The Complete Guide to Fraternity & Sorority Hazing for Whitewright, Texas Families: Understanding Your Rights & Finding Accountability

If Your Child Was Hazed at a Texas University, Start Here

For a parent in Whitewright, Texas—whether your roots run deep in Grayson County farmland or you’re raising a family in our close-knit community—the nightmare often begins with a phone call. Your student at the University of Texas, Texas A&M, or another campus is hurt, withdrawn, or speaking in worried fragments about “traditions” they can’t discuss. The fear is universal: What have they been forced to endure? The legal reality is complex, but your path to answers and accountability begins with understanding the full scope of what hazing is, who is responsible, and how Texas law protects your family.

Right now, we are actively litigating one of the most serious hazing cases in Texas: the Leonel Bermudez lawsuit against the University of Houston and the Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu chapter. In late 2025, our client, a UH transfer student, endured a pledge period of forced labor, humiliation, and physical abuse that culminated in rhabdomyolysis, acute kidney failure, and a four-day hospitalization. The allegations are specific and severe: a degrading “pledge fanny pack” rule, enforced sleepless chauffeuring duties, being sprayed in the face with a hose “similar to waterboarding,” forced consumption of milk and hot dogs until vomiting, and extreme workouts at Yellowstone Boulevard Park that left him passing brown urine. This active, $10 million lawsuit names not only the individual fraternity members but the UH System Board of Regents and Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters. It is a stark, current example of how hazing operates in Texas and the institutional failures that allow it to persist.

This guide is for you—Whitewright parents, grandparents, and families—whose children may attend schools from Austin College in nearby Sherman to the major hubs in College Station, Austin, Houston, and beyond. We will explain what modern hazing looks like, the Texas laws designed to stop it, the national patterns that predict it, and the practical steps you can take if your family is affected.

Immediate Help for a Hazing Emergency in Whitewright

If you suspect your child is in danger right now:

• Call 911 for any medical emergency.
• Then call Attorney911: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). We provide immediate legal guidance for families in crisis.

In the first 48 hours, critical steps include:

1. Secure Medical Care: Even if injuries seem minor, get a professional evaluation. Conditions like rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle breakdown) or internal trauma may not be immediately apparent.
2. Preserve Digital Evidence: Screenshot EVERYTHING—GroupMe chats, text messages, Instagram DMs, Snapchat stories. This evidence disappears quickly. For guidance, see our video on using your phone to document a legal case.
3. Document Physically: Take clear, dated photos of any injuries. Save any clothing or objects involved. Write down a timeline of events with names while memories are fresh.
4. Do Not Confront the Organization: This triggers evidence destruction and witness coaching. Let legal professionals navigate this.
5. Contact a Hazing-Specific Attorney: Evidence vanishes within days. Universities and national fraternities have crisis protocols. We can help you secure evidence and understand your rights. Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911.

What Hazing Really Looks Like in 2025: Beyond the Stereotypes

Hazing is not just “boys being boys” or “harmless tradition.” Under Texas law (Education Code Chapter 37), it is any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers the physical or mental health of a student for the purpose of initiation, affiliation, or maintaining membership in a group. This happens on and off campus, and a victim’s so-called “consent” is not a legal defense.

For Whitewright families, understanding the modern forms of hazing is critical, as tactics have evolved to avoid detection.

The Three Tiers of Hazing Abuse

1. Subtle Hazing (The “Gateway”): Behaviors that establish power imbalance and normalize control.

• Digital Servitude: 24/7 demands via GroupMe; required instant responses at all hours; forced location sharing.
• Mandatory Servitude: Acting as a personal driver, cleaner, or errand-runner for older members.
• Social Isolation: Being cut off from non-member friends and family; needing permission for basic activities.

2. Harassment Hazing (Psychological & Physical Discomfort):

• Sleep Deprivation: Late-night “meetings,” 3 AM wake-up calls, multi-day events with minimal rest.
• Forced Consumption: Eating excessive amounts of bland food (milk, bread, hot dogs) or disgusting concoctions.
• Psychological Torment: “Roasting” sessions, public humiliation, degrading nicknames, threats of expulsion from the group.
• Strenuous Exercise: “Smokings” with hundreds of push-ups, wall-sits to collapse, sprints—framed as “conditioning.”

