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For Families in Shiner, Texas: Your Definitive Guide to Hazing Laws, Texas University Risks, and Protecting Your Child

When you send your child from our close-knit community in Shiner to college, you send them with our shared values: hard work, integrity, and looking out for one another. You trust the university to provide a safe environment for learning and growth. Yet, a hidden danger persists on campuses across Texas—one that preys on the very desire to belong and can turn a parent’s pride into their worst nightmare.

Right now, our firm is actively fighting one of the most serious hazing cases in Texas. We represent Leonel Bermudez in a $10 million lawsuit against the University of Houston, the Pi Kappa Phi national fraternity, its Beta Nu chapter housing corporation, and 13 individual members. The allegations are horrifyingly specific: a “pledge fanny pack” filled with humiliating items, forced overconsumption of food leading to vomiting, being sprayed in the face with a hose “similar to waterboarding,” and extreme physical workouts that caused Bermudez to develop rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure. He was hospitalized for four days, passing brown urine, and faces the risk of permanent organ damage.

As parents in Shiner, your children may attend schools close to home like Victoria College or Texas State Technical College, or they may venture to major universities like Texas A&M, UT Austin, Baylor, or the University of Houston. Wherever they are, the culture of hazing can follow. This guide is for you. We’ll explain what modern hazing really looks like, the Texas laws designed to stop it, the sobering history of fraternities and sororities at our state’s biggest schools, and, most importantly, what your family’s rights are if the unthinkable happens.

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 provide immediate help—that’s why we’re the Legal Emergency Lawyers™.

• In the first 48 hours:

  • Get medical attention immediately, even if your child insists they are “fine.”
  • Preserve evidence BEFORE it’s deleted:
    • Screenshot group chats, texts, and DMs immediately.
    • Photograph injuries from multiple angles.
    • Save physical items (clothing, receipts, objects used).
  • Write down everything your child tells you while memory is fresh.
  • DO NOT:
    • Confront the fraternity, sorority, or team directly.
    • Sign anything from the university or an insurance company.
    • Post details on public social media.
    • Let your child delete messages or “clean up” evidence.

• Contact an experienced hazing attorney quickly. We can help secure evidence and navigate the complex institutional response. Call 1-888-ATTY-911 for a confidential, free consultation.

Hazing in 2025: What It Really Looks Like Beyond the Stereotypes

Hazing is not just “boys will be boys” or harmless pranks. Under Texas law, it is any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers the mental or physical health of a student for the purpose of initiation or affiliation with a group. This happens on and off campus. For Shiner families, it’s crucial to recognize the forms it takes today:

• Alcohol & Substance Hazing: The most common and deadly pattern. This includes forced chugging, “family tree” drinking games, “Big/Little” nights where a pledge is given a bottle of liquor, and pressure to consume unknown substances.
• Physical Hazing: This ranges from “smokings” (extreme, punitive calisthenics) and paddling to sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme weather, and dangerous physical tests. In the UH Pi Kappa Phi case, this included 100+ push-ups, 500 squats, and lying in vomit-soaked grass.
• Sexualized & Humiliating Hazing: Forced nudity, simulated sexual acts, degrading costumes, and acts designed to inflict profound shame. This creates lasting psychological trauma.
• Digital Hazing: A modern evolution. Pledges may be required to maintain 24/7 availability on GroupMe, share their location, post embarrassing content on social media, or participate in degrading online “challenges.” Digital evidence—often deleted in cover-ups—is now critical in these cases.

This abuse occurs in fraternities and sororities, athletic teams, spirit groups like the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, marching bands, and other campus organizations. It is fueled by tradition, secrecy, and immense social pressure.

Texas Law & Liability: The Legal Framework Protecting Your Child

Texas has specific statutes to combat hazing, primarily found in the Texas Education Code, Chapter 37, Subchapter F.

Key Provisions for Shiner Families:

• Criminal Penalties: Hazing is a Class B misdemeanor. It becomes a state jail felony if it causes serious bodily injury or death—exactly what we allege in the Bermudez case.
• Organizations Can Be Prosecuted: The fraternity, sorority, or team itself can be fined up to $10,000 if it authorized or encouraged the hazing.
• Consent is NOT a Defense (Sec. 37.155): Even if your child “agreed” to participate, it is not a legal defense against hazing charges. The law recognizes the power imbalance and coercion inherent in these situations.
• Immunity for Good-Faith Reporting: Individuals who report hazing in good faith are immune from civil or criminal liability. Many schools also have medical amnesty policies to encourage calling 911.
• Civil Liability: Separately from criminal charges, victims and families can file lawsuits for damages. Potential defendants include:
  • The individual students who perpetrated the acts.
  • The local chapter and its officers.
  • The national fraternity or sorority headquarters.
  • The university (for negligence in supervision, enforcement, or deliberate indifference).
  • Property owners and landlords.

