Four from UB suspended in hazing of student
A University at Buffalo student required hospital treatment after he was covered with hot sauce and spray paint in a fraternity hazing incident Wednesday.
The student returned to class later in the day, authorities said.
He and several other students pledging an unrecognized chapter of Alpha Tau Omega were ordered to strip to their underwear and were covered with a liquid concoction of purple spray paint and red hot sauce, according to Buffalo police who broke up the hazing incident at about 2:30 a. m. in a Northrup Place house.
Four students were suspended, and two of them were criminally charged. The name of the young man taken to the hospital was not released, but UB’s chief of police said a preliminary investigation determined he was well enough to later attend classes.
The students accused of the hazing could face tough consequences. “We treat hazing very seriously. It’s possible they could face being expelled, the most severe sanction, or they could face other sanctions,” said UB Police Chief Gerald W. Schoenle Jr.
Northeast District officers arrived at the three-story fraternity house at 44 Northrup after being flagged down by an individual at Main Street and Winspear Avenue.
When police tried to gain access to the house, student Kyle P. O’Shea, 20, of that address, slammed the door on them, police said.
Once the police gained entry, they determined that the situation was serious. The fraternity brothers had allegedly applied the mixture near the eyes, noses and mouths of the pledges, police said.
UB officials said the off-campus fraternity is not recognized by the university.
“Affiliation with these groups is a violation of the UB Student Code of Conduct and puts students at risk for suspension and/or expulsion from the university,” said John Della- Contrada, a UB spokesman.
University policy, he added, requires a permanent transcript notation for students who are found to be responsible for hazing incidents that involve the injury of another person.
Dennis Black, vice president of student affairs, encouraged students who encounter mistreatment to report it.
The national chapter of Alpha Tau Omega also distanced itself from the local group.
“ATO has not had a chapter on campus since April 6, 2002, when it was closed by the national fraternity due to lack of membership,” said Wynn Smiley, chief executive officer of Alpha Tau Omega.
O’Shea and Jason S. Rosen, 20, also of the Northrup address, were charged with second- degree hazing and reckless endangerment. O’Shea also was charged with obstructing governmental administration, and Rosen faces an additional charge of criminal possession of marijuana.
The other two suspended students were identified as Timothy Sheridan, 20, and Adam Daniel, 20, of the Northrup residence.
“My officers referred all of them to [studentwide judiciary]. They are suspended pending an investigation,” Schoenle said.
Reaction among UB students interviewed in the neighborhood of the fraternity house varied, with some saying it should not be tolerated and others explaining that it is part of the pledging process.
“It’s how it is. Everybody does it. It’s what you have to do to get in. It’s done all over the country,” said Kevin Chauvin, a student who is considering joining a fraternity.
Kareem Tannous, who is currently pledging Sigma Chi Omega, criticized the hazing.
“It’s wrong. It has no purpose,” he said.
