UA fraternity booted over vodka hazing

A fraternity that locked new members in a room with vodka and vomit buckets and gave them 15 minutes to drink up has been banned from the University of Arizona campus, the sixth UA fraternity to close in three years.

At least two new members passed out, several vomited and one lost control of his bodily functions during the Jan. 31 incident that occurred while Delta Sigma Phi was under an alcohol ban and already on probation for previous misconduct.

Another fraternity event on Jan. 22 ended with a UA student being taken to a hospital for extreme intoxication, the UA said.

Three fraternity members who planned the drinking events were described by new members as “sociopaths,” during the UA’s recent investigation, school records show.

The three-year ban against Delta Sigma Phi will remain in place until at least May 2018, the UA’s dean of students said in a news release Thursday. The fraternity can reapply for status then as long as no current members are still involved, the UA said.

The dean’s investigation confirmed numerous cases in which chapter members engaged in hazing, endangerment and providing alcohol to minors. The actions posed a “substantial risk to members of the university community,” the dean determined.

“The serious nature of the allegations and repeated violations, several during the chapter’s probationary period, are among the reasons we’ve taken this action,” said a statement from dean of students Kendal Washington White.

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A Feb. 9 complaint to the UA’s anti-hazing hotline sparked the investigation of the chapter, which had more than 100 members.

Besides providing alcohol to minors, the fraternity also made new members clean the living quarters of senior members, made new members do pushups and situps, and required them to address senior members as “sir.”

The national office of Indiana-based Delta Sigma Phi said it closed the Tucson chapter Wednesday as a result of “multiple and egregious violations of university and national fraternity policies.

“Despite the chapter’s strengths, poor decision-making and repeated disregard for the fraternity’s policies on alcohol use and hazing ultimately prompted a strong response,” said a news release from the national headquarters.

“The fraternity cannot, and will not, tolerate blatant disregard toward our policies and standards,” it said.

Five other former UA fraternity chapters — Phi Kappa Psi, Delta Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Pi Kappa Phi and Phi Gamma Delta have been booted from the UA campus since early 2012, either by the university or by national fraternity organizations.