A UF fraternity has been accused of hazing new members by depriving them of sleep, ordering them to clean older members' rooms and throwing them in a "mud pit."
UF's chapter of Alpha Tau Omega is suspended until further notice while UF's office of Student Judicial Affairs investigates the accusations.
Steve Orlando, UF's spokesman, said the sleep deprivation allegedly occurred when older members ordered new members to participate in "the lineup" during early hours of the morning, where they had to recite certain fraternity passages.
If the new members did not deliver the messages perfectly, older members punished them by throwing them in a "mud pit" behind the fraternity house, Orlando said.
He said the accusations include requesting new members to clean rooms or serve as designated drivers for older members at any hour of the night.
Requiring new members to be designated drivers at all hours also causes sleep deprivation, he said.
The fraternity faces no allegations of violence or alcohol violations, Orlando added.
Alpha Tau Omega, known as ATO, is prohibited from all fraternity activities on or off campus until further notice, states a letter to Fletcher Rush, ATO president, from Chris Loschiavo, director of Student Judicial Affairs.
This includes chapter meetings, social events, service projects, philanthropy projects and alumni events, Loschiavo wrote.
Members are allowed to live in the house and eat meals there if they have a meal plan.
However, the only new members who can be at the house for meals are those who have paid for meal plans, he wrote.
All new-member activities, including initiation events, are prohibited.
Ben Caswell, president of UF's Interfraternity Council, said the council would likely leave punishment up to UF's office of Student Judicial Affairs. Caswell declined to comment further.
Wynn Smiley, chief executive officer for ATO's national office, said, "This has not been an issue that has plagued this chapter by any means of imagination."
Smiley said ATO would conduct its own investigation and work closely with UF.
It's too early to speculate about possible punishments, he said.
"The allegations are certainly serious," Smiley said. "We have no tolerance for hazing, but at this point they're only allegations."
