The Complete Guide to Hazing, Accountability, and Legal Rights for Families in Ralls, Texas

If Your Child Was Hurt in a Fraternity, Sorority, or Campus Group, You’re Not Alone

Picture this: Your son, a first-year student at a major Texas university, texts you late on a Tuesday night. His message is vague, worried. He mentions a “big brother reveal” at the fraternity house. You don’t hear from him again until dawn, when a hospital in Lubbock calls. Your child is in the emergency room, disoriented and in pain, diagnosed with acute kidney failure from extreme physical exertion and dehydration. The doctors use a terrifying word: rhabdomyolysis. When you ask what happened, he looks away and whispers, “I can’t say. They’ll kick me out.”

For families in Ralls, Crosby County, and across the South Plains, this nightmare scenario is not hypothetical. It is happening right now at universities across Texas. Your children—students from Ralls High School who venture to Lubbock, College Station, Austin, or Houston for college—are entering environments where ancient, dangerous traditions persist behind closed doors. When the pursuit of belonging turns into brutality, families are left searching for answers, medical care, and justice.

This guide is for you—the parents, grandparents, and guardians in Ralls, Texas. We will walk you through exactly what hazing looks like in 2025, the Texas laws designed to protect your child, the sobering national history of fraternity and sorority misconduct, and what has been documented at the universities where your children study. Most importantly, we will explain your family’s legal rights and the path to accountability when institutions fail to protect the students entrusted to them.

Immediate Help for Hazing Emergencies:

• If your child is in danger RIGHT NOW:
  • Call 911 for medical emergencies.
  • Then call us at Attorney911: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). We are the Legal Emergency Lawyers™ for a reason.
• In the first 48 hours:
  • Get medical attention immediately. Do not downplay symptoms like severe muscle pain, dark urine, or confusion.
  • Preserve evidence BEFORE it’s deleted: Screenshot group chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp), photograph injuries, save any physical items involved.
  • Write down everything your child tells you—names, dates, locations, specifics.
  • DO NOT: Confront the fraternity/sorority, sign anything from the university, or post details on social media.
• Contact an experienced hazing attorney. Evidence vanishes within days. Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a immediate, confidential consultation.

Hazing in 2025: It’s Not Just “Party Pranks”

Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining, participating in, or maintaining membership in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate. For Ralls families, understanding its modern forms is critical.

Alcohol & Substance Hazing: This remains the deadliest pattern. It’s not “just drinking.” It’s coerced consumption: “family tree” drinking games where wrong answers mean a shot, “lineups” where pledges drink until they vomit, “bid night” where a handle of liquor is a rite of passage. The result is alcohol poisoning, traumatic brain injury from falls, or death.

Physical Hazing: This includes paddling, beatings, and “smokings”—extreme, punitive calisthenics like hundreds of push-ups or squats until collapse. It includes sleep deprivation for days, exposure to extreme cold or heat, and forced consumption of intolerable foods (spoiled milk, excessive hot dogs, raw onions) leading to illness.

Sexualized & Humiliating Hazing: Forced nudity, simulated sexual acts (“elephant walks”), degrading costumes, and acts designed to inflict profound shame. This is psychological torture disguised as tradition.

Digital Hazing: The 24/7 pledge leash. Mandatory group chats (GroupMe, Discord) where failure to instantly respond brings punishment. Social media dares and humiliation. Location-sharing demands. Digital evidence is now the cornerstone of hazing cases.

Psychological Hazing: Systematic isolation from friends and family, verbal abuse, threats of expulsion from the group, and imposed identities meant to break down self-worth.

Hazing happens in fraternities, sororities, athletic teams, marching bands, spirit groups (like Texas Cowboys), Corps of Cadets programs, and academic clubs. The common thread is a power imbalance exploited under the banner of “tradition” or “building brotherhood/sisterhood.”

The Law & Liability Framework in Texas: Your Child’s Rights

Texas takes hazing seriously in its Education Code (Chapter 37, Subchapter F). Understanding this framework is the first step to protecting your child.

Texas Hazing Law (Education Code § 37.151-37.156)

The law defines hazing broadly as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act directed against a student for the purpose of initiation or affiliation that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of that student. Key points for Ralls families:

• Location Doesn’t Matter: It applies on and off campus. A retreat in New Mexico or a house party in Lubbock is covered.
• “Consent is NOT a Defense” (§ 37.155): Even if your child “went along with it,” the law recognizes the coercive power of peer pressure. This is a powerful legal shield.
• Criminal Penalties Escalate with Harm:
  • Class B Misdemeanor: Basic hazing (up to 180 days jail, $2,000 fine).
  • Class A Misdemeanor: Hazing that causes bodily injury.
  • State Jail Felony: Hazing that causes serious bodily injury or death.
• Organizations Can Be Fined: The fraternity/sorority itself can face fines up to $10,000 per violation.
• Immunity for Reporters: Those who report hazing in good faith are protected from liability, encouraging calls for help.

