Mizzou has officially disassociated itself with Kappa Alpha
It comes after the hazing incident in September
A pledge member of Kappa Alpha ended up at the Boone Hospital Center post-vodka-chugging contest, with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.45 percent and a low blood oxygen reading back in September.
Following this, the university have officially withdrawn association with the frat for the next five years.
The pledge was “in a medication-induced coma for two days to allow the alcohol to exit his system,” according to The Columbia Daily Tribune.
Family and friends are “shocked” that he is alive, and has no brain damage.
The frat house in question
A report from the Columbia Daily Tribune provided by the pledge’s family stated that the contest wasn’t mandatory, however with hazing still popular throughout fraternities nationwide, there’s no denying that the societal pressure of landing a coveted position in these exclusive organizations leads to pledges participating in risky behavior.
After the pledge participated in the vodka-chugging contest, he was left unattended from the time he was drunk at 2am until 10.30am, when the Chapter President Jacob Lee checked in on him.
By that point, the pledge was unresponsive.
The mother of the pledge, Lynn Zingale, was told that if her son was left unattended for approximately one more hour, her son would have either suffered from severe brain damage, or he would have been dead.
Due to this serious hazing incident, in addition to other violations against the fraternity house, officials have withdrawn the recognition of the organization for the next five years. The chapter was also forced to pay Mizzou a judicial processing fee of $1,000.
MU’s Kappa Alpha chapter, in addition to the Interfraternity Council, has declined to comment on the incident.
Members of Missouri’s Panhellenic Association on campus have also been encouraged to decline discussing this incident with the press.
Non-Greek students, however, are disappointed that hazing incidents such as these continue to be a problem on campus. Jay Waldron, a freshman, said: “I think that’s absolutely horrible. The primary purpose to come to a university is to get an education and anything should be focused around academic and social growth and professional growth.
“So if there’s organizations that are associated with the university that are doing that, I think that should really be called into question, and I think universities should challenge their role on campus.”
This incident has proved to not only highlight the dangers that coincide with the societal pressures of joining a Greek organization on campus, but has also urged other Greek organizations to second-guess their intentions behind hazing pledges for the future.