Hazing in Texas: A Complete Guide for Benjamin Families
If Your Child Was Hazed at a Texas University, You Need Answers and Accountability
Picture this: A young man from Benjamin, eager to find his place at a Texas university, accepts a bid from a fraternity. What begins as exciting soon turns concerning. His phone buzzes constantly with demands from group chats. He’s exhausted from late-night “meetings” and early-morning workouts. His personality changes—he’s secretive, defensive, and constantly anxious about pleasing older members. One night, the situation escalates: forced drinking, humiliating acts, and physical punishment that lands him in the emergency room with brown urine and kidney failure. His parents in Benjamin get the call every family fears.
This isn’t hypothetical. Right now, we’re fighting exactly this kind of case. In late 2025, we filed a $10 million hazing and abuse lawsuit on behalf of Leonel Bermudez against the University of Houston, the Pi Kappa Phi Beta Nu chapter, its national headquarters, and 13 fraternity leaders. The allegations are severe: forced consumption of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until vomiting; “waterboarding” with a hose; extreme workouts causing rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure; and systematic humiliation including a degrading “pledge fanny pack” rule. The chapter has been shut down, but the physical and psychological harm to Bermudez continues. We’re sharing this not for sensationalism, but to show families in Benjamin that hazing creates real, catastrophic injuries—and that experienced legal counsel fights back.
This comprehensive guide explains what hazing really looks like in 2025, how Texas law protects (and sometimes fails) victims, and what families in Benjamin and throughout Knox County can do if their child faces this nightmare. Whether your student attends school in Houston, College Station, Austin, Dallas, Waco, or anywhere in Texas, the patterns are tragically similar. We’ll cover the specific landscapes at University of Houston, Texas A&M, UT Austin, SMU, and Baylor—schools where Benjamin families frequently send their children.
IMMEDIATE HELP FOR HAZING EMERGENCIES
If your child is in danger RIGHT NOW:
- Call 911 for medical emergencies
- Then call 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 the student insists they are “fine”
- Preserve evidence BEFORE it’s deleted:
- Screenshot group chats, texts, DMs immediately
- Photograph injuries from multiple angles
- Save physical items (clothing, receipts, objects)
- Write down everything while memory is fresh (who, what, when, where)
- Do NOT:
- Confront the fraternity/sorority directly
- Sign anything from the university or insurance company
- Post details on public social media
- Let your child delete messages or “clean up” evidence
Contact an experienced hazing attorney within 24–48 hours:
- Evidence disappears fast (deleted group chats, destroyed paddles, coached witnesses)
- Universities move quickly to control the narrative
- We can help preserve evidence and protect your child’s rights
- Call 1-888-ATTY-911 for immediate consultation
Hazing in 2025: What It Really Looks Like in Texas
For families in Benjamin, hazing might seem like distant “frat boy” behavior or harmless tradition. The reality is different. Modern hazing blends psychological manipulation, digital control, and physical risk in ways that evade detection until someone gets seriously hurt.
A Clear, Modern Definition
Hazing is any forced, coerced, or strongly pressured action tied to joining, keeping membership, or gaining status in a group, where the behavior endangers physical or mental health, humiliates, or exploits. The critical legal point: “I agreed to it” does not make it safe or legal when there’s peer pressure and power imbalance. Texas law explicitly states consent is not a defense.
Main Categories of Hazing Today
Alcohol and Substance Hazing
This remains the deadliest form. It’s not “just drinking”—it’s coercion:
- Forced chugging challenges, “lineups,” or “century clubs”
- “Big/Little” nights where pledges receive handles of liquor
- Drinking games tied to wrong answers or failed tasks
- Pressure to consume unknown or mixed substances
The Leonel Bermudez case at UH included forced consumption of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until vomiting, followed immediately by sprints. This dangerous combination of overconsumption and extreme exertion directly caused his rhabdomyolysis.
