednesday its revocation of recognition of its Theta Chi fraternity, too, also on hazing charges.

While the specifics of the Alpha Epsilon Pi hazing case remain undisclosed by the university, Theta Chi's loss of recognition follows its Sept. 4 interim loss of recognition stemming from an alleged April 12 hazing incident that resulted in a $1 million lawsuit against the university.

The withdrawal of recognition of Theta Chi was explained in a Nov. 8 letter from U of A assistant dean of student accountability Rosanna Curti to the university's Theta Chi president, whose name is redacted in the letter provided to Patch Media. The letter references the notice of claim the U of A received from a new (and former) fraternity member regarding the alleged April 12 hazing circumstances.

What The Former Theta Chi New Member Alleges

The former Theta Chi member's amended notice of claim pertaining to the incident was published by KOLD near the end of October. The claimant's letter says that when he got to the Theta Chi house on April 12, three active fraternity members and the chapter's social chair took away the initiates' cell phones and ordered them to lie on the ground face down. An active member then picked up and slammed down the bodies and heads of some of the pledges, the letter states. Next, the pledges were forced to recite Theta Chi's creed while being choked by an active fraternity member, according to the letter.

The pledges were then reportedly asked to identify the chapter members' hometowns. The claimant said he gave the wrong answer and was shouted at in an effort to force him to drink a shot glass of hot sauce, which he hesitantly did. Then the claimant was asked the same question and said he couldn't remember. This time, the claimant said, a fraternity member filled a shot glass with an even hotter El Yucateco Habanero Sauce and flung it at the claimant's face from only a few inches away, and it got into the claimant's eyes.

The pledge's eyes were so intensely burning, the notice of claim says, that he couldn't stop screaming or stand up for a few seconds. He then went to the bathroom and washed his eyes for 15 minutes, then heard someone yell that he must get out of the bathroom in two minutes.

The lawyer's account continues by saying that the pledge's eyes were nearly closed shut from the persistent burning when he went back into a dark room. He was then ordered to do pushups alongside the other initiates. But when he got on the floor, he said, he felt scattered, broken glass shards. The active members commanded that the pledges continue to exercise while the members dumped odorous garbage near and underneath them, the account states. Active fraternity members didn't allow the initiates to return to their homes until about 5 a.m. the next day.

The claimant said he awoke to pus coming from his right eye and sharp pain, then went to an urgent care that morning. The doctor said that the claimant's right eye's selera, conjunctiva and lid were infected and had developed chemical conjunctivitis. He was given eyedrops.

On April 15, the claimant woke up screaming in the middle of the night, the attorney's notice said, with the claimant's right eye sealed with pus and swollen, and it couldn't be opened. This time, he went to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, where he was given morphine for extreme pain. He was also diagnosed with a blood infection resulting from cuts on his elbows and palms from the incident. He was given antibiotics.

Two days later, the claimant went to Hodges Eye Care and Surgical Center in Tucson. The vision in his right eye wasn't getting any better, and the optometrist said the claimant's right eye had swelling and dilated blood vessels of its conjunctiva. The right eye was also diagnosed with superficial punctate keratitis, which, according to merckmanuals.com, is "an eye disorder caused by death of small groups of cells on the surface of the cornea The eyes become red, watery, and sensitive to light, and vision may decrease somewhat." The claimant's right eye was also now deemed infected, and its cornea had a 100 percent epithelial defect, according to a doctor.

In mid-May, the claimant was still having eye symptoms, and his eyesight was measured at 20/150. A referred doctor said the claimant had an acid chemical burn. The claimant then underwent an amniotic membrane placement procedure in the right eye and had numerous follow-up appointments, the attorney said.

His attorney's claim letter states, "It is difficult to measure the damage that UA has done in failing to protect [claimant] from hazing. UA was or had reason to be aware of how vulnerable students are to physical, mental, and emotional harm in connection with hazing activity. UA failed to provide adequate supervision of the pledging process and failed to be properly vigilant in seeing that supervision was sufficient to ensure the safety of students."

