More than a dozen Texas State University students have been arrested and charged for giving alcohol to juveniles during an initiation process. The police officials said that several first-year members of the Bobcat marching band drum line became ill from excessive drinking.
According to khou.com, the University police said that the senior drum line members arrived at an apartment complex off campus along with freshmen, August 31. They blindfolded the younger students and gave them alcohol. Some of them fell sick after drinking too much.
"We don't want students to feel degraded or humiliated or put in any type of dangerous situation, so we don't tolerate it," said Dr. Joanne Smith, the vice president of student affairs at Texas State."People think hazing is only something that occurs in the greek community, but it does happen in other organizations."
"There are some things a university cannot tolerate and this is one of them," Smith said.
Austin Layne Baker, 24; Markus Santana Bonilla, 20; Daniel James Burow, 21; John Thomas Corbitt, 20; Nathan Patrick Donahue, 19; John Paul Edds-Galindo, 21; Caleb Rene Garza, 19; Cesar A Gonzalez, 22; Jeremy Robert Gonzalez, 20; Brian Scott Lindsey, 19; Luis Angel Pereira, 20; Miguel Angel Perez, 19; Luis Miguel Ramos, 19, are all facing hazing charges.
All the 13 students accused in the hazing incident have been temporarily suspended from the marching band. Once the university completes its investigation, they could face further disciplinary actions including community service, suspension or even expulsion.
In the Texas State student handbook, hazing is defined as:
"Any intentional or reckless act, occurring on or off the campus of an educational institution, by one person alone or acting with others, directed against a student, that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization whose members are or include students at an educational institution."
Despite strict guidelines mentioned in the handbook, students still take part in such initiation process to belong to a college campus.
"Typically in these situations, students feel like they have to do something to belong to an organization," Smith said.
