In a shocking revelation, a Texas A&M University student has lodged a $1 million lawsuit, accusing ten of his fellow Corps of Cadets members of subjecting him to a nightmarish session of hazing within campus quarters. The suit, filed in Dallas County, alleges the cadets indulged in "degrading and humiliating" acts against the plaintiff in October 2022, under the guise of a meeting to discuss freshman training, as per KBTX.
The plaintiff claimed he had an immediate sense of dread upon arrival and attempted to leave, only to be manhandled and shoved into the dimly lit dorm, marked by a single sinister red LED strip. The hazing escalated when other cadets failed to intervene as one defendant stripped, donned a condom and mocked a sexual act toward the restrained student, at one point, touching the plaintiff's thigh and groin area, according to the Houston Chronicle. In a disturbing series of events, the defendants then bound and gagged the plaintiff, hoisting him between two beds in a grotesque mimicry of a roast pig.
The humiliation, however, did not conclude with that frightful scene. The student, whose identity hasn't been disclosed due to potential sexual assault victim status, contends with ongoing mental trauma and has alleged gaslighting by his aggressors, which is suggested to be a mere prank gone awry. "Defendants tried to gaslight him by telling him it was just ‘good bull’ that ‘got out of hand’," cited the plaintiff's lawsuit. The subsequent isolation, coupled with academic disruptions caused by the psychological impact, spurred the student to pursue legal recourse for the trauma endured, as per the Houston Chronicle.
Kevin McGinnis, vice president and chief compliance, risk and ethics officer at Texas A&M, told the Houston Chronicle, "The institution was made aware of this situation, and action was taken accordingly." However, the specifics of the outcomes are not public knowledge due to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act regulations. Texas A&M encourages reporting any hazing incidents to various campus authorities, including the Student Conduct Office, Title IX Office, and University Police, although a report on this incident was never filed with the university's police department.
The A&M Police Department confirmed that there was no report filed regarding the hazing incident, while Texas A&M officials have maintained a stance of taking appropriate action upon awareness of the incident. Two of the Corps members named as defendants have denied the allegations in court filings, and none of the others have retained lawyers as yet, except for one who submitted a general denial. The fraught case will move to Brazos County following a judge's recent decision to change venue, in conjunction with the residences of the involved parties, as the controversy continues to unfold.
