Pledges of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at LSU described to LSUPD investigators several hazing incidents including being urinated on, forced to lay on broken glass and having gasoline poured on them.
Pledges said fraternity member Cade Duckworth forced them to strip and go into an ice machine for 45 minutes. Pledges said they did not attempt to get out because they were afraid of being beaten up. Pledges were frequently punched and attacked by members and displayed visible injuries.
The report said pledges were forced to lay on broken glass while other pledges were made to lay face down and urinated on, had milk crates thrown at them and were sprayed with a hose.
Pledges said they were forced to take “new boy showers,” where they were forced to hold milk crates filled with ice and cayenne pepper above their heads under a cold running shower. They were forced to look up at the crates while the ice and pepper melted into their eyes. One pledge described the cold shower coupled with the cold melting ice as the worst part.
Pledges said former member Malcolm McNiece poured gasoline on a pledge, causing him to have trouble seeing. McNiece also made pledges play “Edward 40 hands,” where pledges had 40-ounce bottles of beer taped to their hands and were forced to finish the beers in order to have them removed. He also kicked pledges while wearing steel toe boots while they did push ups.
Duckworth and McNiece are not currently enrolled at the University.
The reports said fraternity member Gaston Eymard struck them with a silver pipe and punched and kicked them, leaving visible injuries. One pledge said he had to lie to his family about where the injuries came from.
Pledges also said Eymard made pledges eat “new boy dessert,” a mixture of food and liquid found around the house.
Other activities pledges were made to participate in included “bows and toes,” where pledges had to plank with only their elbows and toes touching the ground, and the “slap game” where pledges stood in a circle and slapped the person next to them as hard as possible and do handstands above trashcans, which was called the “gargoyle” position, according to the reports.
Nine former members of the fraternity were arrested and booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Thursday for hazing-related activities that occurred during the Fall 2018 semester, according to LSU Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard. This comes almost a month after the fraternity was closed by its national organization.
The members arrested include Charles Eugene Brakenridge, Blake Andrew Chalin, Cade Rain Duckworth, Gaston Thomas Eymard, Shakti P. Gilotra, Joseph Dylan Harkrider, Malcolm Richard McNiece, Alexander Joseph Rozas and Garrett Joseph Sanders.
This story will be updated once all arrest reports and mug shots are obtained.