🛡️ Santa Barbara County Hazing Victims: You Are Not Alone

If your child was hazed at a fraternity, sorority, or student organization near Santa Barbara County, we can help.

Hazing isn’t just “boys being boys” or “tradition.” It’s abuse. It’s assault. And when it causes serious injury—or worse—it becomes a legal emergency. Santa Barbara County families deserve justice, and we’re here to fight for you.

At Attorney 911, we’re currently representing a hazing victim in a $10 million lawsuit against Pi Kappa Phi and the University of Houston. Our client was waterboarded, forced to do 500 squats until his muscles broke down, and ended up in the hospital with kidney failure. This isn’t just happening in Houston—it’s happening right here in California, at universities near Santa Barbara County.

🚨 What Santa Barbara County Parents Need to Know About Hazing

The Reality of Hazing Near Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County is home to respected institutions like UC Santa Barbara, Westmont College, and Allan Hancock College, as well as numerous other colleges and universities in the surrounding region. These schools attract thousands of students, many of whom join Greek organizations, sports teams, or clubs that practice hazing.

The same fraternities and sororities that have paid millions in hazing settlements nationwide operate right here in California. Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Chi, Kappa Sigma, and others have active chapters at universities near Santa Barbara County—and they bring the same dangerous cultures that have hospitalized and killed students across the country.

What Constitutes Hazing?

Hazing isn’t always obvious. It’s not just forced drinking or paddling. Under California law, hazing includes any activity that:

• Endangers the physical or mental health of a student
• Is required for initiation or membership in an organization
• Involves coercion or peer pressure

Examples of hazing reported at California universities and colleges near Santa Barbara County:

• Physical abuse: Beatings, forced exercise to exhaustion, sleep deprivation
• Forced consumption: Alcohol, food, or non-food substances (e.g., hot sauce, milk, peppercorns)
• Psychological torture: Waterboarding, humiliation, verbal abuse
• Servitude: Forced errands, cleaning, or driving members at all hours
• Sexual abuse: Forced nudity, sexual acts, or carrying sexual objects

Medical consequences of hazing can be severe and life-threatening:

• Rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown leading to kidney failure)
• Alcohol poisoning
• Traumatic brain injury
• Hypothermia or heat stroke
• Cardiac arrest
• PTSD, anxiety, and depression

The Legal Rights of Santa Barbara County Hazing Victims

If your child was hazed at a university near Santa Barbara County, you have legal rights. Under California law, hazing is a crime, and victims can pursue civil lawsuits for compensation.

Who can be held liable?

• **The local chapter