A reported injury served as the catalyst for Alpha Chi Rho’s five-year suspension.
Head, stomach and back injuries were reported from one individual who sought medical attention, according to Vice President of University Belonging and Student Affairs Yvonne Hernandez Friedman. There may have been further injuries, according to Hernandez Friedman, however the report and investigation revolved around this individual.
“I don’t want to downplay it as a bump in the road because it was very serious,” she said. “But we shall all hopefully, look at the situation, learn from it, and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The Division of University Belonging and Student Affairs sent an email announcing the suspension to all Coastal Carolina University students, faculty and staff on the morning of Jan. 17.
“Coastal Carolina University takes hazing allegations against members of its campus community very seriously and does not condone the actions of the Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity,” the email said.
The hazing incident dating back to Oct. 11, 2022, happened off-campus and was not reported until March 29, 2023. CCU took immediate action, resulting in AXP’s interim suspension since March 31 to investigate the situation.
The investigation found that AXP violated the Student Code of Conduct’s hazing policies Oct. 24. AXP attempted to appeal the suspension but was denied Jan. 3.
“We are very supportive of the Greek community, and we just want to provide the best experience for our students who choose that as a way of getting involved,” Hernandez Friedman said, who is Greek herself. “It’s supposed to be fun.”
CCU’s AXP chapter is now closed by the national organization. Individual members didn’t appeal this decision.
Coastal is required to publicly share any conduct violation committed by Greek life in compliance to the Tucker Hipps Transparency Act.
To combat future hazing violations, CCU will implement Real Response in February where students can anonymously report them via text with a staff member. Pushing multiple avenues for anonymity and CCU’s hazing education can make a difference to Hernandez Friedman.
“When things get reported anonymously, we never get enough detail,” she said. “We try to reach back out and there’s no one to reach back out to.”
Campus is down one fraternity, leaving 20 official Greek life organizations at Coastal. AXP members may petition to recharter Aug. 1, 2028.
“You just need a fresh start,” Hernandez Friedman said.
