A concerned individual called the Dean of Students Office on Nov. 7 and said they received three videos with footage of alleged hazing in the Georgia Southern University chapter of Delta Tau Delta.

The three videos were emailed to the Dean of Student office, who identified GS students and new members of Delta Tau Delta in the video, according to records requested from GS by The George-Anne.

The videos were not made available to The George-Anne, however the following are descriptions of the alleged hazing according to an investigative report by William Mast, coordinator of student conduct.

Video 1: Face in the dirt

According to the report, an unnamed student can be seen lying on the ground, face first, in a white shirt that says “strike one” on the back.

One to three men off camera can be heard yelling, “Get back up”, “Get back up you bitch” and “Keep your hands behind your back.” Another man off camera says “What the fuck don’t you understand about that?” as the unnamed student rises to his knees, according to the reports.

The camera zooms back into the unnamed student’s face showing dirt, mud and grass over the front of his face and shirt while a male off camera tells him “keep your hands behind your back and put your face in the fucking dirt,” according to the report.

The unnamed student then falls forward into the dirt from his knees with his hands behind his back, according to the report. Several men off camera can be heard laughing at the unnamed student lying on the ground, making fun of him saying, “Why would you do that you fucking dumbass?”

Video 2: Forced to drink yellow/green chunky substance

A student appears to by lying in a field with the camera close to his face. According to the report, an individual off camera can be heard saying “I heard you pissed your pants last night” and proceeds to pour a yellow/green chunky substance out of a gallon jug into the student’s mouth and tells him to “Swallow that shit.” The student was then forced to roll over other recruits with his hands behind his back.

The contents of the gallon jug were not detailed in the report.

Video 3: Laying on a concrete floor

A student can be seen lying on a concrete floor where there appear to be five to seven men standing around him and others on the ground, according to the report.

A man off-camera screams at the student on the ground, “Hey, keep moving, keep fucking moving” and then kicks him in the head while the student is lying on the ground, according to the report. Others cheer him on.

The camera then pans up the student who has a dark or red substance on his head, according to the report. The student can be heard repeating something quietly. The man off-camera screams “huh” repeatedly as if to get the student to speak up.

The camera then pans over to the student at the 23-second mark being forced to stand, or potentially complete a wall sit, with a weight above his head. According to the report, the man off camera can be heard yelling, “Hey, get his back up, put that shit back up.” The video ends with the man off camera screaming, “Let’s go, lets go.”

According to the report, there were several other students in the video that could potentially be identified by individuals associated with Delta Tau Delta.

New members deny everything

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life provided the Office of Student Conduct with the names of all new members of Delta Tau Delta for the fall 2018 semester. According to the report, new members were asked questions regarding allegations against the Delta Tau Delta Epsilon Omega chapter at GS and specific questions aimed at the evidence the Office of Student Conduct received.

According to the report, all new members stated that they were never asked or forced to drink alcohol or any other substance, required to complete calisthenic workouts, lay face first on the ground, were never given specific clothing items to wear or hold a weight over their head.

“I explained to the new members that I would be asking specific questions during the interviews,” Mast said in the report. “However, the videos submitted to the Office of Student Conduct show that the answers given by the new members are not honest.”

Possible courses of action

Delta Tau Delta have the option to accept the recommendation and their cases would be resolved and their sanctions would go into effect.

Delta Tau Delta can choose not to accept the recommendations and can move forward with a formal hearing. Once the formal hearing is complete the sanctions are reviewed by the decision approver.

It is currently unclear which course of action Delta Tau Delta has taken.

During a period of Organizational Suspension, Delta Tau Delta may continue to occupy or hold property, but may not seek or add members, hold or sponsor events or attend any events that are social in nature according to pg. 57 in the GS Student Code of Conduct.

Further details on the Kappa Sigma’s investigation of reports on hazing can be read here.

Delta Tau Delta’s complete investigative report can be viewed below. 

Matthew Enfinger, The George-Anne Editor-in-Chief, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu.