Connor Mui, a former undergraduate at Michigan State University, has sued Lambda Phi Epsilon fraternity, its MSU associate chapter, and three of its members, citing severe health complications following alleged hazing incidents. The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on Oct. 17 details Mui's medical ordeal, including being hospitalized various times, exhibiting severe physical symptoms, and eventually, being diagnosed with exertional rhabdomyolysis, a potentially life-threatening condition, according to CBS News Detroit.
According to the lawsuit, during the fall of 2021, Mui agreed to pledge Lambda Phi Epsilon, and he subsequently alleges being coerced along with other pledges to smoke "dangerous amounts" of marijuana by the pledge master, and fraternity members took no action to stop these activities leading to Mui's initial hospitalization for symptoms consistent with substance intoxication, and despite this fraternity's stated ban on such acts, he was later pressured to catch up on lost time by indulging in extensive physical exercise after his previous hospital stay, which resulted in his exacerbated health issues, as stated in the court documents and reinforced by detailed accounts of his deteriorating condition after he was forced to endure a night of callisthenic exercises despite his complaints of feeling unwell.
The defendants named in the suit include the fraternity president at the time, Jiho Jackson Kang, the pledge master, Andrew Kim, and Mui's "big brother" in the fraternity, Thane Yun, all of whom are alleged to have either facilitated or failed to intervene in the hazing activities. As per CBS News Detroit, Lambda Phi Epsilon has not responded to requests for comment, and MSU has released a statement clarifying its strict anti-hazing policies and the possible repercussions for violation.
According to WWMT, The plaintiff is seeking damages over $75,000 and has demanded a jury trial, highlighting the broader issue of hazing within Greek life as the lawsuit references eight other serious incidents since 2005 linked to Lambda Phi Epsilon chapters, which raises questions about the fraternity's practices and oversight, demonstrating a pattern of behavior that has repeatedly come into conflict with both the fraternity's professed policies and laws designed to protect students from such harmful situations; most notably, Michigan's Garret's Law that prohibits dangerous hazing rituals at educational institutions, Mui's legal actions follow the sad historical context of hazing consequences after the 2021 death of junior business student Phat Nguyen at a fraternity party associated with MSU's chapter of Pi Alpha Phi.
