The Complete Guide to Fraternity & Sorority Hazing at Texas Universities: A Legal Resource for Families in Van, Van Zandt County, and Across East Texas
If you are a parent in Van, Texas, the nightmare often begins with a phone call or a text that something is wrong. Your child at college is hurt, scared, and speaking in fragments about “traditions,” “mandatory events,” or “chapter expectations.” They might be hundreds of miles away at a major university, but the fear and confusion feel immediate, right here in our Van Zandt County community.
We are The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC, operating as Attorney911. Right now, we are actively litigating one of the most serious hazing cases in Texas—representing Leonel Bermudez in his $10 million lawsuit against the University of Houston, the Pi Kappa Phi national fraternity, and 13 individual members of its shut-down Beta Nu chapter. This case is a stark, local example of what modern hazing inflicts: forced humiliations, extreme physical abuse, and medical catastrophe. We are writing this guide for you—parents and families across Van, Ben Wheeler, Fruitvale, and throughout East Texas—to cut through the secrecy, explain your rights under Texas law, and show how accountability is pursued. If your child has been hurt in connection with a fraternity, sorority, Corps of Cadets program, athletic team, or campus club, you are not alone, and you have options.
IMMEDIATE HELP FOR HAZING EMERGENCIES:
- If your child is in danger RIGHT NOW:
- Call 911 for medical emergencies.
- Then call us, Attorney911, at 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). We provide immediate, professional legal guidance.
- In the first 48 hours:
- Get medical attention immediately, even if injuries seem minor.
- Preserve evidence BEFORE it disappears: screenshot all group chats (GroupMe, texts), photograph injuries, save any physical items involved.
- Write down everything your child tells you (who, what, when, where).
- DO NOT: confront the organization, sign anything from the university, or post details on social media.
- Contact an experienced hazing attorney. Evidence vanishes quickly. We can help secure it and protect your family’s rights. Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free, confidential consultation.
1. Hazing in 2025: What It Really Looks Like on Texas Campuses
Hazing is not just “boys being boys” or “harmless pranks.” Under Texas law, it is any intentional, knowing, or reckless act that endangers a student’s mental or physical health for the purpose of joining or maintaining membership in a group. For families in Van sending students to universities both near and far, understanding its modern forms is crucial.
Beyond Alcohol: A Taxonomy of Abuse
While forced drinking remains a lethal staple, hazing in 2025 is multifaceted:
- Digital Control & Coercion: Pledges are monitored 24/7 via group chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp). They face constant demands, sleep deprivation from late-night messages, and humiliation through mandated social media posts or deleted “challenge” videos.
- Physical “Conditioning” Disguised as Hazing: This includes forced, extreme calisthenics (“smokings”) leading to injuries like rhabdomyolysis—a severe muscle breakdown that can cause kidney failure. Our client, Leonel Bermudez at UH, suffered exactly this after being forced through hundreds of squats and push-ups.
- Psychological Torment and Humiliation: This involves enforced silence rules, carrying degrading “pledge packs” (with condoms, sex toys), public shaming, verbal abuse, and sleep deprivation.
- Sexualized Rituals and Violent Acts: These can range from forced nudity and simulated sexual acts to violent paddling, being tied up, or—as alleged in the UH Pi Kappa Phi case—being sprayed in the face with a hose “similar to waterboarding.”
These acts occur everywhere: in fraternity and sorority houses, at off-campus apartments, in athletic locker rooms, during Corps of Cadets “field training,” and at remote retreats. The common thread is an abuse of power, a tradition of secrecy, and the profound vulnerability of the student seeking belonging.
2. Law & Liability: The Texas Legal Framework Protecting Your Child
Texas has clear statutes designed to protect students and hold perpetrators accountable. For Van families navigating a crisis, here is the essential framework.
Texas Education Code, Chapter 37: The Anti-Hazing Statute
Texas law defines hazing broadly and imposes serious consequences:
- Criminal Penalties: Hazing is a Class B misdemeanor. It becomes a state jail felony if it causes serious bodily injury or death. Individuals can also be charged for failing to report hazing.
- Organizational Liability: The fraternity, sorority, or club itself can be fined up to $10,000 and lose its university recognition.
- “Consent is NOT a Defense”: Crucially, Texas law (Sec. 37.155) states that a victim’s agreement to participate is not a legal defense. Courts recognize that peer pressure and power imbalance negate true consent.
