ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio University says it has expelled a fraternity for hazing, alcohol and drug use, and other student conduct code violations after the alleged hazing of an 18-year-old freshman who died in November.
The school disclosed Tuesday that the Sigma Pi fraternity was booted after witnesses told a hearing board about troubling behavior that jeopardized students’ safety.
A lawsuit by Collin Wiant’s family alleges he died of asphyxiation after ingesting nitrous oxide provided to and forced on him by fraternity members.
Sigma Pi denied those allegations and said Wiant wasn’t a pledge when he died. It says the teen from Dublin in suburban Columbus was removed from the pledging process weeks earlier because of a sexual-assault allegation.
But his family’s attorney has argued there is evidence that Wiant remained a pledge.