Clemson University Suspends All 24 Fraternities Following Student’s Death
It has been a rough week so far in Clemson, S.C.
On Monday, Clemson University sophomore Tucker Hipps went missing during a run with his Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers. Hipps reportedly fell behind in the run, and when his brothers went to look for him, he was nowhere to be found. Sadly, later that afternoon, his body was found in an off-campus lake.
Although the local sheriff has been quoted as saying he does not believe hazing is to blame for Tucker’s death, school officials made the decision to suspend all social and new member initiation activities of all on-campus fraternities.
Clemson’s vice president of student affairs released the following statement on the decision.
From Business Insider:
“It is especially prudent to suspend fraternity activities given the tragic death of Tucker Hipps. There has been a high number of reports of serious incidents involving fraternity activities, ranging from alcohol-related medical emergencies to sexual misconduct … These behaviors are unacceptable and mandate swift and effective action to protect students. There is no higher priority than the safety and welfare of our students.”
The school continued to say that “matters of criminal nature have been turned over to appropriate law enforcement agencies.”
While the decision to suspend all fraternities may initially seem dramatic, it appears to be the final straw in what has already been an unnerving semester at Clemson.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Tucker’s family, friends, and his Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers..
[via Business Insider]
Image via Clemson University
It was a rough day here yesterday. Last night’s vigil was really hard. He was a great guy and was very well respected by everyone who knew him.
10 years ago at 10:31 amYeah, tons of “respect,” but not enough cooperate with authorities, right? Clowns.
10 years ago at 1:17 pmIt’s a bad time for you to be invoking your ignorance. I have read several articles on the event and Sigma Phi Epsilon was helping in any way possible.
10 years ago at 1:21 pmShut the hell up, man
10 years ago at 1:33 pmYou fucking suck balls, Grow up and show some respect and sensitivity for the situation or politely Get the Fuck Out.
10 years ago at 3:06 pmMods, can you blackball this fucking asshole and IP block him already?
10 years ago at 4:31 pmI’m highly confident based on your comments that you are far too stupid to have been admitted to Vandy law. Fuck off.
10 years ago at 5:32 pmJimmy and Warren
10 years ago at 10:35 pm“I will now be up all night masturbating. 10 seconds at a time.”
2 months ago on The New And Improved TFM Sweethearts Page Is Now LIVE
go away
10 years ago at 11:12 pmGet the fuck out
10 years ago at 12:25 amSomebody had to see something…
Check out the Clemson Yik Yak, people are losing it
10 years ago at 10:31 amAlways a tragedy to lose someone so young. R.I.P
10 years ago at 10:34 amGiving any sort of credence to a site that allows people to anonymously run their mouth for likes was your first mistake
10 years ago at 4:12 pmDidn’t give any credence to yik yak…Just said that people are losing it on there.
10 years ago at 12:09 amThe tragic death of someone so young being perverted by fraternity stereo-types is sad.
10 years ago at 10:38 amA student of my university fell to his death on spring break last year. It was a completely random accident a thousand miles away from campus, of course.
So the local and national media thought it would be prudent to continually (and unnecessarily) include his Greek affiliation, while descending on our row to feature exterior shots of his chapter for their coverage. People are fucking sick.
10 years ago at 11:42 amPerverted stereotypes didn’t kill the kid. Hazing did. Why don’t you read Clemson’s yik yak; they allegedly made the kid jump off a bridge and then ran like cowards when he didn’t surface. Homicide is so frat, right?
10 years ago at 1:03 pmIf that is what happened, that is incredibly fucked up.
10 years ago at 1:18 pmJust an innocuous 5:00 a.m. jog. Right. Anyone who implicitly perpetuates this bullshit by giving them the benefit of the doubt is a black eye on Greek life.
10 years ago at 1:53 pmI did plenty of morning jogs with my pledge bros. This shit happens everywhere. I bet you’re not even in a fraternity and have never pledged, or you just joined a pussy ass no hazing house.
10 years ago at 1:22 amBecause Yik Yak is always a reliable source of information…fuck off dude
10 years ago at 1:27 pm“Because Yik Yak is always a reliable source of information…” Because fraternities in trouble are always a reliable source of the truth. Get a clue, dude.
10 years ago at 1:51 pmThis is America fuckface. People are innocent until proven guilty.
10 years ago at 2:48 pmAre you serious? Sure, guys might not cooperate or flat out lie if they get busted for a party or drinking during rush week or making kids do bows and toes. The kid died, and you think that 30 of his pledge brothers would just go along with lying about what happened? Stick to yik yak.
10 years ago at 4:11 pmThis is what I’ve heard. Sig Ep was doing a pledge run in the morning before breakfast. The kid was falling behind and asked a brother if they could take a break. The brother told him that they just needed to cross the bridge first. The kid began lagging behind when the rest of the group had to cross to the other side of the bridge. The kid saw that the group was crossing and crossed from where he was, but there was a gap between the bridges. They think he didn’t notice and fell between the bridge. It was on a busy highway and fraternities were already under investigations for hazing so I doubt the Sig Ep guys were just blatantly hazing on the side of a road.
10 years ago at 1:54 pmA judge is totally going to buy that. Totally.
10 years ago at 2:27 pmFuck off, kid.
10 years ago at 3:11 pmLocal sheriff states there was no indication of hazing. Please go drink bleach, you worthless fuck stain.
