A former University of Arizona student is seeking $1 million in a lawsuit claiming hazing at a campus fraternity last year left him with eye and blood infections, the suit says.
Senior members of Theta Chi Fraternity forced pledges in April to exercise on broken glass and “foul-smelling” trash, physically beat them and forced them to consume hot sauce, the lawsuit says.
Pledges faced interrogations, anti-Semitic verbal abuse and other verbal threats of violence, the lawsuit says.
The UA, Arizona Board of Regents, Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc, and 13 of its members at UA are listed as defendants in the lawsuit filed on behalf of Hayden Roletter, who pledged during his freshman year.
Roletter suffered an eye infection after a fraternity member threw hot sauce from a shot glass into his face, causing Roletter to fall to the ground in pain, the lawsuit said.
Lawyers said the “El Yucateco habanero sauce,” is a 5,000 on the Scoville scale, the rate of heat from peppers, that ranges zero to tens of millions of heat units.
The chapter members then “failed to provide him the care and protection he needed under the circumstances” and then made Roletter exercise on the broken glass and trash, the document said.
Roletter suffered serious injuries, including “severe pain and sensitivity in eyes, scarring, infection, and burn to the eyes, cuts to his palms and elbows, infection in his blood, and deterioration and blurriness of vision,” the lawsuit says. It describes various visits from medical treatment over three months.
Roletter did not return to campus his freshmen year, citing “fears for his safety,” according to the document.
The suit claims battery, emotional distress and negligence were committed by several fraternity members as well as an assault by the member who threw hot sauce into his eye.
The lawsuit says Theta Chi, UA and ABOR are negligent for not ensuring a safe environment for students after the chapter was ordered to cease all activity in 2015, getting banned for four years due to hazing violations that involved members being struck with paddles.
In 2019, Theta Chi lost recognition at UA after Theta Chi Fraternity’s international board voted unanimously to revoke their charter. It was already under interim suspension before being revoked. Theta Chi loses all access to UA resources at least until May 2025.
“The chief conduct violations were for hazing and causing significant harm to a new member,” according to a UA news release from November 2019.
The lawsuit claims the Arizona Board of Regents and University of Arizona are also liable for Title IX violations.
Title IX is the federal law declaring students are entitled to an education free from discrimination, including sexual harassment, abuse and domestic or dating violence.
“As a direct and proximate result of the violation of Title IX, the plaintiff was denied the ability to participate in the educational opportunities and benefits the University provides through Greek life, and sustained serious injuries, mental anguish, emotional distress, and pain and suffering, some of which may be permanent in nature.”
