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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A pledge initiation ritual at a Northeastern University fraternity has resulted in disciplinary action from the school.
On the night of December 10, 2021, more than a dozen blindfolded pledges of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity were allegedly spotted shuffling into the back of U-Haul truck on Cedar Street, Roxbury. A witness caught the ordeal on video, and called the Boston Police Department.
According to the police incident report shared with WBZ NewsRadio, video showed that unknown fraternity brothers had ushered the pledges into the back of a box truck, shutting the rear door behind them. From there, police said the truck departed the house and took a left towards Washington Street.
Officer Bryan Aldridge responded to the incident and knocked on the door of the fraternity house in question. Officials say that two Phi Delta Theta members answered the door and said their fraternity was conducting an initiation night with their pledges, and that the U-Haul truck driver was instructed to drive aimlessly on Fort Hill until all the brothers had arrived at the site.
Police say fraternity brothers at the house allegedly questioned why police were responding, claiming that their initiation was harmless. One brother told police that other fraternities do "much worse" initiations.
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Officer Aldridge explained to the students that someone could easily get injured riding in the back of a U-Haul truck, and requested the pledges return to the fraternity house immediately. The brothers agreed and called the truck driver to turn around, but the pledges had already arrived and the U-Haul had been returned in Needham, police said.
Police asked the brothers left behind to FaceTime the pledges to confirm their safety and that they're uninjured, to which the students complied, officials said. Members of Phi Delta Theta told police that the 21 pledges that were riding in the back of the truck were in good health, and returning to Cedar Street via rideshare services.
WBZ NewsRadio reached out to Northeastern, to which officials responded in a statement.
"The university was made aware of an incident involving Northeastern students associated with the Phi Delta Theta fraternity on December 10, 2021. We conducted a thorough investigation and found the fraternity to be in violation of the university’s Code of Student Conduct. As a result, the fraternity was put on probation through the spring 2022 semester and additional sanctions were given," a spokesperson for Northeastern said.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) reports.
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