Latest news with #DeltaUpsilon
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
Two UCF fraternities close amid probe into 'dangerous and degrading' hazing
Two fraternities at the University of Central Florida shut their doors following investigations into 'dangerous and degrading' hazing allegations, the university announced this week. UCF's investigations of Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon confirmed hazing took place but did not lead to criminal charges because of a lack of cooperating witnesses, the university said in a press release. The two fraternities' national organizations decided to shutter their UCF chapters after the March investigations by the UCF police department and administrators. The hazing allegations against Sigma Chi included witness claims that fraternity brothers ran into pledges with their cars. The chapter's closures are indefinite, university spokesperson Courtney Gilmartin said Thursday. Sigma Chi had about 80 members and Delta Upsilon had about 60 last year, according to a UCF report. It's unclear what will happen with the chapters' on-campus houses and the students who live in them. Despite UCF police filing no criminal charges, the students involved in the hazing incidents are still subject to the student conduct process, Adrienne Frame, UCF's vice president for student success and well-being, said in a statement. 'UCF remains committed to fostering a culture of safety, integrity, and respect for all our students, including those in Greek life,' Frame said. The university, however, did not provide any details on what punishment any of the fraternity members might face. Sigma Chi has been a repeat offender at UCF, having been suspended eight times between 2015 and 2020, including four suspensions in 2019 alone. One of those 2019 incidents involved allegations the fraternity had blindfolded a pledge and forced him to use cocaine. In March, the university announced the investigations into both fraternities and then released documents that detailed accusations that Sigma Chi brothers hit new members with a car. Additional documents about the Delta Upsilon investigation were not available as of Thursday. In February, a sorority member whose house sits next door to Sigma Chi's told police that she heard yelling, saw a car strike a young man and then heard someone shout 'help!' and 'my bones, my bones, they're broken,' the report said. She reported seeing several men all wearing white shirts or polos with khaki pants, which she told police was common fraternity pledge attire. Other residents of the sorority later told police 'one of the boys got hit by a car.' A detective assigned to the case wrote in the report, 'Sigma Chi brothers had allegedly forced new members to stand in front of cars while members of the organization hit them with cars.' Police interviewed three Sigma Chi brothers that evening who said they had no knowledge of anyone being hit by a car or getting hurt and that they were playing basketball just before police had arrived. One officer described a fraternity brother as being 'evasive' when questioned. A Kia matching the eyewitness description tried to leave the area driving with its headlights off, but police stopped the car. It's unclear what police found when they stopped the vehicle. Police officers also checked inside the fraternity house and with local hospitals, but they did not find a victim they thought was related to the incident at Sigma Chi, the report said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Yahoo
UCF fraternities suspended after reports of ‘dangerous' and ‘degrading' hazing
Leaders with the University of Central Florida are investigating reports of hazing at some of the fraternities on campus. UCF said it has received multiple reports of alleged hazing incidents involving Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon fraternities. Officials said the reported hazing was 'dangerous and degrading' to those involved. 'UCF unequivocally condemns hazing in all forms, and we are committed to holding individuals and organizations accountable for actions that threaten the safety and well-being of our students and others,' a UCF spokesperson said. Officials said the UCF Police Department is investigating the incidents as 'felony hazing.' UCF said Sigma Chi and Delta Upsilon have been temporarily suspended by their national chapters. 'Based on facts gathered by police as part of their investigations, the university will follow processes for individual and organizational conduct violations as outlined in the Golden Rule Student Handbook,' officials said. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
Two UCF fraternities under investigation for hazing, university says
The police department at the University of Central Florida is investigating two fraternities following allegations of hazing, a university spokesperson confirmed Friday. Police officers visited two addresses matching those for Alpha Tau Omega and Delta Upsilon fraternities this week, according to the crime log on the UCF police department's website. The crime log lists the investigation at Alpha Tau Omega's address as 'hazing' while Delta Upsilon's is listed as 'college hazing, risk of injury or death.' Both cases are listed as 'open' as of Friday evening. Courtney Gilmartin, a UCF spokesperson, confirmed investigations at two fraternities but said no additional information records were available because the investigations were ongoing. Alpha Tau Omega's UCF chapter has been sanctioned previously by UCF, including twice in 2018 when two fraternity brothers were arrested and charged in connection with an alleged gang rape at an off-campus party. The investigations come as UCF sanctioned the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity earlier this year following an hazing incident. The university found images of Phi Gamma Delta pledges being blindfolded on a couch, with one holding a Nazi swastika.