The notice of claim also says the claimant's eyesight is still blurred and that it isn't known if the damage is permanent. Additionally, a corneal scar tissue removal procedure was recommended.

What's In the U Of A's Letter To Theta Chi's President?

Curti's Nov. 8 letter to Theta Chi's president states she has finished her investigation of the hazing allegations pertaining to the April 12 incident as described in a notice of claim from the pledge's lawyer. Curti also refers to an Oct. 10 administrative hearing and reiterates what her letter's redacted addressee, as Theta Chi's president, said at the hearing:

Curti also reiterates that when she inquired about the claimant, the president said the claimant shared some information with him in early May pertaining to the April 12 incident, including that the claimant said hot sauce got on his face and he had rubbed it into his own eye unintentionally. The president also said the claimant told him he had to get his eye examined at the hospital after the incident. The president also reported that the claimant downplayed his eye injury's significance and continued to pay dues and was actively participating in Theta Chi.

The fraternity's president additionally said at the October hearing that a Theta Chi judicial board meeting was scheduled in May 2019 but that no action resulted from it. Curti said in her letter to him, "This was, what you described as a point of desperation due to one of the responsible members being the social chair."

The April 12 alleged hazing incident wasn't reported to the university's Dean of Students by the fraternity president right away, Curti wrote, because he didn't think it was "that big of a deal." However, the president did work with the fraternity's parent organization in August once the fraternity learned more details.

Curti says that her investigation included talking with other new members present at the April 12 incident and with fraternity members who were said to have organized the event. Those there that night told Curti that new members had to repeat the Theta Chi creed many times, and that the claimant didn't accurately state the creed. This resulted in hot sauce in a Dixie cup being thrown at a nearby wall and splashing on the claimant's face close to his eye. Those in attendance then said the same thing the president did that the claimant rubbed it into his own eye.

The letter from Curti then states:

"In making a determination in this matter, I considered all of the relevant information gathered by the Dean of Students Office, including:

The fraternity was deemed, therefore, to have violated various hazing codes of conduct, Curti reported. The U of A's revocation of recognition of Theta Chi is in effect through May 31, 2025. That means the organization can't take part in university-sponsored events and no longer has access to U of A's resources and facilities.

This isn't the first time the U of A has withdrawn recognition of its Theta Chi fraternity on hazing allegations, however: It was also shut down in May 2015, the Arizona Daily Independent reported.

However, it might not be the end of the road for Theta Chi just yet. Curti's letter ends with a ray of hope for Theta Chi fraternity members:

"Should Theta Chi present a viable plan to return to recolonize at the UA, a request can be made to the Dean of Students Office and Fraternity and Sorority Programs (FSP). Any mitigating or aggravating factors present from the date of this notice to the time of the request to recolonize will be considered. Theta Chi must be in good standing with FSP including payment of any outstanding fees.

"Theta Chi may appeal the sanction of loss of recognition to the University Hearing Board by filing a written request for appeal with the Dean of Students Office."

But Curti also concludes with a warning to the Theta Chi president:

"I also emphasize the importance of not taking any action that might be construed as retaliatory. The University prohibits retaliation of any kind against anyone who has made a discrimination claim or cooperated in a resulting investigation."

Meanwhile, the U of A continues to assert its claim of enforcing a "zero-zolerance hazing policy."

The university's Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kendal Washington White expressed her approval of the revocation of Theta Chi's recognition. "I am pleased that the Theta Chi Fraternity's board of directors and national leaders recognized the need to revoke the charter of the Arizona chapter," she said. "Greek-letter organizations provide brotherhood, scholarship, leadership, philanthropy and community service; however, it is imperative that we ensure the health and safety of our students. Unfortunately, the actions of a few mean a lost opportunity for the other young men who sought a brotherhood."

To thwart hazing and bring it into the light, the U of A offers a hazing reporting hotline and a Greek organization listing, showing students and parents which sororities and fraternities are being investigated or are under sanction. The list is updated every semester.

Originally posted here:
U Of A Withdraws Recognition Of Second Fraternity: Theta Chi - Patch.com

This entry was posted on November 22, 2019 at 5:51 pm and is filed under Eye Sight & Vision. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |