UCLA Student Hurt in Initiation Is Recovering

Marshall Lai, the UCLA student hospitalized last week after a fraternity initiation, has shown signs of recovery and his condition has been upgraded to fair, a university spokesman said Monday.

Lai, a freshman, and two other members of the Omega Sigma Tau fraternity pledge class were hospitalized after a weekend of intense physical exertion--including running, push-ups and sit-ups--that caused massive dehydration and exhaustion in all three, and kidney failure in Lai.

The two other students were not identified. One was treated briefly March 30 and released from UCLA Medical Center. School officials said the third student checked into a San Jose hospital last week.

University police are investigating the incident as a possible hazing episode--a crime punishable in California by up to a year in jail and $5,000 in fines. Police said no formal complaint has been filed.

Nonetheless, university administrators are characterizing the incident as hazing. One compared it to a boot camp, and another said it met the legal definition of hazing. They also emphasized that illegal hazing at UCLA is highly unusual.

“We have no reason to believe this is a pattern, or that there’s a history of this, at any of our fraternity members,” said Dean of Students Robert Naples.

UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale sent an e-mail message this weekend, warning that “any kind of hazing activity or other coercive conduct that places our students in jeopardy will not be tolerated and will be acted against swiftly and forcefully by the UCLA administration, by the UCLA Police Department and by other appropriate law enforcement agencies.”

Although fraternity members and pledges have declined to describe events that led to the hospitalization of Lai and the other students, several have denied hazing anyone.

“One of the primary things our fraternity prides itself on is not hazing, not paddling, not involving alcohol, not physically abusing pledges,” said fraternity member Mark Trang.

Fraternity members also were adamant that alcohol was not involved.

“There definitely wasn’t alcohol. I mean, we’re a fraternity, we drink. But we never forced anybody to drink,” said Omega member Eric Chen.

Although alcohol could cause the sort of dehydration that leads to kidney failure, massive exercise without drinking water could cause the problems as well, said UCLA professor of medicine Allen Nissenson.

Nissenson said the damage is reversible most of the time.