Federal Laws Overlay: The Stop Campus Hazing Act (2024) now requires colleges receiving federal aid to report incidents more transparently. If hazing involves sexual harassment or assault, Title IX obligations are triggered. These federal frameworks provide additional avenues for accountability.

National Hazing Cases: The Patterns That Repeat in Texas

The tragic cases below are not abstract news stories; they are blueprints of how hazing operates and the immense liability it creates. The same national organizations named here have chapters on Texas campuses.

The Takeaway for Texas: These national patterns—forced drinking, delayed help, institutional failure—are not confined to other states. They are the very patterns we see in active Texas litigation. When a national fraternity like Pi Kappa Phi has a fatal history at FSU, it underscores the foreseeability of risk in its chapters everywhere, including at the University of Houston.

The Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine: Mapping the Greek Ecosystem Your Child Enters

One of our core advantages is a data-driven investigative approach. We maintain a proprietary directory built from public records to understand the full landscape of Greek organizations in Texas. This means we don’t start from scratch when your family needs help.

For Shiner families, it’s important to know that the fraternity or sorority your child joins is part of a complex web of legal entities. Below is a sample from our database of Texas-registered Greek organizations (from IRS B83 filings), which includes housing corporations, alumni chapters, and educational foundations that may hold insurance and liability.

A Snapshot of Texas Greek Organizations (Public Records):

• Beta Nu Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity Housing Corporation Inc – EIN 462267515 – Frisco, TX 75035
• Kappa Sigma – Mu Camma Chapter Inc – EIN 133048786 – College Station, TX 77845
• Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity (Epsilon Kappa Chapter) – EIN 746064445 – Nederland, TX 77627
• Sigma Chi Fraternity Epsilon Xi Chapter – EIN 746084905 – Houston, TX 77204
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc – EIN 741380362 – Fort Worth, TX 76147
• Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity Inc (Theta Delta Chapter) – EIN 475370943 – Houston, TX 77204
• Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (Texas A&M Chapter) – EIN 900293166 – College Station, TX 77843

Where Shiner Students Go to College & The Greek Life They Encounter:

Shiner students often attend schools within our region and across the state. Each has its own Greek ecosystem with documented hazing incidents.

1. Local & Regional Schools:

   • University of Houston-Victoria: Just an hour from Shiner. While smaller, any campus groups can pose hazing risks.
   • Victoria College: A common choice for starting higher education close to home.

2. Major Texas Universities (Common Destinations):

   • Texas A&M University (College Station): Home to a massive Greek system and the Corps of Cadets. We have seen severe cases here, including a Sigma Alpha Epsilon lawsuit where pledges suffered chemical burns requiring skin grafts, and Corps of Cadets lawsuits alleging degrading physical and sexualized hazing.
   • University of Texas at Austin: Maintains a public hazing violations log. Recent entries show sanctions for groups like Pi Kappa Alpha for forced milk consumption and strenuous calisthenics, proving these activities are ongoing.
   • Baylor University: Has faced hazing scandals within its baseball program, resulting in multiple player suspensions.
   • University of Houston (Main Campus): As the home of our flagship Bermudez case, UH is a prime example of how systemic hazing can exist in an urban, commuter school environment. The alleged abuse spanned months and multiple locations.
   • Texas State University (San Marcos): A major university with significant Greek life, where national patterns frequently replay.

Building a Powerful Hazing Case: Evidence, Strategy, and Our Approach

If your family is facing this crisis, know that building a successful case requires immediate action and specialized expertise. Here’s what we focus on:

1. Evidence Preservation is Everything:

• Digital Evidence: Deleted GroupMe chats, Snapchats, Instagram DMs, and text messages. We work with digital forensics experts to recover what has been lost.
• Photographic/Video Evidence: Photos of injuries, videos of events, social media posts.
• Medical Records: Documentation linking injuries (like rhabdomyolysis, broken bones, psychological trauma) directly to hazing events.
• Witness Testimony: Other pledges, former members, roommates, and bystanders.
• Institutional Records: Prior complaints against the chapter, nationals’ risk management files, university disciplinary records obtained through discovery.

