As a fraternity prospect, or pledge, the 18-year-old was purportedly subjected to months of “horrific hazing” that took a significant toll on Updike’s physical, emotional, and mental health.
The parents of a freshman at the University of Texas at Austin have filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming that their 18-year-old son, Sawyer Updike, was killed as a direct consequence of hazing.
According to FOX7Austin, Updike sought entry to the Alpha Nu chapter of Sigma Chi in 2023.
As a fraternity prospect, or pledge, the 18-year-old was purportedly subjected to months of “horrific hazing” that took a significant toll on Updike’s physical, emotional, and mental health.
“You’re not supposed to talk about what goes on during pledging,” attorney Bill Johnston told FOX News. “These are trade secrets of the fraternities.”
“He committed suicide in January 2024 and, of course, the parents wondered why,” Johnston said. “The mother was able to access his phone, talk to some people, and learn that he had been subjected to extreme hazing.”
Johnston, who is representing the teenager’s parents, said that several alleged acts of hazing were photographed and recorded by members of the fraternity. As part of the hazing process, Updike was purportedly:
- Speared in the leg with a large fishhook
- Burnt with lit cigarettes
- Coerced or pressured into using illegal substances
- Forced to consume dangerous quantities of alcohol
- Subjected to physical violence, including “whippings” and beatings
- Pierced in the hip with a staple gun
The alleged hazing incidents all, or predominately, took place at the Alpha Nu fraternity house on Nueces Street in Austin.
“We have a picture of the kid that stapled them before he did it,” Johnston told FOX News. “I mean, again, they were in some sick way, they were proud of it. They were proud enough to record it.”
“There’s something wrong, frankly, with someone that would think this is a rite of passage that can be applied to another young person,” he said.
FOX7Austin notes that hazing is illegal under state law and prohibited by University of Texas policy.
“I think that they [sic] may have been the unspoken question, ‘How much will somebody endure to part of Sigma Chi?’ And it’s unbelievably shameful, it’s criminal, it violates the law, and there should be an accounting here, somehow, a reckoning.”
Alpha Nu’s local chapter has since been suspended.
The Daily Texan notes that the University of Texas at Austin ordered Alpha Nu to “cease all organizational activities” shortly after the lawsuit was filed, saying that Alpha Nu will only be permitted to resume such activities pending the results of an ongoing investigation.
“UT Austin is committed to providing a safe educational environment for everyone and does not tolerate hazing by any group or individual affiliated with the University,” a spokesperson wrote in an email statement. “All such investigations receive the utmost attention and thorough investigation.”
Sources
Texas fraternity wrongful death lawsuit: Parents allege hazing led to son’s death
University orders fraternity to cease activities after wrongful death lawsuit
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