The Complete Guide to Fraternity & Sorority Hazing for Navarro, Texas Families: Know Your Rights and Hold Institutions Accountable

If Your Child Was Hurt by Hazing, You Are Not Alone

For parents in Navarro, Texas, sending a child to college is a proud milestone—a step from our quiet, tight-knit communities in Navarro County to the bustling campuses of Texas’s major universities. But that pride can turn to panic with a single late-night phone call, a cryptic text about a “mandatory event,” or the sight of your child returning home with unexplained injuries and a changed spirit. Hazing—the abusive, coercive rituals used to initiate students into groups—is not an abstract problem. It is happening right now on Texas campuses, and it nearly killed a young man at the University of Houston just last fall.

We are The Manginello Law Firm, PLLD, operating as Attorney911, the Legal Emergency Lawyers™. Right now, we are actively litigating one of the most serious hazing cases in Texas: the $10 million lawsuit on behalf of Leonel Bermudez against the University of Houston, the Pi Kappa Phi national fraternity, its shuttered Beta Nu chapter, and 13 individual members. The details are harrowing: forced, violent workouts that led to rhabdomyolysis (severe muscle breakdown) and acute kidney failure, humiliation through degrading “pledge fanny packs,” and tactics like spraying a hose in a pledge’s face “similar to waterboarding.” This case, reported by Click2Houston, ABC13, and Hoodline, is proof that extreme, life-threatening hazing is a present and active danger in our state.

This guide is written specifically for parents and families in Navarro, Corsicana, and across Navarro County. We will explain the reality of modern hazing, your legal rights under Texas law, and what has been happening at the universities where our children enroll—from nearby regional schools to the major hubs like the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. Our goal is to arm you with knowledge, because in a hazing crisis, information is the first form of power.

IMMEDIATE HELP FOR A HAZING EMERGENCY

If you suspect your child is in danger right now:

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

In the first 48 hours, you must:

1. Secure Medical Care: Get your child to an ER or doctor immediately. Tell the medical staff the injuries are from hazing so it is documented.
2. Preserve Digital Evidence: Help your child take screenshots of ALL group chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp, texts), social media posts, and photos. Do not let them delete anything out of shame or fear.
3. Document Everything: Write down what happened, including names, dates, locations, and what was said. Photograph any injuries or damaged property.
4. Contact a Lawyer: Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 before you report to the university or speak to any insurance adjuster. Evidence disappears quickly, and organizations move faster to protect themselves than to help your child.

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 mental or physical health of a student for the purpose of initiation into or affiliation with a group. Crucially, the victim’s “consent” is not a legal defense. When there is a power imbalance—older members holding a pledge’s future in their hands—true consent does not exist.

Modern hazing has evolved, often hiding in plain sight through digital coercion and disguised as “team building.” For Navarro families, whose children may be experiencing this for the first time, recognizing the signs is critical.

The Three Tiers of Hazing:

1. Subtle Hazing: Behaviors that emphasize power imbalance. This includes forced servitude (being an on-call driver, cleaning members’ rooms), social isolation from non-members, mandatory “study blocks” that interfere with class, and being required to carry humiliating items (like the “pledge fanny pack” in the UH Pi Kappa Phi case). It sets the stage for worse abuse.

2. Harassment Hazing: Acts that cause emotional or physical discomfort. This includes verbal abuse and threats, sleep deprivation through all-night events, calorie or food restriction, forced consumption of unpleasant substances (like hot sauce or vast amounts of milk), and excessive, punitive exercise disguised as “conditioning.”

3. Violent Hazing: Activities with a high potential for serious injury or death. This is what we see in the worst cases:

   • Forced Alcohol Consumption: “Big/Little” nights, drinking games like “Bible study,” or line-ups where pledges must finish bottles.
   • Physical Assault: Paddling, beating, “gladiator” fights, 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, or sexual assault.
   • Extreme Environmental Exposure: Being locked in freezing rooms or forced to exercise in extreme heat until collapse, as alleged in the UH case.

The New Frontier: Digital Hazing and Coercion
Today, much of the harassment is virtual. Pledges are often subjected to 24/7 monitoring via group chats (GroupMe, WhatsApp), required to share their live location, forced to post humiliating content on social media, and threatened with expulsion if they don’t respond instantly at all hours. This digital paper trail can become critical evidence.

