Photo sent to Sigma Pi’s national organization allegedly shows student covered in hot sauce, blindfolded and kneeling in front of swastika.
Photo and video evidence allegedly depicting rituals of the Fall 2014 and Fall 2015 pledge processes for the Sigma Pi fraternity at Hofstra University
show pledging members were made to chug milk and vomit on one another, stay locked in a small cage and kneel blindfolded while their bodies were covered in hot sauce, among other hazing rituals performed at an off-campus residence.
The Grand Council of Sigma Pi Fraternity International revoked the charter for Hofstra's Eta-Gamma chapter of the organization effective March 1, 2016, according to a letter dated March 2. A semester-long investigation by The
Chronicle has uncovered evidence of a culture of hazing within Hofstra's chapter that spans three semesters (Fall 2014, Spring 2015 and Fall 2015) and includes forced favors, a merit and demerit system and anti-Semitic imagery.
The letter sent by the national organization said, "The Executive Office suspended chapter operations upon receiving evidence of violations of both Fraternity and FIPG [Fraternal Information and Programming Group] risk management policies. The University followed with a suspension of the Chapter through the University as well. After an investigation, Eta-Gamma Chapter was found to be in violation of Sigma Pi's standards."
A former student and member of Sigma Pi's Spring 2015 Beta-Alpha class, Syed Ali John Mehdi, sent an email to national Sigma Pi Executive Director Jason Walker, and Director of Business Operations Jen Wyatt on March 1, according to a record of the transaction.
Included in the email is a brief description of the "extreme hazing" Mehdi claimed he faced, as well as several photos and videos depicting certain rituals.
