Wilmington College no longer recognizes frat after pledge loses testicle in hazing incident

After a hazing incident at the Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity at Wilmington College resulted in a pledge being sent to the emergency room to have his testicle removed, the school has decided that it will no longer recognize the frat on campus.

That is the most severe penalty that the Quaker college can impose and it puts an official end to the run of the nation’s oldest local fraternity. Gamma Phi Gamma claims it has existed since 1907.

During the Oct. 30 ceremony, three pledges were forced to strip naked, rubbed with “a substance described as being like ICY HOT” and had Limburger cheese and other items inserted into their mouths. After being told to make sexual movements, the pledges were “struck with towels and shirts that had the ends balled in knots or items tied inside to inflict pain.”

According to a judicial board at the school, the frat’s “rights at Wilmington College are permanently extinguished and henceforth the college will no longer recognize Gamma Phi Gamma as a Greek organization.”

Although the fraternity can appeal the ruling to college President Jim Reynolds, he is not aware of whether that will happen. Reynolds previously called the incident “disgusting and despicable.”

“This is really incongruent with our values what happened that night,” Reynolds said. “It’s still an incident that I think has taken a toll on the campus. I think we’re all trying to understand better why something like this happened on our campus”

It’s unclear if individual members of Gamma Phi Gamma will be punished by the school.

“It’s not just punishment, but it’s also the aftermath of that punishment and how do you heal together as a community,” Reynolds said. “And that’s a really important thing for us as we go forward this semester.”

[Dayton Daily News]