The Texas Legal Framework: Criminal Penalties and Civil Liability

Texas takes hazing seriously in its legal code. For Navarro families, understanding this framework is the first step toward accountability.

Texas Hazing Law (Education Code Chapter 37):

• Definition: A broad statute covering any reckless or intentional act that endangers physical or mental health for the purpose of initiation. It applies on and off campus.
• Criminal Penalties:
  • Class B Misdemeanor: Basic hazing (up to 180 days jail, $2,000 fine).
  • Class A Misdemeanor: Hazing that causes injury.
  • State Jail Felony: Hazing that causes serious bodily injury or death.
• Organizational Liability: The fraternity or sorority itself can be fined up to $10,000 per violation.
• Immunity for Reporting: Those who report hazing in good faith are protected from liability. This is crucial—students should not fear calling 911.

Civil Lawsuits: 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. They can proceed simultaneously. In a civil case, we can sue multiple parties to ensure full accountability:

1. The Individuals: The members who planned, executed, or covered up the hazing.
2. The Local Chapter: As an organization that authorized or enabled the conduct.
3. The National Fraternity/Sorority: Headquarters that often have deep insurance pockets and a history of prior incidents. Their failure to supervise or enforce their own policies is a key liability.
4. The University: Schools like UH, Texas A&M, or UT can be liable for negligent supervision, Title IX violations, or failing to act on prior known risks.
5. Third Parties: Property owners, alumni advisors, or alcohol providers.

The Federal Overlay: Title IX and the Stop Campus Hazing Act
Federal law also plays a role. The Stop Campus Hazing Act (2024) requires universities to report hazing incidents more transparently. If hazing involves sexual harassment or assault, Title IX obligations are triggered, creating another avenue for accountability against the school.

Lessons from National Tragedy: The Case Patterns That Repeat

The devastating hazing cases that make national news are not anomalies; they are templates that repeat because the underlying culture and incentives do not change. Texas families should see these as stark warnings.

• Timothy Piazza (Penn State, Beta Theta Pi, 2017): A bid-acceptance night of extreme drinking. Piazza fell repeatedly, suffering fatal injuries while brothers delayed calling 911 for hours. Result: Criminal convictions, civil settlements, and a new Pennsylvania law.
• Max Gruver (LSU, Phi Delta Theta, 2017): Died of alcohol poisoning after a “Bible study” drinking game where wrong answers mandated drinking. Result: The Max Gruver Act made hazing a felony in Louisiana.
• Stone Foltz (Bowling Green, Pi Kappa Alpha, 2021): Forced to drink a bottle of alcohol during a “Big/Little” event. He died. Result: A $10 million settlement with the national fraternity and university, and criminal convictions.
• Danny Santulli (Univ. of Missouri, Phi Gamma Delta, 2021): Suffered permanent, catastrophic brain damage from forced drinking. Result: Settlements with 22 defendants, a lifetime of needed care.

The pattern is hauntingly consistent: forced drinking, a culture of silence, delayed medical help, and institutions that failed to intervene despite prior warnings. The same national organizations involved in these tragedies—Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Delta Theta—have active chapters on Texas campuses. Their national histories matter because they show a pattern of known risk.

Texas Universities Under the Microscope: Where Navarro County Students Go

Navarro parents often see their children attend nearby regional institutions or head to the state’s flagship schools. Wherever they are, hazing is a risk. We maintain a Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine, built from public records, to track the organizations and histories at these schools.

The Local and Regional Campuses

For many Navarro County families, college begins close to home. These institutions have Greek life and clubs where hazing can occur:

• Navarro College (Corsicana): As a community college, its focus is different, but student clubs and organizations still carry risks.
• Texas A&M University-Commerce (Hunt County): A major regional university with active fraternity and sorority life. Our data shows Greek organizations registered in Commerce, like the Zeta Eta chapter of Sigma Chi.
• University of North Texas (Denton): A major destination in the DFW metro with a large Greek system. Denton is home to numerous chapter housing corporations and alumni groups.

The Major Statewide Hubs

Many of our brightest from Navarro head to Texas’s most prominent universities, which have complex Greek ecosystems with documented hazing problems.

University of Houston – The Flagship Case in Our Backyard
The ongoing case we are litigating is a stark example of how hazing operates at a major Texas institution.

