UGA Showing Double Standard on Hazing Again? Frat Pledge Squeals After Arrest

Readers of BadJocks will remember an incident from 2008 where we took the University of Georgia to task over what appeared to us to be a double standard when it came to investigating hazing incidents on campus. If you're on a sports team, don't worry, it appears, but if you're in a fraternity or sorority, look out we're takin' you boys down! Please note: we're not condoning hazing by either Greeks or jocks. But we do want to make sure that a university which boasts about its tough anti-hazing policy actually follows through in ALL cases, not just the ones (like our pal Ry below) that are obvious or easy to prove.

Last year, we pointed out incidents on both the CLUB hockey team (the school reminded us several times it wasn't an NCAA sport, as if that made any difference in the way their policy was implimented) and the Bulldogs football team. We even had pictures and real newspaper reports to help them start their investigations, but . . . nothing. Last time a frat appeared to violate the anti-hazing policy, UGA shut them down immediately while the investigation was underway. The hockey and football teams? Yeah, right.

So now we have a new test of the University of Georgia anti-hazing policy: will the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity get the typical "sports team" treatment or will it be put on double-secret probation immediately? Stay tuned.

Oh, and for the record: ratting out your frat brothers because get get arrested for puking in a cab is no way to go through life, son!

An 18-year-old University student, who said members of his fraternity made him drink, plans to pursue hazing charges against the fraternity, according to an Athens-Clarke County Police report. Ry Thomas Mercado, a pledge at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity according to the police report, was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol early Thursday morning after vomiting in a taxi and refusing to pay.

When the arresting officer found Mercado, he noticed two IDs in Mercado's wallet. When asked about the second ID, Mercado said he found it on the floor of Bourbon Street bar. Because Mercado was too young to be admitted into the bar, the officer asked him how he got inside to obtain the second ID. Mercado then explained the ID belonged to a fraternity member.

Eric Atkinson, assistant to the vice president of student affairs, said his office runs several anti-hazing programs with the IFC and held two programs in August. "Hazing is something that we always take seriously across the board," he said. "It's something that we work really hard to educate our students about."

Arrested pledge alleges fraternity hazing (w/police report) - News