USM, OMEGA PSI Sued Over Alleged ‘Hell Night’ Hazing

JACKSON, Miss. (TnTribune) — A former Omega Psi Phi fraternity pledgee, Rafeal Joseph, alleged that he was beaten so severely by fraternity members durning Nu Eta Chapter’s “Hell Night” that he had to learn to lto walk again.

Rafeal Joseph is suing the chapter of the113 year old Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. According to the federal lawsuit, Rafeal Joseph and other pledges were struck repeatedly with a wooden paddle made from a two-by-four plank on April 16, 2023. Afterward, Joseph went to a local hospital where he underwent a blood transfusion and emergency surgery while being treated for bruised ribs, a hematoma, posterior compartment syndrome and rhabdomyolysis, a severe muscle injury.

“We see violent incidents like these time and again across the nation but, instead of taking action, fraternity leaders and university officials alike sweep it under the rug and write it off as ‘boys will be boys,’ ” civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers, who is representing Joseph, said in a press release. “It’s criminal violence and abuse and it needs to end.”

The lawsuit alleges Joseph suffered severe emotional distress and could not walk for months causing him to ultimately leave the University of Southern Mississippi.

“We see violent incidents like these time and again across the nation but instead of taking action, fraternity leaders and university officials alike sweep it under the rug and write it off as ‘boys will be boys,’ ” civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers, who is representing Joseph, said in a press release. “It’s criminal violence and abuse and it needs to end.”

The lawsuit alleges fraternity members began hazing Joseph in December 2022 by stealing his food and money, preventing him from sleeping and threatening him.

It also lays out a second case of alleged abuse, claiming Nu Eta hazing left another student with a torn ACL in the fall of 2022. According to the lawsuit, the University of Southern Mississippi did not investigate the incident or take action against the fraternity.