Bowie State University Fraternity Being Sued For $3 Million By Student For Hazing
Bowie State University is in the middle of a big problem as a fraternity is being sued for $3 million by a student who says he underwent hazing when pledging at the school. The lawsuit named the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity of the school and 20-year-old Kevin Hayes says he has pictures to prove it all happened.
According to CBS Baltimore, the lawsuit spans 17 pages and details how the junior at Bowie State University was punched and paddled by other members of the fraternity during the hazing.
“It broke me down. It’s something I never felt before.”
The photos that Hayes has in his possession show the injuries he sustained during the hazing while pledging APA at Bowie State University. He admits that those that punished him were others in the fraternity.
WUSA9 states that the lawsuit specifically names fraternity members Keenan Goins and Mike Ross among those that were a part of the hazing that caused his injuries. Hayes says he was body slammed, punched, hit, and paddled. The paddling caused severe bruising on his buttocks.
Hayes says the abuse needs to stop.
“Something must happen so no one else has to deal with these issues.”
In the lawsuit, it states that pledges were not allowed to “snitch” about the hazing happening at Bowie State University, and couldn’t even wear certain colors. After the hazing was over, the lawsuit states that members of the fraternity threatened Hayes and his mother.
Pledging was said to last five to eight hours on some nights.
The alleged hazing happened between September and November of 2013. There was even one night when an older fraternity member saw photos of some of Hayes’ injuries while looking through his phone.
“They began to say ‘Yo”re a snitch; you’re always talking. We are going to blackball you.’ They began to ostracize me.”
Bowie State University is not specifically named in the lawsuit for the hazing as it is aimed at the fraternity. The school did release a statement regarding the situation and the allegations brought forth by Kevin Hayes.
“Bowie State University has a stringent anti-hazing policy that is coupled with a strong anti-hazing education program. The university considers hazing to be indefensible and contrary to the interest of the university community,” the statement read.
The $3 million hazing lawsuit brought against the Bowie State University fraternity was brought by Hayes and Jimmy Bell, his attorney. Bell does state that the incidents happened off campus.
[Image via CBS Baltimore]
