SAN DIEGO — A former San Diego State University fraternity, Kappa Sigma, is facing a lawsuit after a student ended up in a coma in the hospital with what his attorneys said was a one percent chance of survival.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the Kappa Sigma fraternity was suspended from SDSU in 2020 and expelled in 2022 and is not an approved, recognized student organization at the University.
The lawsuit said that the 19-year-old Benjamin Brennan student was taken to the hospital by nine Kappa Sigma fraternity members named co-defendants after the group’s initiation ritual. Court documents said members of this fraternity forced 19-year-old Brennan to drink alcohol, beat him, and then dropped him off at the hospital. Attorneys said Kappa Sigma was already expelled from SDSU for another hazing incident with another student and wasn’t supposed to operate again until 2031.
James Frantz is Benjamin Brennan’s attorney who said the 19-year-old will now spend the rest of his life recovering after trying to pledge Kappa Sigma in April of 2021. Frantz explained, “He was in the hospital for several days fighting for his life, and thank God he did survive. (Before this) He was surfing and having a great life and went into that frat house, and boom. They take his life away.”
Their lawsuit said instead of making friends in the fraternity, Brennan ended up in a coma and on a ventilator fighting for his life after fraternity members “poured alcohol and drugs into him,” “beat him with paddles,” and then “dumped his lifeless body at a local hospital.” His blood alcohol level was .489, more than six times the legal driving limit. Frantz said Brennan now suffers from severe cognitive issues, PTSD, and anxiety adding, “He can’t work. He can’t go to school. And he’s facing all these medical problems for the rest of his life.”
SDSU said, “Kappa Sigma was suspended from SDSU in 2020 and expelled in 2022. The chapter appealed the university’s decision earlier this year, and the university has upheld their expulsion. The chapter is not an approved, recognized student organization and has not been since 2020.”
Attorneys representing Brennan, Michael Perez, said that’s not good enough. “I think the policing needs to be significantly enhanced by the Greek and university systems.”
Brennans’ stepfather, Kirk Gibson, also stated in part, “Ben would be a junior at SDSU pursuing his business degree. Instead, this life-altering event left him physically and mentally injured and sent him into a tailspin. He has had to drop out of SDSU, leaving him with enormous student debt and nothing to show.”
Brennan’s attorneys said they want to sound the alarm about the dangers of hazing because Kappa Sigma is a repeat offender. Frantz concluded, “They engage in the same behavior that they were suspended for all over again. These fraternities have to be brought under control.”
Kappa Sigma’s national organization’s executive director Mitchell B. Wilson said, “We are aware of the pending lawsuit, and once we receive it, we will review it closely. What happened to Benjamin Brennan is unacceptable under any circumstances, and the Kappa Sigma Fraternity has taken action against the involved individuals. As an organization, we continue to oppose hazing adamantly, the misuse of alcohol adamantly, and placing the health and safety of any person at risk.”
Brennan’s attorneys said 7 of the nine students in the lawsuit had been suspended from SDSU. Because Kappa Sigma was expelled from campus, attorneys said in the act of defiance, they continued to recruit and increased their pledge (rush) duration from 2 to 6 weeks while the fraternity was not a recognized student organization. Brennan’s attorneys confirm that Benjamin Brennan knew of the expulsion and was one of 19 students who tried to pledge Kappa Sigma anyway.
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