- Immunity for Reporters: Those who in good faith report hazing or seek medical help are protected from liability, encouraging lifesaving intervention.
Civil Liability: The Path to Accountability and Recovery
A criminal case is brought by the state to punish. A civil lawsuit, which we handle, is brought by the victim and family to recover damages and force institutional change. Potentially liable parties include:
- The Individual Perpetrators: Students who planned, executed, or covered up the acts.
- The Local Chapter: The on-campus organization as a legal entity.
- The National Headquarters: Organizations like Pi Kappa Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha, or Sigma Alpha Epsilon that often have deep pockets, insurance, and a history of prior incidents.
- The University: Schools can be liable for negligent supervision if they knew or should have known about a dangerous pattern and failed to act.
- Property Owners & Third Parties: Landlords of off-campus houses or bars that furnished alcohol.
Federal Overlays: Title IX and The Stop Campus Hazing Act
Federal law intersects with hazing, especially when it involves sexual harassment (Title IX) or when schools fail to report incidents (The Clery Act). The 2024 Stop Campus Hazing Act now requires colleges to publicly report hazing incidents, increasing transparency for families researching campus safety.
3. The National Hazing Pattern: Why History Repeats Itself
The tragedy at UH is not an isolated event. It follows a devastating national pattern. Understanding these cases shows that what happens in Van Zandt County courtrooms is connected to a nationwide fight for accountability.
- The Alcohol Poisoning Script: Stone Foltz (Bowling Green, Pi Kappa Alpha, 2021) died after being forced to drink a bottle of liquor. Timothy Piazza (Penn State, Beta Theta Pi, 2017) died after a bid-night drinking gauntlet. These cases show the lethal predictability of “Big/Little” nights.
- The Physical Brutality Pattern: Chun “Michael” Deng (Baruch College, Pi Delta Psi, 2013) died from traumatic brain injury after a violent “glass ceiling” ritual at a remote retreat. This mirrors the extreme physical abuse alleged in the UH case.
- The Athletic Hazing Model: The Northwestern University football scandal (2023) revealed systemic, sexualized hazing, proving abuse extends far beyond Greek life.
- The Institutional Cover-Up: A constant theme across cases is delay in seeking help and destruction of evidence by members seeking to protect the organization.
These cases result in multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts:
- Stone Foltz’s family: $10 million (Pi Kappa Alpha national & BGSU).
- Max Gruver’s family (LSU, Phi Delta Theta): $6.1 million verdict.
- These precedents empower Texas families, showing that courts and juries will hold powerful institutions accountable.
4. The Texas University Landscape: Where Van & East Texas Families Send Their Kids
Van families are deeply connected to the Texas higher education system. Students from Van Zandt County attend local universities, major regional hubs, and flagship schools across the state. Hazing is a risk at all of them.
For Van Families: The Local and Regional Campus Connection
Many students from our area begin at or transfer to nearby universities with active Greek life and campus organizations:
- The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler): Just an hour away, UT Tyler has a growing campus life with fraternities and sororities.
- Texas A&M University-Commerce: A major regional university in nearby Hunt County with a significant Greek system.
- Stephen F. Austin State University (Nacogdoches): A traditional “college town” campus with a long history of Greek organizations.
- Kilgore College & Tyler Junior College: Two-year colleges with student organizations that can also be venues for misconduct.
The Major Texas Hubs: Where Many East Texas Students Aspire to Go
It is common for high-achieving students from Van to attend the state’s largest universities, where Greek life is often most prominent and institutional.
A. University of Houston (UH) – The Active Case in Our Backyard
Our firm is currently leading the litigation against UH and Pi Kappa Phi. This case exemplifies the systemic failure that can occur.
- The Allegations: Leonel Bermudez, a fall 2025 pledge, was subjected to forced labor, humiliation, and brutal physical hazing. This included the degrading “pledge fanny pack,” extreme workouts at Yellowstone Boulevard Park, and being sprayed with a hose. The abuse led to rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure, requiring four days of hospitalization.
- The Institutional Response: While Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters suspended and then closed the chapter, and UH called the conduct “deeply disturbing,” the lawsuit alleges the university and national fraternity knew or should have known about the dangerous culture.
