University of Maryland students were burned with cigarettes, forced to lie on beds of nails and had to eat live FISH as part of brutal hazing, AG’s office says

Several fraternities at the University of Maryland have been accused of conducting brutal hazing ceremonies in which participants were burned with cigarettes and forced to lie on beds of nails.

The school lifted its blanket suspension of most Greek life organizations on Friday, following a weeks-long investigation into allegations of abuse at a handful of fraternities.

Although investigations into five Greek organizations are still ongoing WJZ.

The investigation began when the Office of Student Conduct received an anonymous report from a parent on Feb. 21, according to court documents.

The parent claimed their son was forced by his department to stay outside in the cold for hours, resulting in a trip to the University Health Center for suspected hypothermia.

He also had to clean chapter members’ off-campus homes and scrub floors until 2:30 a.m., according to the report.

In a letter to the community, Patty Perillo, vice president for student affairs (pictured), outlined the school’s next steps, which include developing “more comprehensive and evidence-based educational opportunities for all chapter members about alcohol and other drug use’.

Six days later, the office received another anonymous email claiming that multiple fraternities were engaging in hazing activities with new recruits, investigators said.

According to the news, new members were paddled, burned with cigarettes and torches and forced to lie on nails.

Students were also forced to consume non-food items such as live fish, chewing tobacco and urine, were spit on and forced to clean chapter members’ homes, court documents allege.

At one event, “one person fainted” and fraternity members “refused” to give water to potential members, according to the charges.

Instead, they were ‘forced’ to drink ‘pure vodka’ because they did nothing to help the unconscious student. Rather, “they hit him in the face with a plastic bat and poured beer on him until he woke up,” court documents show.

On March 1, the office received another anonymous message from the mother of a new fraternity member.

She alleged that her son’s chapter “locked new members in the basement and broke glass on the floor so the new members could clean up,” the documents say.

After reviewing data from the university’s health and counseling centers, the office determined that there was an increase in visits from chapter members during the month of February.

The school lifted the blanket suspension of most Greek life organizations on Friday, but five remain under investigation. Pictured: The McKeldin Library on the University of Maryland campus

Based on concerns about ‘Due to continued violations of the Code of Conduct regarding hazing and alcohol and drug use, the agency “determined that immediate action was warranted to prevent harm to the students of the university,” according to court documents.

Despite the lifting of the ban on Friday, five chapters are still under investigation. They have not been publicly named by the school, but court documents indicate Kappa Alpha Order is under investigation for allegations of hazing and alcohol abuse.

The other four fraternities were not identified in court documents, but Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Sigma Kappa, Sigma Nu and Zeta Beta Tau were the only Greek life organizations that were not cleared to resume activities on Friday, according to the university.

The embattled institution was also hit with a lawsuit by several fraternities who alleged that the school violated students’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights during its investigation.

But the The Maryland Attorney General’s office has filed a memorandum opposing the fraternities’ request for a temporary restraining order against school officials.

The agency argued that the university had “full authority under its Student Code of Conduct” to impose restrictions during an investigation into hazing and alcohol abuse, “which jeopardized the health and safety of its students.”

In a letter to the community, Vice President of Student Affairs Patty Perillo outlined the school’s next steps.

These include developing “more comprehensive and evidence-based education opportunities for all chapter members about alcohol and other drug use” and establishing reporting mechanisms “to share potential cases of hazing or other issues in real time.”

The embattled institution was also hit with a lawsuit by several fraternities who alleged that the school violated students’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights in its investigation. Pictured: Symon’s Hall in Maryland

Friday’s development came after the Fraternity Forward Coalition, a fraternity advocacy group, was called in to conduct interviews with members of the school’s Greek life organizations about the university’s investigation.

The organization claims that students’ phones were searched because they were “forced to participate in a meritless investigation” by administrators who threatened “disciplinary retaliation for noncompliance.”

After the ban was lifted, the group released another statement. “Finally, on the eve of spring break, the University of Maryland is doing the right thing,” it said.

“Unfortunately it took two weeks and the threat of a judge to do this. We are astounded by the school’s willingness to repeatedly violate the civil liberties of their students… and their own administrative procedures in pursuit of a meritless investigation.”

The group has vowed to continue lawsuits against school representatives.