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NOVEMBER 17--A fraternity at Ohio University has been charged with hazing after pledges were beaten and forced to "chug large amounts of alcohol" during an initiation ritual. The misdemeanor count was filed yesterday against Delta Tau Delta after two pledges, one of whom was unconscious, landed in a hospital emergency room last week, according to the below Athens Police Department report. The wannabe frat brothers told cops that they were blindfolded, forced to drink alcohol, and "repeatedly slapped around." One pledge, Michael Pristera, was left bloodied and "suffered injuries to his face, chest, and back." The unconscious Pristera had hand prints on his chest "from open hand slaps to the chest." Two other pledges at the hospital told police that "they knew what was happening was wrong and illegal," but they declined to provide written statements about the hazing. When Pristera eventually awoke and became alert, he told officers that he "didn't want to lose his friends or the Delt house so he didn't want to say anything."
<p>This is happening at schools all over the country, even the ones without a big greek scene. The physical abuse is bad enough, but I have heard a lot of stories in the past four or five years about pledges being forced to drink massive quantities of alcohol within a short time period. It’s a recipe for disaster.</p>
<p>It always amazes me how one can’t learn from another, no matter how many times they hear, read or see things like this on TV, some students will continue to do these things.
I never saw any fun or joy in chugging large amounts of alcohol but even if you did, being responsible for doing physical harm to another goes beyond not having common sense.
I don’t think it will ever stop, but I was glad my kids weren’t interested in frats or that type of behavior. It really scares me because you can die or have permanent problems from hazing.</p>