March 27, 2025
The Southern alum, who was left blind and paralyzed from a hazing incident on the identical college in 1992, finds himself reliving his traumatic incident, demanding solutions and alter.
Many years-old wounds have reopened for Dr. Duronne Walker, a former Southern College pupil, because the current dying of Caleb Wilson, 20, throughout a fraternity ritual seemingly triggered painful flashbacks and a renewed name for accountability inside Greek-letter organizations.
The Southern alum, who was left blind and paralyzed from a hazing incident on the identical college in 1992, finds himself reliving his traumatic incident, demanding solutions and alter.
“Once I heard about that younger man, it introduced me again to that darkish place,” Walker mentioned, his voice heavy with emotion. “And questioning why?”
Walker’s traumatizing hazing expertise dates to his senior yr at Southern College. The then-21-year-old pupil sought out to pledge Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, however the initiation course of left him with devastating penalties.
“Throughout that initiation and final night time’s course of, I used to be blindfolded and hit over the pinnacle,” Walker recalled. “The drinks that had been offered to me left me blind and paralyzed. To my understanding, the blow and the issues slipped in my drink brought on me to have a stroke.”
Walker’s authorized battle after the 1992 incident additionally underscored the problem of holding nationwide Greek-lettered organizations accountable for hazing college students. The doctor, supported by his dad and mom, filed a lawsuit towards Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., alleging negligence and in search of damages for his accidents.
A Louisiana court docket doc particulars the case, Walker v. Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and the legal arguments introduced. The fraternity’s nationwide workplace moved for abstract judgment, arguing it was not responsible for the actions of its chapter members.
Court docket paperwork acknowledged that the fraternity had “clearly prohibited any hazing actions” on the nationwide degree and had applied a “haze-free membership course of.”
Walker’s case additionally highlighted the group’s construction, noting that native chapters function independently and that the nationwide headquarters is positioned within the District of Columbia, removed from the Southern College campus.
The court docket finally granted the fraternity’s movement for abstract judgment, concluding it couldn’t management its chapters’ day-to-day actions.
“The proof launched as to the inner construction of this group displays that the Nationwide Fraternity was not able to manage the motion of its chapters on a day-to-day foundation,” 1 the court docket doc acknowledged.
The dying of Caleb Wilson, a member of the Southern College Human Jukebox marching band, has reignited the talk about hazing inside traditionally Black Greek-letter organizations. Wilson collapsed and died Feb. 27 after collaborating in a ritual reportedly associated to pledging the Omega Psi Phi fraternity at North Sherwood Forest Group Park.
Following Wilson’s collapse, he was taken to Baton Rouge Normal Hospital, the place he was pronounced useless at 3:15 a.m. The Baton Rouge Police Division is investigating the circumstances surrounding his dying.
The Southern College Human Jukebox marching band launched a press release expressing their grief over Wilson’s loss.
“His vitality, spirit, and influence on these round him won’t ever be forgotten,” the assertion learn.
In response to Wilson’s dying, Southern College’s Division of Pupil Affairs suspended all actions for pupil organizations, together with fraternities, sororities, and golf equipment, till additional discover. The college has not indicated whether or not Omega Psi Phi will face sanctions or additional investigation. The nationwide chapter of Omega Psi Phi declined to remark.
Wilson’s father, Corey Wilson, is a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Workplace deputy. The division launched a press release expressing condolences and assist for the household. “The JPSO stands in assist of Dep. Wilson and his household,” the assertion mentioned. “We ask that their privateness be revered as they mourn this unimaginable loss.”
In keeping with witnesses, Wilson and different pledges had been lined up and punched whereas carrying boxing gloves. After every hit, they had been instructed to run to the tip of the road. Wilson reportedly collapsed and commenced seizing shortly after enduring the assault.
Investigators allege that members of Omega Psi Phi tried to cowl up the circumstances of Wilson’s dying, failing to name 911 instantly and falsely claiming he collapsed whereas taking part in basketball at a park miles away from the precise location of the hazing.
Caleb McCray, Kyle Thurman, and Isaiah Smith have been charged with manslaughter and hazing in reference to Wilson’s dying.
The tragic incident has additionally rekindled discussions about hazing tradition inside the Divine 9, a collective time period for traditionally Black fraternities and sororities.
Actress AJ Johnson, a Spelman Faculty alumna and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. member, spoke out towards hazing throughout an interview with The Breakfast Membership.
“I’m so glad you introduced this up,” Johnson mentioned, emphasizing that hazing is just not endorsed by Delta Sigma Theta or any Divine 9 group. She prompt that hazing usually stems from people who had been themselves hazed, pushed by a “vendetta.”
“It’s a private factor,” she defined. Johnson known as for an finish to outdated and dangerous initiation rituals, advocating for various strategies of self-discipline and bonding. “There are completely different types of instructing and being authoritative,” she mentioned. “It doesn’t should be bodily abuse.”
The Walker case, together with the current dying of Caleb Wilson, underscores the continued battle to deal with hazing inside Greek-letter organizations. Whereas nationwide organizations might have insurance policies prohibiting hazing, the truth on the bottom usually tells a special story.
The hazing incident has prompted requires better accountability and reform inside the Divine 9. Many advocates have known as for a shift away from dangerous initiation rituals and in direction of safer, extra constructive strategies of constructing brotherhood and sisterhood.
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