Michigan State University is investigating an alleged act of hazing at the Beta Zeta chapter of the Theta Chi fraternity, MSU spokesperson Mark Bullion confirmed Monday.
On Tuesday, the Office of Student Support and Accountability will meet to determine whether "interim disciplinary action" against the fraternity is "warranted" in connection to the alleged hazing, Bullion said in a statement.
"University policy strictly prohibits hazing," Bullion said. "The University takes all claims of hazing seriously. Any student organization, group or individual engaging in hazing may be subject to disciplinary action for violating University policy, as well as criminal prosecution and/or a civil suit for violating state and federal laws."
MSU’s investigation was spurred by "multiple reports that have come in," Bullion said.
Last week, a video appearing to show a portion of the alleged act of hazing was circulated online, along with captions and comments linking the conduct in question to Theta Chi. The original account that shared the video is unclear.
The video circulating online, which was reviewed by The State News, shows a phone screen displaying what appears to be the original video. That video was apparently recorded using a Snapchat filter that simultaneously captures videos using the front-facing camera and back-facing camera while displaying both side-by-side on the screen.
The action captured by the back-facing camera shows four people on their hands and knees with their faces held just above the ground. After a person not in the frame shouts "go," the people appear to start voraciously eating something off the ground.
A person not in the frame can be heard apparently telling the four people to "win that s—," and "you better eat my f—— eggs, b—."
There also appear to be at least six people sitting outside of the circle and looking down.
The action captured by the front-facing camera appears to show a person smiling and laughing in reaction.
The fraternity chapter did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Ben Hill, the chief communications officer of the national Theta Chi fraternity, said in a statement to The State News that it is "aware of allegations of hazing at Michigan State University," that it has suspended the MSU chapter of the fraternity, and that it will take "appropriate actions based upon the results" of MSU's investigation.
"Theta Chi has a strict policy prohibiting all forms of hazing," the statement said. "Hazing runs directly contrary to Theta Chi's mission of developing Resolute Men and has no place within the fraternity experience."
After circulating online, the video was referenced in a post last Thursday by the popular instagram account "msuchicks," an affiliate of Barstool Sports, which posts MSU-related content geared toward students and has about 35,200 followers.
The post is a parody of the NBC television show "Saturday Night Live" tradition of announcing upcoming episodes using a set of post-it notes stuck on a bulletin board containing the episode date, host and musical guest.
Msuchicks’ post, which follows that format, said "Guy from Theta Chi leaked video," "MSU Police," and "Eggs," and has over 3,000 likes.
Though fraternities and sororities are technically located off-campus, MSU has the authority to take disciplinary action against them, as most, including Theta Chi, have the designation of Registered Student Organization. Eleven are currently under some form of disciplinary action, according to the university’s "fraternity and sorority life" webpage.
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