Criminal vs. Civil Cases: Two Paths to Accountability

• Criminal Cases: Brought by the state (DA’s office). Goal is punishment (jail, fines, probation). Charges can include hazing, assault, furnishing alcohol to minors, or manslaughter.
• Civil Cases: Brought by the victim/family. Goal is compensation for damages and institutional accountability. This is where we help families recover medical costs, lost future earnings, and achieve justice.

Both can proceed simultaneously. A lack of criminal charges does not preclude a civil suit.

Federal Overlays: Title IX, Clery, and the Stop Campus Hazing Act

• Title IX: If hazing involves sexual harassment or assault, your child has additional rights and the university has specific, mandatory investigation duties.
• Clery Act: Requires universities to report and publish crime statistics, which can include hazing-related assaults.
• Stop Campus Hazing Act (2024): A new federal law requiring increased transparency in hazing reporting and prevention programs at federally funded schools.

Who Can Be Held Liable?

A thorough investigation identifies all responsible parties, which often include:

1. The Individual Perpetrators: The members who planned, executed, or covered up the hazing.
2. The Local Chapter: As an entity, it can be sued for creating or allowing a dangerous culture.
3. The National Fraternity/Sorority Headquarters: They often have deep pockets, insurance, and may have known about dangerous patterns at other chapters.
4. The University: If it knew or should have known about the risk and failed to act—through negligent supervision, inadequate policy enforcement, or deliberate indifference.
5. Housing Corporations & Landlords: Owners of the properties where hazing occurs.
6. Third Parties: Bars or alcohol providers under Texas’ dram shop laws.

National Hazing Cases: The Patterns That Repeat in Texas

The tragedies below are not abstract news stories. They are blueprints for how hazing kills and injures, and they establish legal precedents that protect families in Ralls and across Texas.

The Alcohol Poisoning Pattern:

• Timothy Piazza (Penn State, Beta Theta Pi, 2017): A bid acceptance night with forced drinking led to fatal falls down stairs. Brothers delayed calling 911 for hours. Dozens faced criminal charges; the case spurred Pennsylvania’s “Timothy’s Law.”
• Max Gruver (LSU, Phi Delta Theta, 2017): Died from alcohol poisoning after a “Bible study” drinking game. His death led Louisiana to pass the “Max Gruver Act,” creating felony hazing penalties.
• Stone Foltz (Bowling Green State, Pi Kappa Alpha, 2021): Forced to drink a bottle of whiskey during a “Big/Little” night. His family secured a $10 million settlement ($7M from the national fraternity, $3M from the university).
• Andrew Coffey (Florida State, Pi Kappa Phi, 2017): Another “Big Brother” night, another death from acute alcohol poisoning. FSU suspended all Greek life in response.

The Physical & Ritualized Violence Pattern:

• Chun “Michael” Deng (Baruch College, Pi Delta Psi, 2013): Blinded, weighted with a backpack, and repeatedly tackled in a “glass ceiling” ritual at a retreat. He died of traumatic brain injury. The national fraternity was convicted of felony charges and banned from Pennsylvania for 10 years.

The Catastrophic Injury Pattern:

• Danny Santulli (Univ. of Missouri, Phi Gamma Delta, 2021): Forced to drink a bottle of vodka during a “pledge dad reveal.” He suffered permanent, severe brain damage, leaving him unable to walk, talk, or see. His family settled with 22 defendants.

What This Means for You: These cases prove that specific, repeated fraternity activities are foreseeably dangerous. When the same “Big/Little” drinking night that killed Stone Foltz happens at a Texas chapter, the national organization cannot claim ignorance. This “pattern evidence” is powerful in court.

Texas University Focus: Where Ralls Families Send Their Kids

Ralls parents see their children attend universities across Texas. Here is what you need to know about the hazing landscape at major schools.

Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX)

For Ralls families, Texas Tech is a primary destination, just an hour’s drive away in Lubbock. Cases here would likely involve Lubbock police and the 99th District Court.

