MIAMI — A video leaked online Thursday appears to show members of a University of Miami fraternity participating in a hazing ritual on a student somewhere on the school’s campus.
The leaked video appears to show members of the UM chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon in the backyard of their fraternity house in the middle of the day, according to The Miami Hurricane, the school’s student-run newspaper.
In the video, a member of the fraternity is seen stepping and crouching into a trash can on a green platform. Moments later, three other members started to surround him and chug “large amounts of milk,” according to the paper.
The members can then be seen spitting and regurgitating the milk onto the student, which is seen running down the student’s back.
The video circulated the UM campus and eventually reached the university’s administration. They sent an official statement regarding the incident to CBS News Miami.
“The University of Miami has received multiple reports related to alleged conduct violations by one of our fraternity chapters," the university spokesperson said in a statement provided to CBS News Miami. "We are aware of videos being circulated but can only confirm the authenticity of one video. A full investigation is underway.”
The fraternity’s national chapter also released a statement to CBS News Miami in response to the allegations Thursday evening.
"The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Service Center has received a report related to an alleged incident involving our Chapter at The University of Miami," the spokesperson said. "We have placed our Chapter on a Cease & Desist and are working jointly with the University to investigate."
Those involved could face felony charges if investigators find they violated the Florida Anti-Hazing Law, which punishes people if they “recklessly or intentionally endanger the mental or physical health or safety of a student.”
The law, also known as the Chad Meredith Act, was enacted in 2005 after a UM student drowned in Lake Osceola after a drinking binge with two Kappa Sigma students, according to CBS News Miami.
The student newspaper mentioned a previous incident involving the Sigma Phi Epsilon UM chapter that led to the chapter’s closure in 2022. The paper said it intercepted a video showing members of the fraternity chanting explicit misogynistic phrases.
The investigation into the video is ongoing.
