Indiana University frat's charter revoked amid hazing allegations
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Bloomington chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity was closed by its national organization Thursday, the day after a video surfaced purportedly showing a man performing a sex act on a woman during an apparent hazing ritual.
Earlier Thursday, the university suspended the chapter while it investigates what it said in a statement, "appears to be credible video evidence" of the hazing allegations.
In the video, a man in his underwear appears to be engaging in a sex act with a naked woman. They are surrounded by a crowd of shouting onlookers, some of them partially dressed or naked.
Initial reports suggested the man in the video was a pledge at the fraternity, but the national Alpha Tau Omega fraternity said the man was a 21-year-old member of the organization, and that the woman is a hired exotic dancer.
University spokesman Mark Land says the chapter's members can attend classes and aren't suspended from school. It wasn't immediately clear whether any criminal charges would be pursued.
Alpha Tau Omega's national CEO Wynn Smiley said in a statement that the organization is working with the university to investigate what he called "a vulgar incident."
"The video is highly offensive and is antithetical to the values of Alpha Tau Omega," Smiley said. "If confirmed, swift disciplinary action will be taken."
The university said the fraternity chapter were notified about the suspension Wednesday evening and told that if the allegations were confirmed they would "represent violations of the university's student code of conduct and will not be tolerated."
Land said the university's student ethics and student life offices would be leading the investigation and that he didn't know whether the campus police department would be involved.
The Monroe County prosecutor's office wasn't yet involved in the case, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Robert Miller said.
The fraternity chapter on the 38,000-student campus faced disciplinary action in 2010, when the national headquarters kicked out more than two-thirds of its members after an investigation into hazing and alcohol violations.
Smiley said at the time that some members had an attitude that the fraternity's purpose was to be "party central."
In June, the Indiana State University in Terre Haute suspended the fraternity for violations including providing alcohol to minors, hosting unauthorized events and tampering with fire-suppression equipment.
Indiana University is one of 144 colleges and universities nationwide currently being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for complaints related to sexual violence.