Campus Snapshot: A major public university with a significant Greek life presence and a strong tradition of school spirit.
Official Policy: Texas Tech prohibits hazing and requires reporting. The Office of Student Conduct investigates violations.
Documented Issues: Texas Tech has faced hazing allegations within its Greek system. The university’s disciplinary records, which can be obtained through investigation, often reveal patterns of alcohol abuse and coercive activities during pledge periods.
For Ralls Families: The proximity means you may be the first line of support. If an incident occurs, evidence must be preserved immediately. Local Lubbock attorneys may have relationships with the university; you need independent, specialized counsel focused on statewide institutional litigation.

West Texas A&M University (Canyon, TX)

Another regional option for Ralls students, located in nearby Randall County.

Campus Snapshot: Part of the Texas A&M System, with active Greek chapters and athletic programs.
Documented Context: As part of the A&M System, it is subject to the same policies and oversight structures. Hazing incidents here would involve local Randall County authorities and the university’s own conduct process.

University of Houston (UH) & The Flagship Case We Are Litigating Right Now

Campus Snapshot: A large, diverse urban university with a robust Greek system encompassing IFC fraternities, Panhellenic sororities, and NPHC (Divine Nine) organizations.
A Live Case Study in Institutional Failure: We are currently leading the litigation in Leonel Bermudez v. University of Houston & Pi Kappa Phi (Beta Nu Chapter), a $10 million hazing and abuse lawsuit filed in Harris County in late 2025.

This case is not a historical reference; it is active proof of the brutal reality of modern hazing. Our client, Leonel Bermudez, a UH transfer student and Pi Kappa Phi pledge in Fall 2025, was subjected to:

• Humiliation: Forced to carry a “pledge fanny pack” 24/7 containing condoms, a sex toy, and other degrading items.
• Psychological Control: Enforced dress codes, hours-long “study blocks,” and overnight chauffeuring duties.
• Extreme Physical Abuse: Sprints, bear crawls, “save-your-brother” drills, being sprayed in the face with a hose “similar to waterboarding,” and forced consumption of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until vomiting.
• The Breaking Point: On November 3, 2025, he was forced through over 100 push-ups and 500 squats. He developed rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure, passed brown urine, and was hospitalized for four days with critically high creatine kinase levels, risking permanent kidney damage.

The defendants include 13 individual fraternity leaders, the Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu housing corporation, Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters, the University of Houston, and the UH System Board of Regents. Following media exposure by Click2Houston and ABC13, the chapter was suspended and its members voted to surrender their charter. UH called the conduct “deeply disturbing.”

Why This Matters for All Texas Families: This case demonstrates our firm’s active, frontline role in taking on a major Texas university and a national fraternity. The tactics used—digital control, psychological pressure, extreme physical hazing—are not unique to UH. They are the standard playbook.

Texas A&M University (College Station, TX)

Campus Snapshot: Home to a massive Greek system and the famed Corps of Cadets, both with deeply ingrained traditions.
Documented Incidents:

• Corps of Cadets Lawsuit (2023): A cadet alleged severe hazing including being bound between beds in a “roasted pig” position with an apple in his mouth during “Hell Week.” The lawsuit sought over $1 million.
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon Chemical Burns Case (2021): Pledges alleged being doused with a mixture including industrial-strength cleaner, causing severe chemical burns requiring skin graft surgeries. The chapter was suspended.
  For Ralls Families: The Corps presents a unique hazing environment with military-style discipline often used as a cover for abuse. The university’s dual identity as a school and a military training ground complicates oversight.

University of Texas at Austin (UT)

Campus Snapshot: A flagship university with a prestigious and powerful Greek life scene.
Transparency & Pattern: UT maintains a public online log of hazing violations, a valuable resource.
Documented Incidents (from UT’s log):

• Pi Kappa Alpha (2023): New members directed to consume excessive milk and perform strenuous calisthenics. Chapter placed on probation.
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon (2024): Faced a lawsuit from an Australian exchange student alleging a violent assault at a party resulting in a dislocated leg, broken nose, and fractured tibia.
• Various spirit groups and other fraternities have been sanctioned for forced workouts, alcohol hazing, and degrading activities.
  Key Takeaway: UT’s public record shows hazing is persistent even at elite institutions. This log can be used as evidence to show a chapter or national organization had prior knowledge of risks.

Other Texas Universities

Ralls students also attend schools like South Plains College, Wayland Baptist University, and others across the state. Hazing risks exist wherever there are groups with initiation rituals and power imbalances. The legal principles remain the same.

Fraternities & Sororities: Connecting National Histories to Local Chapters

The fraternity on your child’s campus is not an island. It is part of a national organization with a history, a risk management playbook, and, often, a ledger of tragedies.

