ORLANDO, Fla., April 21 (UPI) -- A Florida fraternity chapter was ordered by its national officers to close in light of an alleged hazing involving a cane-beating, university officials said.
Records indicated there had been in September an anonymous telephone call in which a woman said her son, a student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando and a pledge with the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, was beaten severely by fraternity brothers, the Orland Sentinel reported Wednesday.
The chapter was issued a cease-and-desist order April 1 after the fraternity's national office learned of the chapter's "illegal and unlawful activity."
"This means the chapter is officially closed and is not authorized to conduct business or function as an entity on or off campus of the University of Central Florida," said Ronald Range, an officer at the fraternity's national office in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
"The voluntary suspension of activities was requested out of an abundance of caution as we reviewed the information we had available at the time," Grant Heston, a UCF spokesman, said, adding the suspension lasted a few days and school officials are monitoring the situation.
