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Old 01-28-2020, 03:36 PM
SAEalumnus SAEalumnus is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,756
A fraternity that once had a chapter at my campus was shut down several years ago and permanently banned from ever returning to the school as a result of a hazing incident. I won't call out the GLO by name, but the circumstances were as follows.

The chapter had a tradition of going out to the desert over the weekend preceding their formal initiation ceremony to have a bonfire and 'brotherhood event' of sorts. This event was traditionally attended by dozens to hundreds of people, including both active and alumni members. Being that far away from civilization with a bunch of college students and an ample supply of alcohol was perhaps not the wisest of decisions, but that's not what got them in trouble, at least not directly.

One of the actives came up with the idea of throwing gasoline on the bonfire for pyrotechnic effect...

... what could *possibly* go wrong?

The active in question discussed the idea with a roommate from what I was told; both of them agreed to carry this out.

One of them purchased the gasoline and packed it into one of the vehicles in which they were carpooling to the desert. God knows how many people saw the gasoline being packed, nobody spoke up.

They get out to the desert and in the evening light the bonfire. They line up the soon-to-be initiates (I think most of us use the term 'neophytes;' right?) along one side of the bonfire.

The original active pulls out the container of gasoline and approached the bonfire. Nobody stopped him.

The original active then opened the container and sloshed the gasoline *over* the open flames, apparently having either never studied, or willfully disregarded conservation of momentum.

The gasoline -- mid "flight" -- caught fire. The now combusting gasoline landed on the line of neophytes standing on the opposite side of the bonfire, subjecting most of them to second- and third-degree burns and requiring immediate hospitalization. Evacuating the injured was made that much more difficult because of their distance from the nearest civilization, nevermind nearest hospital.

Other than the chapter having been shutdown and permanently banned, I don't know what other fallout was involved, but I would imagine it included criminal charges, civil liability, and expulsion from school, the national fraternity, or both.
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SAE, Master Mason & Past Master, Sciot, 32° Scottish Rite Mason, RAM/SEM/KT York Rite Mason, Shriner, SK (Amaranth)
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