Why National Histories Matter in Court: If a national fraternity has had chapters shut down for alcohol hazing deaths in Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania, it cannot claim it was “unforeseeable” that the same “Big/Little” drinking ritual at a Texas chapter could kill someone. This establishes negligence and can support claims for punitive damages.

A Sample of National Patterns (Directly Relevant to Texas Campuses):

• Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ): National pattern of fatal alcohol hazing (Stone Foltz at BGSU). Present at UH, Texas A&M, UT, others.
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon (ΣΑΕ): A history dubbed “the deadliest fraternity” by some publications. Facing lawsuits for traumatic brain injury (Alabama) and severe assault (UT). Present at UH, Texas A&M, others.
• Pi Kappa Phi (ΠΚΦ): The national organization involved in our UH lawsuit and the Andrew Coffey death at FSU.
• Phi Delta Theta (ΦΔΘ): The fraternity involved in Max Gruver’s death at LSU. Present at multiple Texas schools.
• Kappa Alpha Order (ΚΑ): Repeated hazing suspensions, including at SMU.

Our investigative advantage lies in our Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine. We don’t just know the news stories; we track the underlying corporate and legal structures. For example, our database includes Texas-registered entities like:

• Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, EIN 746064445, Nederland, TX 77627 (IRS B83 Filing)
• Beta Nu Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation Inc, EIN 462267515, Frisco, TX 75035 (IRS B83 Filing)
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc, EIN 741380362, Fort Worth, TX 76147 (IRS B83 Filing)

This data helps us identify every potentially liable entity—local housing corporations, alumni associations, national headquarters—ensuring no responsible party hides behind organizational charts.

Building a Case: Evidence, Damages, and Legal Strategy

Winning a hazing case requires converting trauma into a compelling legal narrative. Here is how we do it.

The Evidence Pyramid

1. Digital Communications (Most Critical): GroupMe, WhatsApp, iMessage, Discord, Snapchat, Instagram DMs. We use digital forensics to recover deleted messages that show planning, coercion, and cover-ups.
2. Photos & Videos: Content shot by perpetrators themselves. Social media posts, stories, and shared videos are often the most damning evidence.
3. Medical Records: Documentation from ER visits, hospitalizations, and specialists that directly link injuries to the hazing event (e.g., diagnosing rhabdomyolysis, PTSD, fractures).
4. Internal Organization Documents: Pledge manuals, “tradition” binders, emails between officers, and national fraternity risk management policies.
5. University Records: Prior conduct violations for the same chapter obtained through discovery or public records requests, proving the school knew of the risk.
6. Witness Testimony: Other pledges, former members, roommates, and bystanders.

Recoverable Damages for Your Family

• Economic Damages: All past and future medical expenses, lost wages, costs for therapy/psychological care, and diminished future earning capacity if your child is permanently disabled.
• Non-Economic Damages: Compensation for physical pain, emotional suffering, mental anguish, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life.
• Wrongful Death Damages (if applicable): Funeral costs, loss of financial support, and the profound loss of companionship, love, and guidance for the family.
• Punitive Damages: In cases of egregious misconduct, courts can award damages to punish the defendants and deter future behavior.

Overcoming Institutional Defenses

We anticipate and dismantle the standard defenses:

• “They Consented”: Texas law (§ 37.155) and legal precedent nullify this. Consent under coercion is meaningless.
• “Rogue Individuals, Not the National”: We subpoena national records to show prior complaints and pattern of identical misconduct at other chapters, proving foreseeability.
• “It Happened Off-Campus”: Liability is based on control and affiliation, not just geography. Nationals that collect dues and universities that recognize chapters maintain responsibility.
• “We Have an Anti-Hazing Policy”: We demonstrate the gap between paper policy and actual enforcement, showing negligent supervision.

Practical Guides & Immediate Steps for Ralls Families

For Parents: A Step-by-Step Action Plan

1. Listen & Ensure Safety: Get your child to a safe place. Seek immediate medical care for any injury or intoxication.
2. Preserve Evidence: Help your child screenshot ALL relevant group chats, text threads, and social media posts. Photograph injuries. Do not delete anything.
3. Document Everything: Write down a timeline with names, dates, locations, and specific acts while memories are fresh.
4. Secure Legal Counsel BEFORE Reporting: Contact us at 1-888-ATTY-911. We can guide you on how to report to the university or police in a way that protects your child’s rights and preserves legal claims.
5. Beware of University “Resolution”: Do not sign any agreements, waivers, or “informal resolution” forms from the university without an attorney’s review. Their goal is often to minimize institutional exposure.
6. Prepare for the Long Game: These cases are complex. Your child may need ongoing therapy. We manage the legal battle so your family can focus on healing.