- For Van Families: This case is geographically and legally proximate. It shows that even at a major, urban commuter school like UH, dangerous, traditional hazing persists, and experienced legal counsel is fighting it right now.
B. Texas A&M University – Tradition, Corps, and Significant Risk
Texas A&M’s unique culture presents specific hazing risks in two major areas: the Corps of Cadets and its large Greek system.
- Corps of Cadets Hazing: Lawsuits have alleged severe, tradition-based abuse, including cadets being bound in “roasted pig” positions. The Corps’ intense hierarchy can enable misconduct.
- Fraternity Hazing: Notably, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) chapter was sued after pledges suffered severe chemical burns requiring skin grafts from being doused with industrial cleaner. This shows hazing’s evolution into particularly cruel forms.
- For Van Families: Many East Texas students are drawn to A&M’s tradition and network. Understanding that hazing risks exist within both the Corps and mainstream Greek life is vital.
C. University of Texas at Austin – Transparency and Persistent Problems
UT Austin maintains a public hazing violations log, offering a window into ongoing issues.
- Documented Violations: The log shows repeated sanctions against groups like Pi Kappa Alpha (for forced milk consumption and calisthenics) and Texas Wranglers (spirit group hazing). This public record is a powerful tool for proving a university’s prior knowledge of a group’s dangerous conduct.
- Recent SAE Incident: In 2024, an Australian exchange student sued the UT SAE chapter after allegedly being assaulted at a party, suffering a broken nose and dislocated leg.
D. Baylor University & Southern Methodist University (SMU)
- Baylor: While emphasizing its Christian mission, Baylor has faced hazing scandals within its baseball program and ongoing Greek life challenges. Its history with institutional response to crisis is part of the landscape.
- SMU: As a private university with a affluent student body and strong Greek presence, SMU has dealt with hazing incidents, including a Kappa Alpha Order chapter suspension for paddling and forced drinking.
5. The Organizations Behind the Letters: National Histories Matter
When a student in Van is hazed by a chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at UH, that chapter is not an island. It is part of a national organization with a history, an insurance policy, and a legal strategy. This history forms the backbone of a strong civil case.
The Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine: Mapping the Greek Ecosystem
Through public records, our firm maintains detailed data on Greek organizations operating in Texas. This isn’t abstract; it’s about knowing exactly who to hold accountable. For example, in the vicinity of East Texas and the universities Van students attend, public filings show organized Greek entities like:
- Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. – Sigma Gamma Chapter, EIN 392352450, Houston, TX 77254 (IRS B83 Filing)
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon – Texas Sigma Incorporated, EIN 882755427, San Marcos, TX 78666 (IRS B83/Cause IQ Overlap)
- Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi – University of Texas at Tyler, EIN 352335400, Tyler, TX 75799 (IRS B83 Filing)
- Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity – Epsilon Kappa Alumni, Beaumont, TX (Cause IQ Metro Listing – Beaumont Area)
These entities—house corporations, alumni chapters, honor societies—form the financial and operational backbone of campus Greek life. In a lawsuit, we trace liability through this precise network.
National Patterns = Foreseeability
A core legal principle is “foreseeability.” If a national fraternity has seen chapters across the country cause death through forced drinking games, it is foreseeable that another chapter might do the same. We use national incident databases to prove this pattern. For instance:
- Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike): National pattern of alcohol-related deaths (Stone Foltz).
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE): Pattern of serious injuries and deaths nationwide, including chemical burns at Texas A&M.
- Phi Delta Theta: Pattern including the Max Gruver death at LSU.
When we represent a family, we investigate not just the local act, but the national organization’s knowledge and response to this repeated script. This can establish gross negligence and justify punitive damages.
6. Building a Hazing Case: Evidence, Strategy, and The Attorney911 Advantage
Pursuing a hazing case requires an investigative depth and strategic acumen that general personal injury firms often lack. This is where our specific experience is paramount for Van families.
Critical Evidence in the Digital Age
Victims and families must act quickly to preserve:
- Digital Communications: All group chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp, iMessage), text messages, social media DMs, and emails. Screenshot everything immediately, even if it’s embarrassing.
- Photos & Videos: Media from the events, both shared and saved on phones. Location metadata can be crucial.
- Medical Records: Complete documentation from ER visits, hospital stays, and follow-up care. A diagnosis like rhabdomyolysis must be clearly linked to the hazing event.
