Police probe suspected hazing after Ohio State University students suffer burns

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According to the Columbus Police report, the victims were both students who were treated for “moderate” second- and third-degree burns.

Police are investigating whether two Ohio State University students who were treated for deep burns after being engulfed in flames at an outdoor fraternity party were victims of hazing.

The university placed the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity on interim suspension after a video circulated on social media showing a large group surrounding two young men on fire Saturday. A student who watched the video called police the next day to report a possible hazing incident, according to an audio recording of the call.

“They stood around watching while this kid just burned,” said the student, who was sent the video in a group chat with her sorority members.

The video shows a ring of people standing outside, many wearing the school’s red and white colors, laughing and shouting at two men on the ground with their pants on fire. One lunges at the other, and they both roll on the ground. The shouting takes on a more panicked tone as they struggle to remove their clothing. One onlooker holds a small fire extinguisher but doesn’t successfully deploy it.

According to the Columbus Police report, the victims were both students who were treated for “moderate” second- and third-degree burns. The university has not said how the fraternity is linked to the event, but the report lists the president of the fraternity as part of the investigation.

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The report also lists hazing as the charge being investigated and notes that university authorities also are looking into whether hazing occurred.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed “Collin’s Law” in 2021 toughening penalties for hazing in the wake of a student’s death at a fraternity house at Ohio University. The law’s definition of hazing includes participating in or coercing anyone into behavior that creates a substantial risk of mental or physical harm and is tied to initiation into an organization or continued membership.

Under that law and the federal Stop…

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