Its stories like this that make me distrust the Greek system.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (CN) - A former pledge of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity at Tulane University claims older fraternity members hogtied him and stuck him in a dog cage for three hours, in a darkened room with blaring music and a fog machine, until he urinated on himself and vomited.
Curtis Willliam Mertensmeyer filed suit in Federal Court, saying he expected some hazing, but not the "abusive and dangerous conduct" he endured.
He says fraternity members Matt Noonan and Scott Cummings led him to a back room of the fraternity house, where they kept a dog named Layla in a cage, and told him to crawl into the cage with the dog.
"At the time, Plaintiff thought it was only a 'prank,'" the lawsuit claims, "and that he would be in the cage for a short period of time."
He says he tried to escape several times, but members of the fraternity tied his hands and feet together so he couldn't escape.
"The dog cage was of a size that Plaintiff could neither sit upright nor lie down," the complaint states. "While he was in the dog cage, various members of the Fraternity yelled abusive and discriminatory remarks at Plaintiff. The Fraternity members threw various items and poured unknown liquid items on Plaintiff.
"Plaintiff requested release to use the rest room, but was denied release for any reason, and eventually urinated on himself and vomited in the dog cage. Plaintiff was forced to lie huddled in his own bodily fluids for this prolonged period of time."
Mertensmeyer says frat members told him to keep quiet about the incident, or he would have 50 men harassing him and the entire Greek system out to "get him" on campus.
"Because of his fear from being on campus, he hid in his dormitory room and other people's dormitory rooms and had friends get him food from the vending machines, rather than go out on campus," the suit claims.
He seeks damages for his alleged suffering. His attorney is Jane Stafford.
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