ATHENS (AP) — Ohio University has suspended all its fraternities following allegations of widespread hazing while a dozen fraternity members at Miami University face criminal charges related to hazing.
Ohio University officials said Thursday that the suspension of the 15 fraternities was immediate and indefinite and followed allegations within the past week of hazing at seven of the fraternities.
Jenny Hall-Jones, the university’s dean of students, says it’s troubling that seven fraternities have been or will be under investigation, and the university will not risk student health and safety.
In May, the university expelled a fraternity for hazing, alcohol and drug use, and other student conduct code violations after the alleged hazing of an 18-year-old freshman from Dublin who died in November.
At Miami University in Oxford, meanwhile, an investigation into alleged hazing by a fraternity has led to misdemeanor charges of hazing and assault against more than a dozen fraternity members.
A student reported in March that members of the Delta Tau Delta chapter at the university in Oxford hazed him. The student said he was beaten with a spiked paddle, kicked and forced to drink alcohol.
The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports police confirmed that a Butler County grand jury’s recent indictments of the 18 men stemmed from a hazing investigation.
Miami suspended the fraternity in August for 10 to 15 years after its investigation.
Delta Tau Delta’s national headquarters revoked the chapter’s charter in June.
At Ohio University, all fraternities were suspended as of Thursday following allegations of widespread hazing there.