Following a University of Tennessee student’s near death after undergoing a so-called alcohol enema the school has suspended the campus fraternity until at least 2015.
The Pi Kappa Alpha house on Knoxville's campus will close on Oct. 7 with the national fraternity notified by the university on Friday that it is voluntarily surrendering its charter.
Knoxville Police said that one fraternity member was admitted to the hospital earlier this week with a dangerously high level of intoxication after undergoing what students call 'butt chugging.' A dozen people were later cited for underage drinking.
Twenty-year-old Alexander P. Broughton has denied that that he received an alcohol enema, though police records dispute that claim. Broughton's father has said his son has recovered and returned to classes.
Thanks to the fraternity's drunken exploits, the bizarre way of getting drunk is giving parents, administrators and health care workers a new fear.
When Broughton was delivered to the hospital after midnight on Sept. 22, his blood alcohol level was measured at 0.448 per cent — nearly six times the intoxication that defines drunken driving in the state. Injuries to his rectum led hospital officials to fear he had been
sodomized.
Police documents show that when an officer interviewed a fellow fraternity member about what happened, the student said the injuries had been caused by an alcohol enema, known among students as 'butt chugging.'
'It is believed that members of the fraternity were utilizing rubber tubing inserted into their rectums as a conduit for alcohol,' according to a police report.
While Broughton told police he remembered participating in a drinking game with fellow members of the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter, he denied having an alcohol enema. Police concluded otherwise from evidence they found at the frat house, including boxes of Franzia Sunset Blush wine.
Investigators also found three other students passed out in their rooms from drinking.
'He also had no recollection of losing control of his bowels and defecating on himself,' according to a university police report that includes photos of the mess left behind in the fraternity house after the party.
Broughton did not respond to a cellphone message seeking comment on Friday.
The university responded with swift investigation and a decision on Friday to shutter the fraternity. The national Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity organization also accepted the withdrawal of the campus charter.
Alcohol enemas have been the punch lines of YouTube videos, a stunt in a 'Jackass' movie and a song by the punk band NOFX called 'Party Enema.' But Corey Slovis, chairman of department of emergency medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said actually going through with the deed can have severe consequences.
'It's something that offers no advantages, while at the same time risking someone's life,' he said.
The procedure bypasses the stomach, accelerating the absorption rate, Slovis said. Pouring the alcohol through a funnel can increase the amount of alcohol consumed because it's hard to gauge how much is going in.
'When you're dumping it into your rectum, often via a funnel, one or two ounces seems like such a minuscule amount,' he said. Ingesting more can create unconsciousness quite quickly, he explained.
To read more about this story CLICK HERE.
TXT 24
Twitter
Facebook