4 arrested, 2 hospitalized in N.Y. hazing

BUFFALO, N.Y., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Two people were hospitalized and four fraternity members were arrested at a university in Buffalo, N.Y., for an alcohol-related hazing incident, officials said.

The hospitalized students, whose names were not reported, had been given excessive amounts of alcoholic drinks as part of an initiation party at Tau Kappa Epsilon's house at the State University of New York at Buffalo campus, the Buffalo News reported Saturday.

"It was an isolated incident, and we're all real sorry about it. We are cooperating with the school, our international fraternity and the Buffalo police," Dane Counts, president of TKE's UB chapter, said.

Steven C. Pehta, 19, and Matthew C. Smith, 19, both of Merrimac, and Michael J. Johnson, 33, and Jacob R. Glaser, 20, both of Tonawanda, were arrested and charged with hazing and providing alcohol to minors.

"The university has zero tolerance toward hazing. Students are typically suspended whenever there is a violation of the hazing policy," UB spokesman John Della Contrada said.