Citizen Crime Watch Blog

EDITORIAL: Harder look at Pi Kappa Alpha
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Tulane University moved quickly to revoke the charter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity after a hazing incident in April that left two pledges seriously injured and led to the arrest of 10 students this week. …

Colleges and universities cannot tolerate organizations that engage in such harmful activities. But unfortunately, Tulane didn’t respond with the same alacrity to an earlier complaint about Pike, as the fraternity is commonly called.

In 2006, Tulane’s student government group wrote a letter to the administration asking that it investigate the fraternity. The letter was prompted by complaints from several young women who said that they had been drugged and possibly raped at an annual Pike party called “Saturate.”

The fraternity did get into some trouble that year. Tulane officials said that Pike was found to be in violation of the Code of Student Conduct in 2006 and was subjected to sanctions, including temporary suspension.

But the university has acknowledged that it received the letter from the student government association after those events and did not answer it. “Apparently, there was no response from Tulane to this letter, which we regret,” the university said in a statement.

Tulane officials need to find out what went wrong in 2006 and make sure that no subsequent complaints were given similarly short shrift.

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Frat’s reputation is hardly brotherly
Allegations include drugging, sex assaults
Thursday, May 08, 2008
By Brendan McCarthy
The Times-Picyaune

The Tulane University fraternity at the center of a hazing controversy has weathered several disciplinary complaints over the past several years, including allegations of sexual assaults and drugging of female students.

In March 2006, Tulane’s student government group asked university officials to investigate the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity for a litany of alleged misdeeds, following complaints from several young women that they were unwittingly drugged at the fraternity’s annual bacchanal. The student group also sent a letter to the fraternity’s national organization, in which the Tulane chapter is chartered.

On Wednesday, Tulane officials issued a statement that acknowledged the 2006 complaint. The university said a judicial board found the fraternity “to be in violation of the Code of Student Conduct and sanctions were imposed.”

The sanctions included temporarily suspending the fraternity and ordering members to complete community service, said university spokesman Mike Strecker.

But the university acknowledged it subsequently received the letter from the student government group requesting an investigation. “Apparently, there was no response from Tulane to this letter, which we regret,” the university said in a statement.

The fraternity, commonly called PIKE, now faces allegations that members poured boiling water on the bodies of pledges and caked them with flour, crab boil, vinegar, cayenne peppers and wasabi sauce. The victims were treated at a local hospital with second- and third-degree burns, according to New Orleans police.

Arrest warrants were issued for 10 students on Tuesday and all had turned themselves in by Wednesday afternoon, a police spokesman confirmed. …

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Five booked in hazing case
Two Tulane students treated for burns
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
By Walt Philbin

Five members of a Tulane University fraternity were arrested Tuesday and five others are being sought on felony battery charges in an alleged hazing incident in which two pledges received second- and third-degree burns from boiling water and crab boil being poured on their bodies, police and other sources familiar with the investigation said.

New Orleans police said the victims were treated at a local hospital and released after the April 25-26 incident.

The victims and suspects were all students at the university, officials said.

Tulane suspended its chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and will begin its own investigation, the university said in a news release issued Tuesday. Tulane would not say whether any disciplinary action was taken against the student suspects.

“This fraternity is no longer a recognized fraternity at Tulane,” the release said, adding that the university has “zero tolerance for any type of hazing or other incident which can potentially endanger the well-being of any student.”

Five of the fraternity members turned themselves in to New Orleans and Tulane police at campus police headquarters late Tuesday afternoon, police said. They were booked with aggravated second-degree battery, a felony, police spokesman Officer Garry Flot said. …

At some point during the hazing, crab boil and other things were poured on the pledges’ bodies and boiling water poured over that, tearing their skin in places, according to the sources. …

Booked were Joseph Lorono, 20 of New York; Randall Graham, 20, of Michigan; Nicholas Maddern, 22, of Massachusetts; Kevin Dunn, 20, of New York; and Jeremy Bendat, 22, of California.

Wanted suspects were Danny Lazzeri, 20; Joseph Stevens, 23; William Dougherty, 20; Oded Nissim, 20; and Preston Gelman, 20.

Aggravated second-degree battery carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine.

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