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2014/09/23/coroner-clemson-student-died-from-head-injury/16107615/
10 years ago at 7:25 pmWith all due respect, do you think that link makes this story sound good? It says they left a kid out there for like 8 hours before anyone called the cops that he was missing. Furthermore, the investigation is ongoing.
10 years ago at 10:40 pm“but there was a gap between the bridges” what does that even mean?
10 years ago at 9:05 pmThe ‘bridge’ is actually two bridges of a four lane road that borders the perimeter campus and there’s a short gap between the two.
10 years ago at 10:18 pmNo idea either. But: “The kid was falling behind and asked a brother if they could take a break. The brother told him that they just needed to cross the bridge first.”
Isn’t this the definition of hazing?
10 years ago at 10:33 pmI saw it on Yik yak it must be true… You must be a Pike
10 years ago at 1:57 pmVandyLaw, I have a good feeling you sit in front of your computer just beating off for the chance to talk about situations that involved legal matters.
10 years ago at 3:08 pmHe wasn’t a pledge, he was a brother, so he wouldn’t be getting hazed. Also, the sheriff’s department doesn’t believe hazing was involved, so please turn your brain on VandyLaw.
10 years ago at 3:10 pmHe was a pledge
10 years ago at 6:53 pmIs this a traditional chapter or balanced man chapter?
10 years ago at 10:38 amThey are one of the last few traditional chapters (at least based off of what one of my friends told me last year) – the national office has been looking for a reason to force them to convert to BM for a number of years now.
10 years ago at 10:41 amI can’t remember if they are “technically balanced man” but from the ones I have met I am under the impression they use a traditional model
10 years ago at 11:06 amGo fist yourself. A brother is dead and that’s what your worried about?
10 years ago at 11:27 amSo I’m the bad guy because I think the most significant process that makes fraternity life exceptional is pledging? This is a terrible, untimely death and my thoughts are with the men of SC Beta and his loved ones, but I’m worried about the fact that this will explode into something completely unrelated. By that I mean, what Roll_Tigers said is completely true regarding a forced conversion to BM by nationals. Sigep nationals have been at the forefront of the negative publicity and stereotypes greek organizations receive because they have been marketing themselves as a new evolved fraternity for two decades. You and I damn well know that the foundations that built all fraternity mansions weren’t built upon initiating rushes on day 1. It’s quite clear to me that given the tragic death of Tucker, Sigep nationals will assume the worst because they are a traditional pledging chapter and will take unnecessary extreme measures by publicly citing the dangers of pledging. Even if the circumstances that lead to his death weren’t related to pledging. If you don’t believe me, look no further then the formerly traditional chapters at Ole Miss and Virginia Tech for evidence. It only took some racist assholes at Ole Miss to get them kicked off, while the chapter at Virginia Tech was kicked off because brothers (mostly 21+) were casually drinking beer in their new fraternity house and watching March Madness when they weren’t allowed to. If petty offenses like these are all it takes, then Clemson’s chapter doesn’t stand a chance. It’s time to recognize sigep nationals as the cancer it is towards greek life. VDBL to my traditional brothers and RIP Tucker.
10 years ago at 2:29 pmshut the fuck up you worthless peasant a week ago you didn’t give a shit about this kid and now that he’s dead its fucking the second coming of 9/11 since he’s a “brother”
10 years ago at 4:53 pmSettle the fuck down you tweek.
10 years ago at 12:39 amWas this guy a pledge? Otherwise why would they think his death was caused by hazing?
10 years ago at 10:58 amYes
10 years ago at 12:08 pmSigEp does not have pledges
10 years ago at 12:21 pmWrong bud
10 years ago at 1:46 pmWrong SigEp hot dog.
10 years ago at 1:56 pmYes he was a pledge. On a pledge run at 5:30 in the morning in the dark. One of my friends, been a pretty rough week
10 years ago at 1:24 pmcondolences from the Midlands. such a tragedy, but I can’t imagine that disbanding Greek Life is the way to bring people together and through this right now.
10 years ago at 2:27 pmSad deal. Anyone have story on what they think happened? University doesn’t seem to think it was an accident.
10 years ago at 11:05 amNo matter what fraternity or sorority they come from, it is still upsetting to hear of a member of Greek life who lost their lives. Hopefully, no foul play was involved and those effected are allowed to mourn in peace. RIP Tucker.
10 years ago at 11:16 amTo expand, its sad to here of anyone, especially so young, loosing their life.
10 years ago at 11:20 amHow is this even legal? Banning fraternities at a public university without cause has always been considered against the first amendments protections of freedom of association.
10 years ago at 11:20 amA parent should never have to bury their child. Prayers go out to his family and friends.
10 years ago at 11:48 amThis man’s death is a tragedy, and should be treated as such. The problem I’ve been seeing is the administration is using this tragedy to move forward with an anti-Greek agenda they’ve been pushing all semester.
Example: regardless of affiliation with Sig Ep, any Greek organization that was/is investigated and tried this semester is now recommended to a minimum of one/year suspension following this tragedy. To make it worse, Clemson hearings for these issues are guilty until proven innocent. Finally, the school has made cases against half of the fraternities here, only of few of which actually are accused of serious infractions. That means 10-12 fraternities could be removed on top of this suspension.
Hoping for justice in this case, and that Clemson realizes where the real problems lie.
10 years ago at 12:59 pmThey’re doing similar things here at arizona because the death of a Fiji. Clearly these people are so ignorant that they don’t see the great things the Greek community does constantly
10 years ago at 6:48 pmAnti-Greek? I think they’re anti- teenagers dying.
10 years ago at 7:50 am