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NewsMay 20, 2007

For days, Michael Davis was punched, slapped, slammed to the ground and caned on his bare feet, all as a way to welcome him into a fraternity. In the end, the hazing he endured at the hands of Kappa Alpha Psi members at Southeast Missouri State University cost him his life. He died in his bed in his Cape Girardeau apartment Feb. 15, 1994. The cause of death was internal bleeding...

For days, Michael Davis was punched, slapped, slammed to the ground and caned on his bare feet, all as a way to welcome him into a fraternity.

In the end, the hazing he endured at the hands of Kappa Alpha Psi members at Southeast Missouri State University cost him his life. He died in his bed in his Cape Girardeau apartment Feb. 15, 1994. The cause of death was internal bleeding.

Thirteen years later, school officials say the latest hazing incident occurred despite the school's best efforts to educate fraternity and sorority leaders and new members of those groups about the prohibition on such activities.

Three sorority members were charged May 7 with hazing a pledge in February by forcing her to eat garbage, hitting her and spraying her in the face with a liquid from a spray bottle.

The defendants, members of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, were charged with third-degree assault and hazing, both misdemeanors.

Darleta McKennis-Weems, 23, of 522 N. Sprigg St.; Jessica Reynolds, 23, of 1710 N. Sprigg St.; Apt. 608, and Ashley Moore, 22, of Dearmont residence hall at Southeast are scheduled to appear in court June 4 in Jackson before Associate Circuit Judge Gary Kamp. Each could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine on the hazing charge and up to 15 days in jail and a $300 fine on the assault charge.

"It is frustrating that allegations like this occur, that hazing is apparently still going on," said Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle.

The case is the fifth serious hazing situation at Southeast in the past 13 years and the second since 2001, newspaper records show.

All of the students involved in the latest hazing case knew of the school's zero-tolerance policy toward hazing and had turned in signed statements to the school to that effect last fall, said Dr. Dennis Holt, vice president of administration and enrollment management. The school requires students involved in fraternities and sororities to sign such statements to show they understand the rules against hazing.

The sorority members charged with hazing in this case couldn't plead ignorance of the rules, Holt said. "They knew they weren't supposed to do it," he said.

The sorority's national organization has suspended the local chapter's charter. The national organization reported the incident to campus police, who investigated the case. That investigation led to the filing of charges against the three women.

In addition to the criminal charges, the women could be punished through the campus judicial process for violating the student code of conduct. Sanctions range from a warning to expulsion, officials said.

The code of conduct prohibits hazing of all kinds. Southeast defines hazing as any act on campus or off campus which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of any person, regardless of consent.

The university at the beginning of every fall semester requires students pledging fraternities and sororities to attend a meeting that includes a presentation about hazing.

"We talk to them about the state law and university expectations," said Michele Irby, director of campus life. Her office, among other things, oversees fraternities and sororities at Southeast.

Irby said the students are encouraged to report any hazing, which includes depriving pledges of sleep, forcing them to eat garbage or making them endure beatings.

Irby said students are clearly told such actions won't be tolerated, though she acknowledged initiation rituals in some fraternities and sororities include activities that could be considered hazing, such as making pledges dress up or carry books to get signatures of all members.

Still, Irby said, the university has worked hard to get students to break from such traditions.

All student groups -- there are more than 100 at Southeast -- must include an anti-hazing policy in their constitutions in order to be recognized as official campus organizations, she said.

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"We keep sharing the message and you hear why this is dangerous and harmful," she said. Despite that, "unfortunately some choose to behave in a way that is inappropriate."

"It is frustrating," Irby said.

Southeast annually hosts the Michael Davis Lecture, named after the student who died from hazing 13 years ago. Davis was a communication major. The lecture brings in speakers in the field of communication.

Even so, most students don't get lectured about hazing, said student government president George Gasser.

"The general students don't get educated on it at all unless they go out on their own to find out," he said.

School officials acknowledge that they don't talk about hazing at freshman orientation sessions. But all incoming students receive a copy of the student handbook, which addresses hazing, they said.

Many students don't read the handbook, Gasser said. But he believes the university is right to focus its hazing education primarily on those students seeking to join the Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities and has done a good job of educating students in those organizations.

While the hazing death of Davis was national news in 1994, it's ancient history to today's students.

As a result, anti-hazing education is essential, said Doug Richards, director of public safety at Southeast.

Still, Richards said hazing as well as the number of serious incidents seem to be on the decline, and he credits that to the university's efforts. The latest incident, he hopes, will prompt students to pay even more attention to the school's zero-tolerance hazing policy.

Debbie Below, director of admissions at Southeast, said parents seldom ask about hazing risks when inquiring about enrolling their son or daughter.

"Families say it is a pretty safe town, a pretty safe campus," she said.

Southeast's Holt said the vast majority of the 1,000 fraternity and sorority members don't haze students.

"They do a lot of charity work," he said. "When you look at the overall positives, they far outweigh the negatives."

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123

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Hazing incidents at Southeast Missouri State University

  • 1994: Student Michael Davis died from internal bleeding resulting from beatings sustained in a Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity hazing ritual. The fraternity was banned from Southeast and more than a dozen fraternity members were convicted on various charges. Six fraternity members were convicted on charges of hazing and manslaughter.
  • 1996: Five Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority members admitted to hazing a fellow student. The sorority sisters slapped the pledge in the face, struck her with a plastic bat and cracked a raw egg against her lip. She also was forced to eat sandwiches that were stepped on and made of odd concoctions. The victim also was deprived of sleep. Southeast fired the staff adviser to the sorority, who was also the art department secretary. The woman later entered an Alford plea in which she admitted the state's evidence was enough to garner a conviction. The adviser and the sorority members were ordered to do community service and placed on probation. The sorority was banned from campus.
  • 1997: Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity was suspended for three years for hazing prospective members. Pledges were verbally abused, slapped on the back of the head, spat upon and forced to do push-ups. No criminal charges were filed in the case.
  • 2001: Phi Delta Theta fraternity members wrestled with pledges outside the fraternity house and at least two students were injured. One student suffered a broken wrist in a fall on the lawn. Another suffered a concussion when fraternity members bounced up and down on his head. The fraternity was suspended for nearly two years. No criminal charges were filed.
  • 2007: Three members of Zeta Phi Beta sorority were charged with third-degree assault and hazing, both misdemeanors, for hitting and spraying liquid on a student and forcing the woman to eat garbage. The defendants are scheduled to appear in court in June. The sorority has been suspended by its national organization.

SOURCE: Southeast Missourian archives and Southeast Missouri State University Department of Public Safety

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