He needs plastic surgery — but it wasn’t hazing?
March 13, 2010 by Claire KnightPosted in: In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Student Life
Frat buddies took what was supposed to be a fun-filled ski trip, but after one drunken decision, the “fun” got way out of hand — and one student got burned.
Texas Christian University (TCU) student Amon Carter IV and more than a dozen members of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity took a ski trip to Colorado.
Carter suffered second- and third-degree burns after friends branded his buttocks. He will have to have plastic surgery to repair the damaged skin tissue.
Here’s what happened, according to Carter:
The group was drinking and getting rowdy. During the party, Carter agreed to let his frat buddies brand the Kappa Sigma letters onto his buttocks with a hot wire coat hanger.
Carter admitted, like many instances, this was a “dumb drunken decision,” but says his frat brothers went too far. They also banded triangles from the frat’s counterpart, the Tri Delta Sorority, onto Carter’s other butt cheek while he was passed out.
TCU and Kappa Sigma officials launched an investigation. “University policy prohibits harming another student, which would obviously include branding,” spokeswoman Lisa Albert said.
Law enforcement also investigated the incident, and determined they will not file any charges.
Reason? Carter was a willing participant and the branding was not an initiation — he was already a full member of the fraternity, according to reports.
What’s your take? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Tags: hazing, student drinking, TCU
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March 15th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Texas Christian University (TCU), What a shame that they use the name of Christ and allow all sorts of unchristian behavior. THE GREAT WHITE THRONE WILL BE FULL OF PEOPLE.
March 15th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Just another case of why chaperones are still needed for college events. If you are so “drunk” that the thought off getting a permanent mark (brand) doesn’t phase you… However, he should sue for malicious intent for the second branding while he was unconscious!
March 15th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Just another case of why chaperones are still needed for college events. If you are so “drunk” that the thought off getting a permanent mark (brand) doesn’t phase you… However, he should sue for malicious intent for the second branding while he was unconscious!
March 15th, 2010 at 9:04 pm
Interesting. Were these students of legal drinking age? If not they should be charged with underage consumption of alcohol. Since the branded student was already a member of the fraternity I assume he was over 18 and able to give his consent, of course it is tough to give informed consent when you are so intoxicated that you pass out. The second branding is an obvious assault and battery but only if the branded student wishes to press charges. Unlikely. And what does plastic surgery have to do with anything? Branding by definition causes full thickness or third degree burn to the area that is branded thus leaving a permanent “brand”. He only requires surgery if he consents to have surgery, hopefully not in a drunken stupor. Otherwise his full thickness burns can remain as a reminder of his stupidity. I wonder if Texas Christian Univ will request that all members of the fraternity are “branded” since I am sure that they follow the “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” mantra.
March 15th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
What’s to comment. “Dumb drunken decision” DDD! You take responsibility for your decisions regardless of the consequences.
March 16th, 2010 at 9:05 am
I understand being part of a basketball team or bicycling club, but I was never drawn to being part of a group for which there was no discernable reason to exist other than exclusivity of membership. If you want to have friends, join a winemakers club or the Log Cabin Republicans, but even if you are only 18 years old, try to find something with some substance. Sure, when you are 50 years old and having a proctology exam, you may not have the easy conversation starter that this kid in the article will have, but once you are face to face with the doctor, you may recognize him or her from the old days when you were both members of GALA.
March 16th, 2010 at 10:20 am
They’re all adults…stupid ones admittedly but while I sympathize with the branded individual, he consented to explicitly with the first brand and implicitly by his association with people w/o integrity. No one should be held responsible for anything other than their own actions and especially not the school. I repeat…they were all adults and should be treated as such. No need for chaperones… we have the police and lawyers to do that job.
March 16th, 2010 at 10:28 am
OMG, are you kidding me? Do Frats have any adults? Young men need time for their brains to become adult. From 17 to 25 their brains grow 20% and a lot of that is in the higher – decision making – parts. Having established that young men are often incapable of being good decision makers, due to biology, it should be obvious that all frat events need a DD, DD Designated Decision maker, who is a grown up. This stupidity can effect the rest of their lives unless they learned something. Do you think they did? Not if no one demanded it.
March 16th, 2010 at 10:59 am
I’m not entirely clear on why anyone would think the school is, or should be involved at all. Unless the article’s author left out that it was a TCU “sponsored” or “sanctioned” trip, just because they all go to school together doesn’t impress me as a reason that the school had anything to do with it.
I work at a large university. If I and a handful of coworkers take a week off together (say, over spring break) and go to Cancun…get drunk…and get tattoos of my school’s logo…has hazing occurred? Has it NOT occurred only because I’m in my 40′s and not my 20′s? Even if my coworkers had me tattooed while I was passed out under the influence…in what way is my employer involved, other than that they just happen to issue paychecks (or in the case of students; grades) to everyone on the trip?
Why do we as a society continually look more-n-more to hold others accountable when our own intelligence and/or common sense falters?
March 16th, 2010 at 11:30 am
Uh Barb – what’s the source of your information that young men’s brains grow 20% from ages 17-25? Yet another way to suggest that young adults really aren’t adults? I need some reputable citations on this. I agree that we ACT as if people are not really adults and aren’t accountable for their behavior (prolonged adolescence), but to say their actual brains haven’t developed is something else entirely.
March 16th, 2010 at 11:42 am
I have to agree with Mario. At what point do we make college students take responsibility for their own actions instead of making excuses for them? Alcohol isn’t the issue, plenty of college students drink and act responsibly. Young adults have to start having some personal standards, not because a chaperon is watching but because they clearly know right from wrong and yet time after time they CHOOSE to go along with the crowd instead of being themselves and feeling that is good enough. Instead of posting a chaperon there to police a situation, how about we start teaching them about personal integrity and what that really means? The college isn’t at fault, this could have happened anywhere. We can educate them with all of the information we possibly can but until young adults learn to stand up for themselves, have some integrity and not go along with “group think” then we will continue to have these kinds of unfortunate situations.
March 17th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Wow…all I can say is I’ll bet their parents are really proud of them!
March 17th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
College admissions offices are often concerned with effective ways of branding their college for prospective students. These guys might be on to something. “Please sir may I have another!”