Student's death investigated as possible act of fraternity hazing
A possible act of fraternity hazing is being investigated by local law enforcement following the death of a 20-year-old Southern University student, school authorities confirmed.
Caleb Wilson, who died on February 27, was a mechanical engineering junior at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and a member of the school's famed marching band. A university spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that an alleged fraternity ritual, involving Omega Psi Phi, is being investigated.
Chancellor John K. Pierre said on the college's Facebook page that 'an off-campus incident is believed to have contributed to Caleb's death.'
Additional details, including Wilson's cause of death, were not yet available. Police in Baton Rouge have not commented on the investigation.
Ricky L. Lewis, the international president of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., said in a written statement issued on Friday that the organization is aware that authorities have 'launched an investigation into this tragic incident, and we fully support their efforts to seek the truth.'
'We recognize that many of you may have questions, and we are actively working to gather accurate information,' Lewis said. It was unclear if Wilson was a fraternity member.
In a statement from Wilson's family, published by WAFB-TV, the student was described as an 'extraordinary person' who was a 'bright and talented young man with a promising future ahead of him.'
'We are committed to seeking the truth about the circumstances surrounding Caleb's passing and ensuring that no other family has to endure such a tragedy,' the family said.
Wilson was a trumpet player with the marching band, known as the 'Human Jukebox,' which recently played at the Super Bowl. In a statement on the band's Facebook page, Wilson was described as a talented, dedicated and bright soul who 'poured his passion' into his studies and music.
'His energy, spirit and impact on those around him will never be forgotten,' the post read.
During the band's performance at one of New Orleans ' Mardi Gras parades over the weekend, members played Stevie Wonder's 'Love Light in Flight' in honor of Wilson.
'This was more than just a performance, it was a tribute, a farewell and promise that Caleb's legacy will live on,' the band posted on Facebook along with a video of the performance.
Following Wilson's death, the historically Black university indefinitely halted all club recruiting activities, including those related to Greek life. On Tuesday, the university announced its own internal investigation and student judiciary process into the 'alleged hazing incident.'
The university statement said that any organization on campus that breaches anti-hazing polices will face 'prompt disciplinary sanctions.'
Southern University requires clubs and organizations to undergo anti-hazing training. In 2018, following the death of Max Gruver — a Louisiana State University student who died of alcohol poisoning after a hazing ritual at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house — then-Gov. John Bel Edwards signed into state several law anti-hazing laws meant to curb hazing and increase penalties.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Airport fined £80,000 after death of pensioner who fell from plane lift
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... James Young, 81, was travelling home from a holiday on the Greek island of Rhodes with his disabled wife when he fell around five feet while being transported on an airport ambulift. Mr Young was said to have landed 'on his hands and knees' and was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment following the fall at around 4pm on November 28, 2023. The OAP was found to have suffered a punctured lung, spine fractures and a fractured pelvis. He also sustained a flail chest, which occurs when adjacent ribs are broken in multiple places. Mr Young suffered a heart attack two days later and medics came to the conclusion 'the totality of his injuries and medical condition were not survivable'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Young, from Edinburgh, died just before 9pm on December 7, 2023. Edinburgh Airport Ltd, a private limited company, was prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday. The Crown produced a written narrative detailing the incident that resulted in the death of Mr Young. The narration stated Mr Young had been on holiday in Rhodes with his 79-year-old wife Anne and had flown into Gatwick Airport before travelling on to Edinburgh Airport on November 28, 2023. The company that owns Edinburgh Airport has been fined £80,000 after a pensioner died following a fall from a lift designed to take a disabled passenger from a plane to the ground. | x Mrs Young has mobility issues and uses a wheelchair and as a result her husband had organised assistance from the easyJet aircraft using one of the airport's ambulifts. The ambulift is a specially designed vehicle to assist passengers who embark from the aircraft door and can then be transported to the terminal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The ambulift cabin was elevated to the aircraft's door and six passengers moved into the vehicle's cabin. The narration stated: 'The passenger cabin was lowered onto the chassis and one of the employees exited via the side entrance and used the tail lift controls to lower the tail lift platform from its stowed position to a horizontal position and raised it to the level of the rear cabin door, approximately 1.6 metres above the ground level. 'The passengers then exited the cabin onto the tail lift, Mr Young among them, who stood on its offside. One of the employees then picked up an item of luggage that was behind Mr Young and passed it to a colleague on the ground. He was then passed another similar item which he lifted off the tail lift and passed to colleagues standing on the ground adjacent to the vehicle. 'Mr Young then turned around and picked up a piece of luggage that he attempted to pass down to one of the airport staff and in doing so, he either leant on or tried to balance himself on the side rail when it swung outwards causing him to lose his balance and fall forward through the gap that had been created by the rail swinging outwards. 'As the tail lift had not yet been lowered, Mr Young fell around 1.6 metres from the tail lift platform to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, the employee closest to him being unsuccessful in their attempt is to break his fall.