Jonathan Pierce, the chief communications officer for Alpha Epsilon Pi, has pledged full cooperation with authorities after Madison police discovered approximately 30 partially-clothed young men in the sweltering basement of the fraternity’s Wisconsin chapter.
Pierce said in a statement that the national fraternity headquarters takes the allegations involving the Pi Chapter in Madison “extremely seriously,” He continued: “We will cooperate fully with the authorities investigating this matter. Hazing is a betrayal of everything our fraternity stands for. There is no place for it in AEPi. No exceptions. No excuses.”
The discovery came Wednesday night, September 23, after officers responded to an anonymous tip at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house. Madison Police Captain Kipp Hartman said the young men, all around 18 years old, were pledges to the fraternity and showed signs of physical assault.
Some of the pledges had signs on their bodies of being physically assaulted, police said. Hartman observed what appeared to be fresh redness and marks potentially consistent with being struck, though he noted there were no open wounds. He described encountering “limited cooperation” from those present, adding that some statements “did not align with what everybody else’s statements were.”
The basement conditions were oppressive. Police revealed that a thermostat in the space was set to 81 degrees Fahrenheit, creating hot and humid conditions where the young men were found covered in food, condiments and other liquids. Officers declared the gathering unlawful before evacuating the premises and checking pledges for incapacitation and injuries.
Two fraternity members, both 20 years old, were arrested for tentative misdemeanor charges of hazing and disorderly conduct, reports said. The national organization issued a cease-and-desist directive on Thursday, requiring the group to immediately end all activities.
The university’s relationship with this particular chapter is complicated. Police said the chapter was “not accredited by the University of Wisconsin-Madison” and was terminated by the university more than a decade ago. However, Alpha Epsilon Pi’s national organisation said it still recognises the Madison chapter.
Alpha Epsilon Pi describes itself as “the world’s Jewish college fraternity,” with chapters on more than 150 college campuses in four countries. The national organization will investigate the group’s activities, according to a university statement.
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori Reesor addressed the incident on the school’s website, expressing strong condemnation. She wrote: “I was tremendously disappointed to see the allegations and images of what took place.”
Reesor clarified the university’s position, stating: “To be clear, this situation did not involve an official chapter of UW–Madison’s Fraternity & Sorority Life community, but a student group whose status with the university was terminated in 2015,” She added that UW–Madison’s Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards will investigate individual students involved.
The vice chancellor continued: “Let me be clear — there is no place for hazing on our campus. A healthy campus community should encourage, uplift, and help you reach your social, academic, and professional pursuits — we must take care of one another.”
Fraternity hazing is defined as any humiliating, abusive, or dangerous activity required to join or stay in a college fraternity. The incident has drawn attention to ongoing concerns about such practices at unaffiliated or formerly recognized Greek organizations operating near college campuses.
The police investigation remains active as authorities work to piece together conflicting accounts from the scene. The national fraternity’s cooperation pledge and the university’s parallel investigation signal multiple layers of institutional response to the alleged misconduct.