21 Fraternity Brothers Charged With Hazing Students With Vomit, Urine, Alcohol

Twenty-one students at a university in New York were charged with hazing pledges of the Pi Alpha Nu fraternity by making them drink alcohol, forcing them to consume food off the floor and urinating and vomiting on them, according to reports.

Authorities said campus police at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh received notice Sept. 29 that Pi Alpha Nu fraternity pledges had faced humiliating and abusive behavior that involved being struck on the buttocks with a paddle. The alleged abuse was said to have occurred off-campus in February and September, according to university police. SUNY Plattsburgh suspended further activity at the fraternity in the wake of the allegations, while the school conducted a joint probe with the Plattsburgh City Police and the Clinton County District Attorney's office to determine charges.

Charges leveled against the students included criminal nuisance in the second degree, hazing in the first degree and unlawfully dealing with a child, which pertains to providing alcohol to minors under 21, according to state officials. Six former Plattsburg students were also expected to be charged, according to NBC News.

"We will not tolerate hazing in any form and University Police is working closely with the Clinton County District Attorney's Office to prosecute this matter criminally," said SUNY Plattsburgh President John Ettling in a statement. "We will continue to raise awareness and create a culture where these types of behaviors are not present."

One Pi Alpha Nu pledge told police of the alleged abuse he faced.

"After a while, the pain got so bad I felt like I was going into shock," the unidentified 19-year-old college student told SUNY Plattsburgh University Police, according to the Press-Republican. "One of the brothers hit me so hard that my knees buckled and I had to be held up."

Another pledge claimed that he and a student were forced to chug containers of water, wine and white vinegar, which induced vomiting.

"The puke was all over our legs and feet because we weren’t allowed to move and we were kneeling," the unidentified 19-year-old claimed.

The incident comes not long after authorities announced a move to reinstate most of the dismissed charges against 11 fraternity members for actions related to the death of sophomore pledge Tim Piazza at Penn State University earlier this year.

Plattsburg has reportedly suspended the fraternity and initial court dates for the students are set for November, the Associated Press reported. A separate campus legal process has started regarding the future of the fraternity and the enrollment status of current members.