For Students: Your Rights & Safety

• You Have the Right to Be Safe. No tradition is worth your life or health.
• You Can Leave. You can de-pledge or resign membership at any time. Send a clear email/text to the chapter president for documentation.
• Report Safely: You can report anonymously through campus hotlines or the National Anti-Hazing Hotline (1-888-NOT-HAZE). For concrete action, reporting to the Dean of Students or campus police with an attorney’s guidance is most effective.
• Texas is a “One-Party Consent” State: You can legally record conversations you are a part of without informing the other parties, which can capture crucial admissions.

Critical Mistakes That Can Destroy a Case

1. Deleting Evidence: The instinct to “make it go away” destroys your case. Preserve everything.
2. Confronting the Fraternity Directly: This triggers their defense lawyers and leads to evidence destruction.
3. Signing University Papers: Never sign anything without legal counsel.
4. Posting on Social Media: Defense investigators monitor everything. Inconsistencies can be used against you.
5. Waiting Too Long: The Texas statute of limitations for personal injury is generally two years. Evidence and witness memories fade fast.

Why Attorney911 Is the Right Firm for Texas Hazing Cases

When your family faces a hazing crisis, you need advocates who understand the machinery of institutional defense and have the resources to dismantle it. We are not just personal injury lawyers; we are complex institutional litigation specialists.

Our Proven Advantage for Ralls Families:

1. We Are Litigating a Major Texas Hazing Case RIGHT NOW. Our lead role in the Leonel Bermudez v. UH & Pi Kappa Phi case is not past history. We are in active, contentious litigation against a major university system and a national fraternity, fighting for the exact kind of justice your family may need.
2. Insider Knowledge of Insurance Defense Tactics. Our attorney, Mr. Lupe Peña (he/him), spent years as a defense attorney for a national insurance firm. He knows how fraternity and university insurers value claims, deploy delay tactics, and fight coverage. We know their playbook because we used to write it. You can learn more about Mr. Peña’s background at https://attorney911.com/attorneys/lupe-pena/.
3. Experience Against Billion-Dollar Defendants. Managing Partner Ralph Manginello was one of the few plaintiff attorneys involved in the BP Texas City Explosion litigation, a case against one of the world’s largest corporations. We are not intimidated by the deep pockets of national fraternities or university legal teams. Learn about Ralph’s experience at https://attorney911.com/attorneys/ralph-manginello/.
4. Data-Driven Investigation with the Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine. We maintain a proprietary database tracking over 1,423 Greek organizations across 25 Texas metros. We know the corporate entities, the EINs, and the connections. We don’t start from scratch; we start from a position of knowledge.
5. Dual Civil & Criminal Expertise. Ralph’s membership in the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association (HCCLA) means we understand the criminal exposure that may accompany hazing. We can strategically advise on the interaction between criminal proceedings and your civil quest for justice.
6. A Network of Essential Experts. We work with medical specialists, forensic psychologists, digital evidence experts, and economists to build an unassailable case for damages.
7. We Serve All of Texas, Including Ralls and Crosby County. While our offices are in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, we represent families across the state. Your case is our priority, no matter your zip code.

Your Next Step: A Confidential, No-Obligation Consultation

If hazing has impacted your child at Texas Tech, West Texas A&M, or any university, the path forward begins with a conversation. We are here to listen, explain your rights, and help you make informed decisions.

During your free consultation, we will:

• Listen carefully to your story and review any evidence you have.
• Explain the legal landscape specific to your situation.
• Outline the investigative process and potential strategies.
• Discuss how we work on a contingency fee basis—you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
• Answer your questions honestly, without pressure.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC (Attorney911) Today:

• 24/7 Phone: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
• Direct Line: (713) 528-9070
• Website: https://attorney911.com
• Email: ralph@atty911.com or lupe@atty911.com
• Se Habla Español: Mr. Lupe Peña provides fluent Spanish-language legal services.

Whether you’re in Ralls, Lubbock, or anywhere in Texas, you do not have to navigate this crisis alone. The institutions involved have lawyers whose job is to protect them. You deserve advocates whose only job is to protect your child and your family. Call us today.

Legal Disclaimer

This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC. Hazing laws and university policies are complex and ever-changing. The information here is current as of late 2025. Every case is unique, and outcomes depend on specific facts and evidence. If you or your child has been affected by hazing, we strongly encourage you to consult with a qualified attorney to review your specific situation and rights.

The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC / Attorney911
Legal Emergency Lawyers™
Houston | Austin | Beaumont
Call: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
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