3. Violent Hazing (High Risk of Injury or Death):

• Alcohol Hazing: The most common cause of death. This includes “family tree” drinking games, “Big/Little” nights with handles of liquor, lineups, and forced chugging.
• Physical Assault: Paddling, beating, branding, or dangerous “rituals” like the “glass ceiling” tackle that killed Chun Deng at a Pi Delta Psi retreat.
• Sexualized Hazing: Forced nudity, simulated sexual acts (“elephant walk”), sexual assault, or coercion.
• Extreme Environmental Exposure: Locked in freezing rooms, left outside in severe weather, denied bathroom access.

The Modern Twist: Hazing has moved underground. It occurs in off-campus Airbnbs, rural properties, and “unofficial” houses to avoid university cameras. It is disguised as “team-building,” “wellness challenges,” or “retreats.” The evidence lives on smartphones—in deleted group chats and social media posts—making immediate preservation the most important step a family can take.

Texas Hazing Law & Liability: A Whitewright Family’s Legal Framework

Texas has specific statutes that govern hazing, and understanding them is your first step toward accountability.

The Texas Education Code: Chapter 37, Subchapter F

• Definition (§37.151): Hazing is broadly defined as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers a student’s physical or mental health for the purpose of affiliation. Location doesn’t matter—it applies on and off campus.
• Criminal Penalties (§37.152): Hazing is a Class B misdemeanor. It becomes a Class A misdemeanor if it causes bodily injury and a state jail felony if it causes serious bodily injury or death.
• Organizational Liability (§37.153): The fraternity, sorority, or club itself can be prosecuted and fined up to $10,000 per violation if it authorized or encouraged the hazing.
• Consent is NOT a Defense (§37.155): This is critical. Even if your child “went along with it,” the law recognizes that peer pressure and power imbalance invalidate true consent.
• Immunity for Good-Faith Reporting (§37.154): Students who report hazing or call 911 in an emergency are generally protected from university discipline and criminal liability related to underage drinking that might surface during the response.

Civil Liability: The Path to Accountability and Compensation

A criminal case, handled by the state, seeks punishment. A civil lawsuit, which your family can pursue, seeks compensation for harms and forces institutional change. They can proceed simultaneously.

Who can be held liable in a civil hazing lawsuit?

1. Individual Perpetrators: The members who planned, executed, or covered up the hazing.
2. The Local Chapter: As an entity, if it is incorporated.
3. The National Fraternity/Sorority Headquarters: For negligent supervision, failure to enforce policies, and having prior notice of dangerous patterns. This is where national hazing histories become vital evidence.
4. The University: For deliberate indifference to a known, substantial risk. Public universities (like UH, Texas A&M, UT) have some sovereign immunity, but exceptions exist for gross negligence.
5. Third Parties: Landlords of unsafe properties, bars that overserved alcohol (under dram shop laws).

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

• Title IX: If hazing involves sexual harassment or assault, federal Title IX procedures and obligations are triggered, providing another avenue for investigation and remedy.
• Clery Act: Requires universities to report certain crimes, including aggravated assault and liquor/drug violations that often accompany hazing.
• Stop Campus Hazing Act (2024): A new federal law requiring colleges to publicly report hazing violations and strengthen prevention programs, increasing transparency for families.

National Hazing Cases: The Patterns That Repeat in Texas

The tragedies at other universities are not distant news. They are blueprints that show how hazing operates and how courts, juries, and legislatures have responded. These cases provide the “pattern evidence” that proves national fraternities and universities know the risks.

Fatal Alcohol Hazing: The Deadly “Tradition”

• Stone Foltz – Bowling Green State, Pi Kappa Alpha (2021): Forced to drink a bottle of alcohol during a “Big/Little” event; died of alcohol poisoning. Result: $10 million settlement ($7M from national PiKA, ~$3M from BGSU), criminal convictions, and chapter closure.
• Max Gruver – LSU, Phi Delta Theta (2017): Died during a “Bible study” drinking game where wrong answers meant forced drinking. Result: Louisiana passed the Max Gruver Act, creating felony hazing charges. A $6.1 million civil verdict was later awarded.
• Timothy Piazza – Penn State, Beta Theta Pi (2017): Died from traumatic brain injury after a bid-acceptance night with extreme drinking; brothers delayed calling 911. Result: Dozens of criminal charges, massive civil settlements, and Pennsylvania’s Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law.

Violent Physical & Ritual Hazing

• Chun “Michael” Deng – Baruch College, Pi Delta Psi (2013): Died from brain injuries after a blindfolded, violent “glass ceiling” ritual at a retreat. Result: National fraternity convicted of criminal charges and banned from Pennsylvania for 10 years.
• Danny Santulli – Univ. of Missouri, Phi Gamma Delta (2021): Suffered permanent, catastrophic brain damage from forced drinking. Result: Confidential multi-million dollar settlements with 22 defendants, including the national fraternity.

