A University of Houston graduating senior and his parents have filed suit against Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and seven members, alleging a hazing incident resulted in injuries that landed the student in a local emergency room. The student, Lee West III, and his parents, Lee West Jr. and Kathleen Truss, alleged that the student was beaten with paddles, a broomstick and a baseball bat so badly he had trouble walking, could not put on his own pants and suffered pain and a hematoma on his buttocks. Lee West Jr., a Dallas man who is a member of the fraternity and pledged it 30 years ago, had this to say: “This wasn’t my son’s call; this was my call. This lawsuit is filed because I would like to clean up this fraternity and get rid of the rogue members.”

The father said he filed the lawsuit over his son’s objections because he’s shocked by what happened in the hazing in February 2009 and the refusal of the local and national fraternity to respond. He said his son, an accounting student, will graduate in May and pledged the fraternity to honor his father. I am convinced that colleges and universities need to clamp down on fraternities that do the sort of thing that’s alleged in this suit.

Source: Houston Chronicle