• The Incident: Leonel Bermudez, a UH student, endured weeks of abuse as a Pi Kappa Phi pledge in Fall 2025. This included forced, extreme workouts leading to rhabdomyolysis and kidney failure, humiliating “fanny pack” rules, and psychological terror.
• The Response: After media exposure, Pi Kappa Phi national suspended then closed the Beta Nu chapter. UH called the conduct “deeply disturbing.” A $10 million lawsuit is now pending.
• The Lesson for Parents: Even at a large commuter school like UH, hazing is severe, systemic, and can be life-threatening. Universities and nationals often act decisively only after litigation and public pressure.

Texas A&M University – Tradition and Risk in the Corps and Greek Life
The culture at A&M is unique, with its revered Corps of Cadets and powerful Greek system.

• Corps of Cadets Hazing: Lawsuits have alleged degrading rituals, including cadets being bound in “roasted pig” positions. The Corps maintains its own disciplinary system, which can sometimes shield abuses from public view.
• Fraternity Hazing: Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) at A&M faced a lawsuit where pledges alleged being doused with industrial-strength cleaner, causing severe chemical burns requiring skin grafts.
• Parent’s Checklist: If your child is in the Corps or joins a fraternity/sorority at A&M, ask specific questions about overnight “retreats,” physical “conditioning,” and any activities that involve humiliation or punishment.

University of Texas at Austin – Transparency and Repeated Violations
UT Austin is one of the more transparent schools, publishing an online log of hazing violations.

• Public Violations Log: This log shows repeated sanctions against groups like Pi Kappa Alpha for forced calisthenics and drinking, and spirit groups like the Texas Wranglers for abusive behaviors.
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon Incidents: The UT chapter of SAE has faced lawsuits and suspensions for allegations including assault and providing alcohol to minors.
• The Takeaway: UT’s public record is a tool. If your child is rushing a group on that list, you have a right to ask the university and the organization what has changed.

Southern Methodist University & Baylor University – Private School Pressures
The intense social and Greek scenes at these private universities carry their own risks, often with less public oversight.

• SMU: Has dealt with hazing incidents in groups like Kappa Alpha Order, involving paddling and forced drinking.
• Baylor: Has faced hazing scandals within its baseball program and the ongoing scrutiny of its institutional response to student safety issues.

The Greek Ecosystem: A Web of Liability

Behind every fraternity house on these campuses is a network of legal entities. Our investigative advantage comes from mapping this network using public records. For example, the DFW metro area—the closest major metro to Navarro County—contains over 510 Greek-related organizations. These are not just social clubs; they are registered corporations with Employer Identification Numbers (EINs), insurance policies, and assets.

A Snapshot from Our Public Records Directory (DFW Metro & Texas):

• Beta Upsilon Chi Fraternity, EIN 74-2911848, Fort Worth, TX 76244
• Texas Kappa Sigma Educational Foundation Inc, EIN 74-1380362, Fort Worth, TX 76147
• Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity – Lambda Lambda Chapter, EIN 52-1278573, Dallas, TX 75241
• Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, EIN 36-4091267, Waco, TX 76710 (also listed in Houston and Beaumont metros)

This data allows us to identify every potentially liable entity from the national headquarters down to the local housing corporation, ensuring no responsible party can hide after harming a student from Navarro or anywhere in Texas.

Building a Powerful Case: Evidence, Strategy, and Damages

When a family from Navarro comes to us after a hazing incident, we initiate a meticulous, data-driven process. We are not just personal injury lawyers; we are complex litigation specialists who have taken on billion-dollar corporations in the BP Texas City explosion litigation. We apply that same rigor to hazing cases.

The Evidence That Wins Cases:

1. Digital Forensics: Deleted GroupMe chats, Snapchats, Instagram DMs, and text messages can often be recovered. We work with experts to preserve this crucial evidence before it’s lost forever.
2. Internal Documents: Through discovery, we subpoena the national fraternity’s prior incident files, risk management reports, and communications with the local chapter. This builds a pattern of knowledge.
3. University Records: We obtain the school’s disciplinary history with the group through public records requests and litigation discovery, proving “notice” of a dangerous pattern.
4. Medical & Psychological Documentation: Detailed records from ER visits, specialists, and therapists establish the direct link between the hazing and the harm—from physical injuries like rhabdomyolysis to PTSD and depression.

