Madison police responding to an anonymous tip Wednesday night found roughly 30 partially clothed young men, most of them 18, covered in food and liquids inside an 81-degree basement at the Alpha Epsilon Pi house on Langdon Street. Several pledges had visible injuries consistent with a recent physical assault, according to police, though no one required medical attention. Fraternity president Brayden Klein and vice president Samuel Vane, both 20, were arrested on suspicion of hazing and disorderly conduct.
The timing matters here. This happened during UW-Madison’s rush week, the very period when new members are deciding whether a chapter is right for them. Adding another layer: UW-Madison terminated this chapter’s recognition back in 2015, meaning it operates outside university oversight, even though its national organization still recognizes it. Police reported limited cooperation and conflicting statements from the people inside, and the district attorney will now review the case for formal charges.
Hazing cases like this one raise hard questions for families across college towns. Unrecognized chapters can fall into a gap where no one is clearly responsible for day-to-day accountability. If you have a student in the middle of rush season, it’s worth asking who supervises the houses they visit and what the pledge process actually looks like. What questions would you want answered before your kid joins a chapter? Let us know in the comments.
