Officials at the University of Central Florida in Orlando say a fraternity is accused of forcing a blindfolded pledge to do cocaine in order to join the group.
The Sigma Chi fraternity is accused of forcing the student to do drugs in October and stay at the frat house for a week, according to an incident report. The student was initiated shortly after taking the drug.
“Hazing in any form is unacceptable. We are thankful to the chapter members and others who had the courage to speak up so the university could investigate,” the university said in a statement.
NBC aafiliate WESH-TV reports the fraternity's chapter President, Brian Walls, emailed a statement saying, "We take such accusations very seriously and will work closely with the university through the student conduct process. Sigma Chi is an organization built on values of leadership and character. We look forward to bringing this matter to a conclusion."
The chapter was suspended for the remainder of the fall semester and the upcoming spring semester in November for an unrelated incident. Records show the group falsely represented itself as the UCF Finance Club in May. It was upon an appeal of that suspension that the recent allegation was reported.
UCF spokesman Mark Schlueb said the school resources to prevent hazing, including an anti-hazing webpage and online tutorials, required workshops for freshmen, transfer students and leaders of Greek-letter fraternities and sororities, and has an anti—hazing hotline.
