Lucy Devine
The Alpha Delta Phi fraternity received a lengthy punishment following a hazing incident in November 2024.
Bodycam footage of the incident was released by police and published on 'The CrimePiece' YouTube channel. The footage captured the moment officers discovered 56 blindfolded people in the basement of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house a the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
Hazing is basically any kind of humiliating or degrading activity expected of somebody joining a group and is considered to be hazing even if they agree to take part.
The University of Iowa has reiterated that hazing is strictly prohibited. It's also prohibited under Iowa law.
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The Alpha Delta Phi fraternity was suspended from campus for at least four academic years, following the incident in 2024.
According to police documents, authorities arrived to find several young men standing in close proximity in a basement, many of whom were blindfolded and shirtless.
They appeared to be covered in various white, brown and yellow substances, which are now believed to be food products. They also had ties over their eyes which were being used as blindfolds.
“They were all covered with what seemed like food products like ketchup and mustard and alcohol,” according to court documents.
The UI incident summary also detailed the events, explaining that police had to ask the group who was in charge.
“While police were present at the house, the men who were wearing shirts in the storage room slowly moved into the middle of the room and removed their shirts," it said.
“When police inquired what was happening in the basement, no individual in the room responded. Only after the police asked ‘Who was in charge?’ did a shirtless member respond ‘They are upstairs’.”
Several described the events as being 'like a food fight', with the summary continuing: “It is reasonable to believe that in a food fight all participating members would be throwing food. In this case no pledge member participated in throwing food, so it is reasonable to believe it was only executed by active members.
“It is reasonable to believe there was a coordinated effort to separate pledge class members from emergency personnel immediately following the exit from the basement."
Alongside the suspension, the fraternity must work alongside the UI Fraternity and Sorority Life to come to an agreement on terms in order to return.
Joseph Gaya, who was not a student at the University of Iowa, was the only individual arrested and was later charged with interference with official acts, Newsweek reports.
The charges brought against Joseph were eventually dropped.