2. Identifying All Liable Parties:
Our goal is to identify every entity with responsibility. Using our Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, we look beyond the individual members to the:

• Chapter housing corporation (like the Beta Nu entity in the UH case).
• National fraternity/sorority headquarters.
• Alumni advisory boards.
• The university administration.
• Property owners where hazing occurred.

3. Overcoming Institutional Defenses:
We anticipate and counter common defenses:

• “The Pledge Consented”: Texas law and legal precedent nullify this argument due to coercive environments.
• “It Was a Rogue Chapter”: We subpoena national records to show patterns of similar behavior across chapters, proving foreseeability.
• “Insurance Doesn’t Cover Hazing”: With Mr. Lupe Peña’s background as a former insurance defense attorney, we know how to navigate coverage exclusions and fight for our clients at the settlement table.

Practical Guide for Shiner Parents & Students

For Parents – Warning Signs:

• Unexplained injuries, burns, or bruises.
• Extreme exhaustion, sleep deprivation, or drastic weight change.
• Secretive behavior, withdrawal from family, personality changes (anxiety, depression).
• Constant, anxious phone use tied to group chats.
• Sudden financial needs for unspecified “fines” or “dues.”
• Grades plummeting due to “mandatory” overnight events.

For Students – If You’re Being Hazed:

• Your safety comes first. If you or someone else is in danger, call 911.
• You have the right to leave. You cannot be punished for quitting a dangerous process.
• Preserve evidence silently. Take screenshots, photos of injuries, and notes on what happened.
• Report to multiple channels: Campus police, the Dean of Students, and anonymously to the National Anti-Hazing Hotline at 1-888-NOT-HAZE.
• Talk to a parent or trusted adult. You do not have to handle this alone.

Critical Mistakes That Can Harm a Case:

• Deleting text messages or group chats.
• Confronting the chapter directly, which triggers evidence destruction.
• Signing university “resolution” agreements without an attorney.
• Posting details on social media.
• Waiting too long to seek legal advice, allowing statutes of limitations to run and evidence to vanish.

Why Attorney911 is the Right Firm for Texas Hazing Cases

When your family in Shiner is up against a national fraternity and a major university, you need more than a general personal injury lawyer. You need attorneys with specific, proven advantages.

1. We Are Fighting a Major Texas Hazing Case Right Now. We are lead counsel for Leonel Bermudez in the $10M UH Pi Kappa Phi lawsuit. This isn’t theoretical; we are in the trenches today, deposing fraternity leaders, fighting insurance companies, and taking on a state university system.
2. Insider Insurance Knowledge. Our attorney, Mr. Lupe Peña, spent years as a defense attorney for a national insurance firm. He knows exactly how fraternity and university insurers evaluate claims, deny coverage, and drag out cases. We use their playbook against them.
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. We are not intimidated by deep-pocketed, powerful institutions—we have beaten them before.
4. Data-Driven Investigation. Our Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, built from thousands of public records, allows us to immediately map the organizational landscape behind a fraternity, identifying all potentially liable entities.
5. Spanish-Language Services. Mr. Peña speaks fluent Spanish, ensuring we can serve all Texas families with comfort and clarity.
6. Contingency Fee Basis. We handle these cases on a contingency fee—you pay no upfront costs. We only get paid if we win compensation for you.

Your Next Step: A Free, Confidential Consultation

If you suspect your child at Texas A&M, UT, UH, Baylor, or any Texas campus is being or has been hazed, time is your most critical asset. Evidence disappears quickly, and universities move to control the narrative.

We offer Shiner families a free, completely confidential consultation to listen to your story, review any evidence you have, and explain your legal options. We will help you understand the process, the potential outcomes, and how we can fight to hold the right people accountable.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC / Attorney911 Today.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911) for immediate assistance.
Direct: (713) 528-9070 | Cell: (713) 443-4781
Se habla Español: Contact Mr. Lupe Peña at lupe@atty911.com
Website: https://attorney911.com

We serve families across Texas from our offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont. You don’t have to face this alone. Let us help you protect your child and fight for the accountability and safety every student deserves.

Legal Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is unique, and outcomes depend on specific facts and law. If you need legal advice, please contact us or another qualified attorney for a consultation regarding your individual situation.