Bowling Green State University (BGSU) will permanently expel one of their sorority chapters after an investigation confirmed numerous instances of severe hazing, a university statement announced Thursday.
The chapter was expelled for six violations of the Code of Student Conduct and severe hazing incidents which “jeopardized the health and safety of the community at-large and caused harm to specific individuals,” according to a statement from BGSU Deputy Chief of Staff Alex Solis.
BGSU received numerous reports of hazing from potential members of Sigma Gamma Rho during fall 2020 and spring 2021, and placed the sorority on suspension while the university conducted an investigation, according to a statement by the BGSU Office of the Dean of Students.
The investigation found that members of the sorority allegedly slapped potential members in the face, forced them to harm themselves to the point of bruising and required them to consume alcohol until intoxicated, causing one potential member to vomit, according to the statement. Members were also accused of allegedly confiscating potential members’ cell phones and deleting evidence of the harmful behavior, as well as allegedly telling potential members they would be jumped if they made reports to the school.
The expulsion comes one year after BGSU sophomore Stone Foltz’s death from “fatal ethanol intoxication” after allegedly being forced to drink an entire handle of whiskey as part of a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity ritual. (RELATED: University Of Kentucky Fraternity Suspends Activities After Member Was Found Dead)
During the year since a fraternity pledge died from alcohol poisoning, Bowling Green State University has hired a hazing prevention coordinator and made it easier for students to tell the school about hazing, resulting in more reports. https://t.co/p5shbzngLc
— 41NBC / WMGT-DT (@41NBC) March 7, 2022
Foltz’s blood alcohol content was 0.394, nearly four times the legal limit, ABC News previously reported.
Eight students were indicted in Foltz’s death, with charges ranging from hazing to involuntary manslaughter, according WTOL. Six defendants pled not guilty to all charges in 2021 and are expected to face trial in May. The two other defendants pleaded guilty to charges last year and will be sentenced in June.
The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity was permanently expelled in April 2021, according to the university website.
“The latest serious acts of hazing at Bowling Green State University demonstrate that the University is not doing enough to stop hazing on its campus,” Foltz family attorney Rex Elliot said in a response to BGSU’s announcement. “BGSU claims to have policies prohibiting hazing, but the continued acts of hazing on this campus demonstrate that they are not actively enforcing their policies. Until BGSU does more, serious acts of hazing will continue on this campus and student safety will be in jeopardy.”