What These Cases Mean for Whitewright Families

These national precedents establish that juries will award significant damages, that national organizations can be held criminally and civilly liable, and that “tradition” is no defense. When the same national organizations operate chapters at Texas schools, they bring these known, foreseeable risks with them.

The Texas Hazing Landscape: Universities Relevant to Whitewright Families

Whitewright parents send their children to a range of Texas institutions. Your child might be at nearby Austin College in Sherman, commuting to Grayson College, or at a major hub like Texas A&M, UT Austin, University of Houston, Baylor, or SMU. Each campus has its own Greek ecosystem and history of incidents.

The Local & Regional Schools

• Austin College (Sherman): A small liberal arts college with active Greek life. Hazing risks here mirror national patterns but within a smaller community where reporting can feel more personal.
• Grayson College & Other Community Colleges: While less associated with residential Greek life, athletic teams, spirit groups, and clubs are not immune to hazing behaviors.

The Major Statewide Hubs

For each major university, we maintain detailed intelligence on Greek organizations, prior incidents, and liability structures. Below is a snapshot of the public records and known entities that form the backbone of our investigative work for families.

Public Records: Fraternities, Sororities & Greek Organizations Serving Whitewright Families

As part of our Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, we track over 1,400 Greek-related entities across 25 Texas metros. This data, compiled from IRS filings (B83 classifications) and corporate registries, helps us identify every potentially liable organization behind a hazing incident. For Whitewright families connected to the Dallas-Fort-Worth-Arlington metro and statewide campuses, here are examples of the entities we investigate:

• Kappa Sigma – Mu Camma Chapter Inc | EIN: 133048786 | College Station, TX 77845 | (IRS B83 filing)
• Gamma Phi Beta Sorority Inc | EIN: 161675890 | The Woodlands, TX 77382 | (IRS B83 filing)
• Pi Kappa Phi Delta Omega Chapter Building Corporation | EIN: 371768785 | Missouri City, TX 77459 | (IRS B83 housing corp)
• Beta Nu Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation Inc | EIN: 462267515 | Frisco, TX 75035 | (Relevant to UH Pi Kappa Phi case)
• Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi | EIN: 263170920 | Denton, TX 76204 | (Texas Woman’s University chapter)
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc | EIN: 741380362 | Fort Worth, TX 76147 | (Cause IQ Metro org)
• Beta Upsilon Chi Fraternity | 12650 N Beach St, Fort Worth, TX 76244 | (Cause IQ DFW metro listing)
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity – Texas Rho Corp. | Austin, TX | (Cause IQ Austin metro – UT chapter house corp.)

This is a fractional sample. In a real case, we use this engine to map the entire network—national HQ, local housing corporation, alumni chapter, and educational foundation—that may share liability and insurance coverage.

University of Houston: A Current Case Study

As seen in the Bermudez lawsuit, UH has a large, active Greek system. The allegations against Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu detail a failure at multiple levels: individual members, local chapter leadership, national headquarters’ supervision, and university oversight. UH’s public hazing policy prohibits such conduct, yet the alleged activities persisted for weeks.

For a UH family: Evidence would involve UHPD reports, Dean of Students records, and a deep dive into Pi Kappa Phi’s national risk management files, which we are currently pursuing in active litigation.

Texas A&M University: Greek Life & Corps Culture

A&M’s unique environment includes a massive Greek system and the Corps of Cadets, both with documented hazing issues.

• Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) – Chemical Burn Case (2021): Pledges alleged being doused with industrial-strength cleaner and other substances, causing severe chemical burns requiring skin grafts. The fraternity was suspended, and a lawsuit was filed.
• Corps of Cadets Lawsuit (2023): A cadet alleged brutal hazing including being bound in a “roasted pig” position with an apple in his mouth. The suit sought over $1 million, highlighting that hazing extends beyond Greek letters.

University of Texas at Austin

UT maintains a public Hazing Violations log, offering more transparency than many schools. Recent entries show a pattern of forced consumption and strenuous exercise.

• Pi Kappa Alpha (2023): Sanctioned for directing new members to consume milk and perform strenuous calisthenics.
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon (2024): Facing a lawsuit from an Australian exchange student who alleged assault at a party, resulting in a broken nose, dislocated leg, and fractured tibia. The chapter was already on suspension for prior violations.