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Young was not believed to have sustained serious injury at the time, but was taken to the terminal in a wheelchair and then to hospital 'as a precaution'. His injuries were discovered by hospital staff during a subsequent examination. A post mortem carried out on December 15, 2023, found 'numerous rib, thoracic spine fractures and a pelvic fracture were noted along with tearing of the pleura and extensive chest wall haemorrhages'. Evidence was also found of Mr Young's heart attack and ventilator associated pneumonia. The court was told an investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive the day after the incident and 'no defects' were found. The investigation found 'the locking mechanism of the offside safety rail worked as intended' while the vehicle was on the ground. However, when the platform was raised components of the rail became 'misaligned'. The narration stated: 'The effect of this is that while the side rail could not have been opened with the tail lift sitting on the ground, it could potentially open outwards if even slight pressure was applied from anyone, but only when the tail lift was elevated. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'These investigations made it possible to be determined that when Mr Young was on board the tail lift, the offside safety rail had not been secured to the lifting platform. It is against this background that this particular incident occurred with such catastrophic consequences for Mr Young.' In sentencing, Sheriff Fiona Sharp said the 'isolated incident' had been 'a tragic accident' and noted the ambulift had been inspected by a third party with no defects found on June 9, 2023 and December 8, 2022. Sheriff Sharp said this was the first time the company had faced prosecution and she had been persuaded 'the culpability is low'. Sheriff Sharp issued Edinburgh Airport Ltd with a fine of £80,000 that was reduced from £120,000 due to the early guilty plea. A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: 'We again offer our sincere condolences to the family of Mr Young following the tragic accident at Edinburgh Airport in November 2023. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Glasgow Times
9 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow teacher struck off after OnlyFans page discovered
Kirsty Buchan, 39, from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, resigned from Bannerman High School in Baillieston in December 2022, following the exposure of her online activity. The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) has now ruled that her conduct amounted to professional misconduct, formally removing her from the register. READ MORE: Circumstances surrounding Cole Cooper's disappearance 'remain unexplained', cops say The BBC reported that GTCS found that Buchan had failed to conceal her identity or her profession while running an explicit OnlyFans account under the alias Jessica Jackrabbit, which she also promoted publicly on Instagram. Her profile described her as a "good teacher gone bad" with a "sexy tight body." According to Gary Burton, solicitor and presenting officer for the GTCS, Buchan "used her profession as a selling tool" and demonstrated "zero insight into her conduct." He added that there had been a significant blurring of her professional and private life, and that the school had become 'synonymous with having an OnlyFans teacher.' The panel concluded that Buchan's behaviour "lacked integrity" and recommended a two-year minimum before she could reapply for registration—if ever. Prior to the GTCS's decision, Ms Buchan told BBC News she felt there was no point in going to the hearing because "it's clear they've already made their mind up". She said: "I didn't want to leave my job, but I also had to make more money. I even had other jobs before going down the OnlyFans road – I worked in Tesco, I worked as an elf at a Braehead Christmas event. I was always a hard worker. "My images were illegally downloaded and shared with pupils in the school that I worked in – the career that I worked my whole life to get. So I had no choice but to leave." Headteacher Seonaidh Black described Buchan as a "bubbly and enthusiastic" teacher who showed poor judgment online. She confirmed that Buchan's social media accounts were publicly accessible and that informal discussions had previously been held to address boundary concerns. In November 2022, Buchan was signed off work with stress. Shortly after, senior pupils in S5 and S6 began circulating screenshots from her OnlyFans page. READ MORE: Spurned cop who stalked ex-partner caught driving while disqualified Staff were alerted when a deputy head shared screenshots reportedly viewed by students. One email, sent from a pupil's account and allegedly penned by a parent, contained images of Buchan topless and in lingerie. Ms Black said, 'It was obvious everyone knew what was going on." Around the same time, staff at the school were taking part in strikes over pupil behaviour. Ms Black said the timings of the revelations about Ms Buchan's OnlyFans page were "coincidental or perhaps deliberate". She said: "The OnlyFans thing happened two days before teachers were on a picket line at the school gate." Ms Black said the school had tried to make sure young people felt "valued for who they are, not thinking everything is about what's on show on social media". She said: "What doesn't help is when your teacher is on a website where the content they are presenting has a pornographic element to it. We're trying to say 'this is what life is all about' and the role model – the teacher – is countering what we're trying to teach." Ms Black added it would be "a long time before the situation involving Kirsty is no longer talked about". The hearing heard that Ms Buchan had given a number of interviews to the Daily Record newspaper, where she said she was able to make £50,000 per month through OnlyFans. In a video interview, played to the panel, she said it was "the definition of insanity" for her to be working long hours as a teacher when she could make more money to "sit on her behind". She said: "If people have a problem, then it's because they can't do it themselves." GTCS investigators confirmed that parts of her OnlyFans profile were accessible without a subscription, further blurring the lines of privacy. READ MORE: Woman jailed in UK's first monkey torture case Investigating officer Hannah Oakley said members of the public could access a limited section of Ms Buchan's OnlyFans profile without having to sign up or subscribe. She said she was able to do this as there had been several press articles about Ms Buchan's online activity, which included screenshots of her OnlyFans profile name. She said: "I knew exactly what I was looking for and where I was looking for [it]." The GTCS found that all allegations against Ms Buchan had been proven and decided that she should be struck off on Monday afternoon. Glasgow City Council conducted its own investigation and issued a firm response: "The council has a code of conduct that all employees should adhere to and a teacher who has actively pursued a second income on this type of website brings their school, the council and their profession into disrepute."