Our Strategic Advantages:

• Insurance Insider Knowledge: Our attorney, Mr. Lupe Peña, spent years as an insurance defense attorney for large companies. He knows exactly how fraternity and university insurers evaluate claims, fight coverage, and use delay tactics. We know their playbook.
• Full Damages Recovery: We fight for every category of loss:
  • Economic Damages: All medical bills, future care costs, lost tuition, and lost future earning capacity.
  • Non-Economic Damages: Compensation for pain, suffering, trauma, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life.
  • Wrongful Death Damages: In the most tragic cases, we seek justice for families for their profound loss.
• Trial-Ready Approach: We prepare every case as if it will go to trial. This readiness is what forces powerful institutions and their insurers to offer serious settlements. We do not back down.

A Practical Guide for Navarro Families: Steps to Take Now

For Parents – Warning Signs & Action Steps:

• Watch For: Unexplained injuries, extreme fatigue, sudden secrecy, withdrawal from family, personality changes, anxiety around phone notifications, and declining grades.
• If You Suspect Hazing: Talk to your child calmly and supportively. Prioritize their safety over “not making waves.” Secure medical care. Then, before doing anything else, call us at 1-888-ATTY-911. We will guide you on evidence preservation and how to communicate with the university without jeopardizing your rights.

For Students – Your Safety and Rights:

• You Have the Right to Leave: No matter what they’ve told you, you can quit any group at any time. Your safety is paramount.
• Report Safely: You can report to the Dean of Students, campus police, or anonymously through the National Anti-Hazing Hotline (1-888-NOT-HAZE). Texas law offers protections for good-faith reporters.
• Preserve Evidence: Take screenshots. Save texts. Photograph injuries. Tell a trusted friend or family member what is happening.

Critical Mistakes to Avoid:

1. Do NOT delete any messages or photos. This can look like destroying evidence.
2. Do NOT confront the fraternity/sorority directly. This gives them a chance to destroy evidence and craft a defense.
3. Do NOT sign anything from the university or an insurance company without having an attorney review it.
4. Do NOT post details on social media. Let your legal team control the narrative.
5. Do NOT wait. The university’s internal process is not designed for victim justice. Evidence disappears, witnesses scatter, and deadlines pass.

Why Choose Attorney911? Texas-Based Hazing Litigators with a Proven Record

When your family in Navarro, Corsicana, or anywhere in Texas is facing the aftermath of hazing, you need more than a lawyer; you need advocates who understand the depth of the fight. We are Texas attorneys serving Texas families.

Our Current Fight: We are lead counsel for Leonel Bermudez in the major University of Houston Pi Kappa Phi hazing lawsuit. We are in the trenches right now, facing a large public university and a national fraternity. We know what this litigation looks like because we are actively doing it.

Our Unique Qualifications:

• Mr. Lupe Peña’s Defense Background: As a former insurance defense attorney, he knows the tactics used to deny and minimize claims. This insider knowledge is invaluable when negotiating with fraternity and university insurers.
• Ralph Manginello’s Complex Litigation Experience: His involvement in the BP Texas City explosion litigation proves our firm can stand against the deepest-pocketed, most powerful institutional defendants.
• Data-Driven Investigation: We don’t start from scratch. We use our Texas Hazing Intelligence Engine—built from thousands of public records on Greek organizations—to immediately identify all liable parties and uncover patterns of prior misconduct.
• Spanish-Language Services: Mr. Peña speaks fluent Spanish. Se habla Español. We are committed to serving all Texas families.

We operate on a contingency fee basis for personal injury cases: You pay nothing unless we win your case. Our goal is to secure the maximum recovery for your family while forcing the institutional changes necessary to protect the next generation of students from Navarro County and beyond.

Your Next Step: A Free, Confidential Consultation

If hazing has hurt your child, you are not alone, and you do not have to navigate this crisis without guidance. The institutions involved will have their lawyers from day one. You should too.

Contact The Manginello Law Firm, PLLD / Attorney911 today for a free, confidential case evaluation.

We will listen to your story, explain your legal rights under Texas law, and outline a clear path forward. We serve families across Texas from our offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont.

Call the Legal Emergency Lawyers™: 1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911)
Direct: (713) 528-9070 | Cell: (713) 443-4781
Website: https://attorney911.com
Email: ralph@atty911.com | En Español: lupe@atty911.com

Let us help you turn this moment of crisis into a pursuit of accountability, recovery, and prevention.

Legal Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The outcome of any case depends on its specific facts and circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you believe you have a legal claim, you should consult with a licensed attorney to discuss the specific details of your case.