OXFORD, Ohio — The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity has been suspended from Miami University's campus after allegations that current members and alumni physically abused new recruits, according to the university.
According to a press release written by Cleveland lawyers Merriman Legal LLC, a junior at Miami University and three other students were beaten by the fraternity's president, vice president and other members.
The law firm said the junior it represents withdrew from Miami after five weeks of the alleged abuse, the press release says.
The press release describes "nightly hazing rituals" that allegedly happened at a campus apartment; Kappa Alpha Psi alumni allegedly "continued the beatings during unauthorized meetings at a house in a Dayton suburb."
The junior was one of four initiates seeking membership into Kappa Alpha Psi in the 2024 fall semester, the law firm says.
"He testified during an Office of Community Standards disciplinary hearing that [the fraternity president and vice president] beat him with paddles and canes up to 60 times in a night, forced him to do wall sits and subjected him to constant verbal humiliation during lengthy hazing sessions, which would often last well past 3 a.m.," reads the press release.
The law firm also alleges he and other initiates were punished for failing to recite fraternity-related information on command, for making eye contact with members or for stepping on grass.
"It's so strange and, like, dehumanizing, and I don't understand why they did it," Lainey Sexton, a freshman sociology and business student at the university, said. "Even like, the thought that I could be walking on campus and walking by these guys who did that is like kind of disgusting."
WATCH: How students respond to the suspension of one Miami University fraternity
We spoke with freshman marketing student Becker Rice, a former Miami University fraternity member, who says he is friends with some Kappa Alpha Psi members.
"I know people that are in Kappa Alpha Psi, and they love it. They're having a great time," Rice said. "I think stuff like paddling, especially by alumni, is just weird to me."
We obtained a letter from Miami University to Kappa Alpha Psi. That letter says the fraternity was initially fully banned for life from the campus after a hearing in February. However, after an appeal in March, Jayne Brownell, senior vice president for student life at Miami, changed her decision.
Following the appeal, Brownell determined the fraternity would instead be barred for 15 years.
In the letter, Brownell wrote that officials were concerned about a "troubling pattern" with Kappa Alpha Psi members at Miami. According to a Miami University web page with judicial history of every Greek life organization on campus, Kappa Alpha Psi is currently on probation from a spring 2022 incident; that probation would have lifted in May 2026.
"We are seeing a troubling pattern in that the allegations in this case are similar to those of your case heard in 2022," Brownell wrote. "There is a reason that your advisor warned potential new members away from interacting with alumni; as an organization you are aware that there is risk in those interactions, because these behaviors have persisted."
Brownell went on to say that typically timeframes for suspensions are determined under the assumption that an organization's culture would change once current members graduate.
"However, alumni participation in hazing behaviors suggests that these actions will be harder to 'wait out,'" Brownell wrote.
Under the current ban, Kappa Alpha Psi will be barred from Miami University until March 15, 2040.
It's the second fraternity to be accused of hazing this year so far. In February, Sigma Alpha Epsilon was also suspended after allegations of hazing in an off-campus annex house.
Those allegations accused fraternity members of treatment that was "inhumane." A student claimed a pledge was forced to eat an entire can of chewing tobacco, then do a handstand.
"This pledge has never had nicotine and ended up vomiting," the report says. "He was then told to eat the throw up (he did not)."
The document went on to say pledges were also forced to do wall sits while covered in baby oil; each time they slipped, they were forced to drink alcohol.
In addition, that report alleged the fraternity had a "pledge on duty" system in place where pledges worked shifts serving active members for chunks of time that spanned from 12 to 24 hours.
Miami University sent us the following statement on the ban:
Hazing of any kind is illegal and strictly prohibited at Miami University. Miami seeks to promote a safe environment where students may participate in activities and organizations without compromising their health, safety, or welfare. More information can be found on our website here. Under Collin’s Law and University policy, hazing is defined as doing, requiring, encouraging or coercing another, including the victim, to do:
- Any act of initiation into any student organization or other University sanctioned organization or athletic team; or
- Any act to continue or reinstate membership in or affiliation with any student organization or other University sanctioned organization or athletic team that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person, including coercing another to consume alcohol or another drug.
Failure to intervene, prevent or report any act of hazing may also constitute a violation.
Students or organizations found responsible for violating the code of conduct, endangering health or safety, and/or violating laws will be held accountable. This could mean, among other things, individual or organizational suspension or dismissal, disciplinary probation, or required attendance in a substance abuse program.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story named the junior, per the press release from the law firm. The firm later retracted its release of the identity of the student.