Scotsman
10 hours ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Airport fined £80,000 after death of pensioner who fell from plane lift
The company that owns Edinburgh Airport has been fined £80,000 after a pensioner died following a fall from a lift designed to take a disabled passenger from a plane to the ground. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... James Young, 81, was travelling home from a holiday on the Greek island of Rhodes with his disabled wife when he fell around five feet while being transported on an airport ambulift. Mr Young was said to have landed 'on his hands and knees' and was rushed to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment following the fall at around 4pm on November 28, 2023. The OAP was found to have suffered a punctured lung, spine fractures and a fractured also sustained a flail chest which occurs when adjacent ribs are broken in multiple places. Mr Young suffered a heart attack two days later and medics came to the conclusion 'the totality of his injuries and medical condition were not survivable'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Young, from Edinburgh, died just before 9pm on December 7, 2023. Edinburgh Airport Ltd, a private limited company, was prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Tuesday. The Crown produced a written narrative detailing the incident that resulted in the death of Mr Young. The narration stated Mr Young had been on holiday in Rhodes with his 79-year-old wife Anne and had flown into Gatwick Airport before travelling on to Edinburgh Airport on November 28, 2023. The company that owns Edinburgh Airport has been fined £80,000 after a pensioner died following a fall from a lift designed to take a disabled passenger from a plane to the ground. | x Mrs Young has mobility issues and uses a wheelchair and as a result her husband had organised assistance from the easyJet aircraft using one of the airport's ambulifts. The ambulift is a specially designed vehicle to assist passengers who embark from the aircraft door and can then be transported to the terminal. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The ambulift cabin was elevated to the aircraft's door and six passengers moved into the vehicle's cabin. The narration stated: 'The passenger cabin was lowered onto the chassis and one of the employees exited via the side entrance and used the tail lift controls to lower the tail lift platform from its stowed position to a horizontal position and raised it to the level of the rear cabin door, approximately 1.6 metres above the ground level. 'The passengers then exited the cabin onto the tail lift, Mr Young among them, who stood on its offside. One of the employees then picked up an item of luggage that was behind Mr Young and passed it to a colleague on the ground. He was then passed another similar item which he lifted off the tail lift and passed to colleagues standing on the ground adjacent to the vehicle. 'Mr Young then turned around and picked up a piece of luggage that he attempted to pass down to one of the airport staff and in doing so, he either leant on or tried to balance himself on the side rail when it swung outwards causing him to lose his balance and fall forward through the gap that had been created by the rail swinging outwards. 'As the tail lift had not yet been lowered, Mr Young fell around 1.6 metres from the tail lift platform to the ground, landing on his hands and knees, the employee closest to him being unsuccessful in their attempt is to break his fall.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Young was not believed to have sustained serious injury at the time but was taken to the terminal in a wheelchair and then to hospital 'as a precaution'. His injuries were discovered by hospital staff during a subsequent examination. A post mortem carried out on December 15, 2023, found 'numerous rib, thoracic spine fractures and a pelvic fracture were noted along with tearing of the pleura and extensive chest wall haemorrhages'. Evidence was also found of Mr Young's heart attack and ventilator associated pneumonia. The court was told an investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive the day after the incident and 'no defects' were found. The investigation found 'the locking mechanism of the offside safety rail worked as intended' while the vehicle was on the ground however when the platform was raised components of the rail became 'misaligned'. The narration stated: 'The effect of this is that while the side rail could not have been opened with the tail lift sitting on the ground, it could potentially open outwards if even slight pressure was applied from anyone but only when the tail lift was elevated. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'These investigations made it possible to be determined that when Mr Young was on board the tail lift, the offside safety rail had not been secured to the lifting platform. It is against this background that this particular incident occurred with such catastrophic consequences for Mr Young.' In sentencing, Sheriff Fiona Sharp said the 'isolated incident' had been 'a tragic accident' and noted the ambulift had been inspected by a third party with no defects found on June 9, 2023 and December 8, 2022. Sheriff Sharp said this was the first time the company had faced prosecution and she had been persuaded that 'the culpability is low'. Sheriff Sharp issued Edinburgh Airport Ltd with a fine of £80,000 that was reduced from £120,000 due to the early guilty plea. A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: 'We again offer our sincere condolences to the family of Mr Young following the tragic accident at Edinburgh Airport in November 2023. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We have cooperated fully with the police and regulatory authorities throughout their investigations and we accept the decision of the court. The safety of our team and passengers continues to be a fundamental priority for the business.'