- University Records: Prior conduct reports on the organization, which can often be obtained via public records requests or discovery in a lawsuit.
Our Firm’s Unique Advantages for Texas Hazing Cases
- Active, High-Stakes Litigation: We are not theorizing. We are currently fighting the Leonel Bermudez vs. UH/Pi Kappa Phi case in Harris County. We know the tactics universities and national fraternities use right now.
- Insurance Insider Knowledge: Our attorney, Mr. Lupe Peña, spent years as a defense attorney for a national insurance firm. He knows how fraternity and university insurers evaluate claims, fight coverage, and use delay tactics. We know their playbook because we used to run it.
- Experience Against Billion-Dollar Defendants: Founding attorney Ralph Manginello was one of the few plaintiff’s firms involved in the BP Texas City explosion litigation. We are not intimidated by the deep pockets and aggressive defense teams of major universities or national fraternities.
- Dual Civil & Criminal Expertise: Mr. Manginello’s membership in the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association (HCCLA) means we understand the interplay between criminal hazing charges and civil lawsuits, allowing us to effectively advise clients through both processes.
- Local Texas Knowledge with a National Perspective: Based in Houston with offices in Austin and Beaumont, we understand Texas courts, Texas juries, and the specific cultures of Texas universities. We combine this with a comprehensive analysis of national fraternity patterns.
7. Practical Guidance for Families & Students in Van, Texas
For Parents: Warning Signs and Immediate Steps
- Signs Your Child May Be Being Hazed: Unexplained injuries, extreme fatigue, withdrawal from family/friends, sudden secrecy about group activities, personality changes (anxiety, anger), constant stress about phone alerts from group chats.
- What to Do First: Prioritize medical care. Help your child preserve all digital evidence. Write down a timeline of what they tell you. Contact an attorney before reporting to the university or confronting the organization. We can help you navigate this process strategically to protect your child’s rights and maximize evidence preservation.
For Students: Your Rights and Safety
- You Have the Right to be Safe: “Tradition” is not an excuse for abuse. Your physical and mental health are paramount.
- How to Report Safely: You can report to the university’s Dean of Students office, campus police, or anonymously through hotlines. Texas law provides immunity for good-faith reports.
- Preserving Evidence is Your Power: Screenshot, photograph, and save everything. Do not delete anything, even if you’re told to.
Critical Mistakes That Can Harm a Case
- Deleting Digital Evidence: This is the single most damaging action. It looks like a cover-up and destroys the case.
- Confronting the Organization Directly: This triggers their defense machinery, leading to evidence destruction and witness coaching.
- Signing University “Resolution” Agreements: Universities may offer quick, confidential settlements that waive your right to sue for far less than your case is worth.
- Waiting to Consult a Lawyer: Evidence disappears, witnesses graduate, and memories fade. The sooner we are involved, the stronger your position.
8. Why Attorney911 for Your East Texas Hazing Case
When your family in Van faces the trauma of hazing, you need advocates who combine local understanding with relentless, sophisticated litigation. We are not just personal injury lawyers; we are institutional accountability litigators with a specific focus on the complex world of campus hazing.
We understand the journey from Van to Tyler, to Commerce, to College Station, to Austin, or to Houston. We understand the pride and hope you have for your student, and the devastation when that trust is betrayed by an organization meant to build community.
Our approach is thorough, evidence-based, and compassionate. We invest in the expert resources—digital forensics, medical specialists, economists—to build an unassailable case. We fight not just for compensation, which can cover medical bills, future care, therapy, and pain and suffering, but for the institutional reforms that prevent the next family from suffering this pain.
If hazing has impacted your family, we urge you to take the first step toward accountability. Contact us for a free, completely confidential consultation.
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@atty911.com or lupe@atty911.com
Se habla Español. Mr. Lupe Peña provides fluent Spanish-language legal services.
We serve families across Texas from our offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont. Your case will be handled directly by experienced attorneys Ralph Manginello and Lupe Peña. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there is no cost to you unless we secure a recovery.
Legal Disclaimer: This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or form an attorney-client relationship. The information is current as of late 2025. Every case is unique, and outcomes depend on specific facts and law. If you have been affected by hazing, consult with a qualified attorney for advice on your specific situation.
