Photo by JHVEPhoto/Adobes Stock
Audio By Carbonatix
Reader support matters more than ever
We're in the final stretch of our summer campaign. Our goal is to raise $10,000 by August 9 to support the journalism our community relies on. Reader support is helping shape the future of local news.
A video purportedly showing a University of Miami Phi Delta Theta brother setting a pledge on fire at a pool party during the spring semester is now under investigation by the fraternity’s national office, according to a statement given to New Times.
It’s the second time in less than a month that a University of Miami fraternity has faced claims of hazing after authorities arrested a U.S. Secret Service agent accused in a Kappa Alpha Psi hazing case that hospitalized a student with kidney injuries, according to The Miami Herald.
While there’s no indication that any students were severely injured in the Phi Delta Theta allegations, a student tells New Times the hazing goes far beyond the one video.
The video in question was provided to New Times by a concerned student who said they had knowledge of the fraternity’s treatment of recent pledges. It shows three shirtless young men standing shoulder to shoulder at the edge of a small pool. A shirtless man wearing a red cloth around his head bends down and ignites another man’s jeans. Seconds later, three more shirtless men rush into the frame, tackling the group into the pool as the man at the center is still engulfed in flames.
In a July 29 statement to New Times, a representative for The University of Miami wrote via email, “The University of Miami has never seen this video, and it is not aware of this incident or any allegations related to it.”
A subsequent statement from Phi Delta Theta spokeswoman Katelyn Ferguson on Tuesday indicates the university is aware and working with the fraternity’s primary office at Miami University in Oxford on an investigation.
“Phi Delta Theta is reviewing alleged policy violations at the Florida Delta chapter at the University of Miami,” she wrote in an emailed statement to New Times. “Phi Delta Theta is working with the university, chapter, and alumni to review the matter. Any individuals found responsible for violating policy will be held accountable.
“Phi Delta Theta holds the safety of every member of the fraternity, as well as the individuals of the campuses and communities they are a part of, in the highest regard. The organization does not tolerate any actions that directly contradict the values and policies of the fraternity and holds strict rulings against members and chapters that violate fraternity expectations and the law.”
The University of Miami hasn’t responded to follow-up questions seeking clarification on whether it knows about and is investigating the matter. Instead, the university provided a general statement about hazing, writing, “The University of Miami has an absolute prohibition on hazing. Hazing is defined as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act or situation committed on or off campus by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate.”
The allegations come as Phi Delta Theta faces renewed scrutiny over hazing incidents at chapters across the country.
2025 University of Oklahoma
According to the student-run OU Daily, the national Phi Delta Theta organization found the university’s chapter responsible for code of conduct violations in late 2025, including hazing and physical harm following a new member suffering alcohol poisoning.
“Hazing incidents are noted to have taken place over the course of the fall 2025 semester, including verbal degradation, physical overexertion, task assignments and illegal alcohol consumption,” the OU Daily story reads.
2024 University of Mississippi
The university placed its chapter of Phi Delta Theta on interim suspension in September 2024 after videos went viral showing pledges lying prone while others poured large amounts of liquid into their mouths, according to Fox 13 Memphis.
2017 Louisiana State University
In a high-profile hazing case, 18-year-old LSU freshman Maxwell Gruver died from alcohol poisoning and aspiration after a hazing ritual at the fraternity house in 2017, according to NBC News. A jury awarded Gruver’s family $6.1 million for the hazing-related death, which also resulted in the permanent closure of the LSU chapter and a brief shutdown of all Greek life at the university.
2013 Emory University
The Atlanta-based university banned Phi Delta Theta for four years after an investigation revealed a basement fight club with pledges as drunken, forced combatants, according to Business Insider.