Southern Methodist University & Baylor University

As private institutions, SMU and Baylor have their own disciplinary processes. Both have faced high-profile hazing incidents:

• SMU’s Kappa Alpha Order was suspended for paddling and alcohol hazing.
• Baylor’s baseball team suspended 14 players following a hazing investigation in 2020.

These instances confirm that no campus—public or private, large or small, secular or religious—is immune.

Building a Hazing Case: Evidence, Strategy, and Damages

When you contact us about a potential hazing case, we immediately begin a structured investigative process designed to secure evidence, identify all responsible parties, and build maximum leverage for accountability and recovery.

The Critical Evidence Timeline

1. Digital Forensics: Our first priority is preserving and recovering digital evidence: GroupMe, WhatsApp, iMessage, Instagram DMs, Snapchat memories. Even deleted messages can often be recovered. We also subpoena metadata from phone companies.
2. Organizational Discovery: We subpoena the national fraternity/sorority for its “risk management” files, prior incident reports for the chapter, internal communications, and training materials. This establishes “notice” and “pattern.”
3. University Records: Through public records requests and discovery, we obtain the university’s disciplinary history with the organization, emails between administrators, and Clery Act reports.
4. Witness Interviews: We identify and formally interview other pledges, former members, roommates, and bystanders. Often, others are waiting for someone to come forward first.
5. Expert Analysis: We work with medical experts to document injuries, economists to calculate lifelong impacts, and psychologists to diagnose PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

Overcoming Common Institutional Defenses

We anticipate and dismantle the standard defenses:

• “They Consented”: We cite Texas law where consent is no defense and use evidence of coercion, power imbalance, and threats of social or physical retaliation.
• “Rogue Individuals”: We show the national organization’s prior knowledge of identical hazing at other chapters, proving the conduct was foreseeable and policies were inadequately enforced.
• “It Was Off-Campus”: We establish liability by showing the university or national org sponsored, funded, or exercised control over the group and the event.
• “We Have an Anti-Hazing Policy”: We demonstrate the policy was a “paper tiger”—never meaningfully enforced, with prior violations met with only superficial punishments like “probation.”

Types of Recoverable Damages

In a civil lawsuit, families may seek compensation for:

• Economic Damages: All medical bills (ER, hospitalization, surgery, therapy), future medical care, lost wages, and diminished future earning capacity if injuries are permanent.
• Non-Economic Damages: Physical pain, emotional distress, humiliation, PTSD, 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 particularly egregious or reckless conduct, to punish the defendants and deter future behavior.

The settlements and verdicts in national cases show the potential scale: $10 million for Stone Foltz, $6.1 million for Max Gruver, $12.6 million for Chad Meredith. Each case is unique, but these figures reflect how juries value these profound harms.

Practical Guides & FAQs for Whitewright Parents and Students

A Parent’s Action Plan

Warning Signs:

• Unexplained injuries, bruises, or burns.
• Drastic weight change or constant exhaustion.
• Personality shifts: withdrawn, anxious, jumpy when phone alerts.
• Secrecy about group activities, new vocabulary about “traditions.”
• Financial drains for unexplained “fines,” alcohol, or gifts.

If Your Child Opens Up:

1. Listen, Don’t Confront. Thank them for trusting you. Your goal is to be a safe harbor.
2. Prioritize Health & Safety. Get medical attention immediately.
3. Preserve Evidence. Help them screenshot messages and photograph injuries. See our evidence video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLbpzrmogTs.
4. Seek Legal Counsel Before Reporting. We can help you navigate reporting to the university or police in a way that protects your child and the evidence. Call 1-888-ATTY-911.

A Student’s Guide to Safety & Rights

• Is This Hazing? If you feel coerced, unsafe, or humiliated to belong, it likely is. Trust your gut.
• You Have the Right to Leave. You can quit any group at any time. Your safety is more important than membership.
• How to Report Safely: You can report anonymously through campus hotlines or the National Anti-Hazing Hotline (1-888-NOT-HAZE). Texas law offers immunity for good-faith reporting in emergencies.
• Preserve Your Evidence: Take screenshots. Save everything. Tell a trusted friend or family member what is happening.

Critical Mistakes That Can Harm a Case

• Deleting messages or “cleaning up” social media.
• Confronting the fraternity/sorority directly, which triggers evidence destruction.
• Signing a university “resolution” agreement without an attorney’s review.
• Posting about the incident publicly before a legal strategy is in place.
• Waiting too long. Evidence vanishes, witnesses graduate, memories fade. Texas has a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury, but the clock starts ticking immediately. Learn more in our video on Texas statutes of limitations.

Why Attorney911 is Equipped to Fight for Your Whitewright Family

We are not just personal injury lawyers. We are a Texas complex litigation firm built to take on powerful institutions. Our approach to hazing cases is informed by a unique combination of insider knowledge and proven experience.

Our Competitive Advantages in Hazing Litigation

1. Insider Insurance Knowledge – Mr. Lupe Peña: Before joining our firm, Mr. Peña worked as an insurance defense attorney for a national firm. He knows exactly how fraternity and university insurance companies value claims, deploy delay tactics, and fight coverage. We know their playbook because we used to run it. You can learn more about Mr. Peña’s background here.

2. Complex Institutional Litigation Experience – Ralph Manginello: Ralph is one of the few plaintiff attorneys in Texas who was involved in the BP Texas City explosion litigation, taking on a billion-dollar corporate defendant. That same experience—managing massive discovery, battling deep-pocketed defense teams, and holding corporations accountable for systemic failures—is directly applicable to suing national fraternities and university systems.

3. Active, High-Stakes Hazing Litigation: We are not theorizing. We are currently lead counsel in the Leonel Bermudez v. UH & Pi Kappa Phi lawsuit. We are in the trenches right now, navigating the exact legal and strategic challenges your family may face.

4. Dual Civil & Criminal Capability: Ralph Manginello’s membership in the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association (HCCLA) means we understand the criminal side of hazing investigations. We can adeptly advise families and witnesses where criminal and civil cases overlap.

5. The Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine: As demonstrated in this guide, we don’t start from scratch. We maintain a proprietary database of Texas Greek organizations, their corporate structures, and their histories. We know how to find the entities that hold liability insurance and ultimate responsibility.

6. A Network of Specialized Experts: We have longstanding relationships with medical specialists, digital forensics experts, economists, and life-care planners who are essential to proving the full extent of damages in catastrophic injury cases.

7. Contingency Fee Basis: We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis—you pay no upfront legal fees. We only get paid if we recover money for you. Learn how this works in our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcI_j6F7Nc.

Your Next Step: A Confidential Consultation

If you are a parent, student, or witness in Whitewright or anywhere in Texas, and hazing has impacted your life, you do not have to navigate this alone. The institutions involved have teams of lawyers and crisis managers. You deserve dedicated, expert advocates who will fight for your family’s right to answers, accountability, and fair compensation.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC (Attorney911) for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation.

What to expect when you call 1-888-ATTY-911:

• We will listen compassionately to your story.
• We will explain the legal landscape and your potential options in plain English.
• We will discuss the critical importance of evidence preservation.
• We will outline our investigative process and how we build cases.
• You will feel informed, never pressured.

We serve families across Texas from our offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont. Se habla Español.

Call Attorney911 today: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911).
Direct: (713) 528-9070 | Cell: (713) 443-4781
Website: https://attorney911.com
Email Ralph Manginello: ralph@atty911.com
Email Lupe Peña: lupe@atty911.com

Let us help you turn a moment of crisis into a path toward accountability, healing, and prevention for other families.

Plain Text Links to Key Resources

News Coverage of the Leonel Bermudez / UH Pi Kappa Phi Hazing Lawsuit:

• Click2Houston report: https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2025/11/21/only-on-2-lawsuit-alleges-severe-hazing-at-university-of-houstons-pi-kappa-phi-chapter-fraternity/
• ABC13 coverage: https://abc13.com/post/waterboarding-forced-eating-physical-punishment-lawsuit-alleges-abuse-faced-injured-pledge-uhs-pi-kappa-phi-fraternity/18186418/

Attorney911 Educational YouTube Videos:

• Using your phone to document evidence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLbpzrmogTs
• Texas statutes of limitations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRHwg8tV02c
• Client mistakes that can ruin a case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3IYsoxOSxY
• How contingency fees work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upcI_j6F7Nc

Attorney911 Website & Profiles:

• Main Website: https://attorney911.com
• Ralph Manginello Profile: https://attorney911.com/attorneys/ralph-manginello/
• Lupe Peña Profile: https://attorney911.com/attorneys/lupe-pena/

Legal Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is fact-specific, and outcomes depend on the unique circumstances, evidence, and applicable law. If you need legal advice regarding a hazing incident, please contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC or another qualified attorney for a consultation. The information is current as of late 2025/early 2026.