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| BEYOND THE HEDGES: Former UT frat members settle hazing suit |
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The former members of the now-disbanded Texas Cowboys, a fraternity at the
University of Texas, have agreed to pay in excess of $1 million in a wrongful
death civil suit resulting from the drowning of a pledging student.
The suit, filed by the parents of Gabe Higgins -- a 1995 pledge with the Cowboys -- claimed the group's negligence caused the death of their son. Higgins' body was pulled from the Colorado River in April 1995 after a Cowboys picnic. His blood alcohol content at the time of his death was more than twice the legal limit to drive. No criminal charges were brought against individual members of the Texas Cowboys. But a separate investigation conducted last year by the University of Texas Dean of Students Office concluded that Higgins was hazed at the picnic. The university forced the Cowboys to disband and barred the group from re-forming a university chapter until the year 2000. The 18 members of the organization and the landowner of the property where Higgins died settled for a total of $1,090,000, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, Jeff Ruck, said. "No one has admitted liability, but the sum of money tells you something," Rusk said. He said the sum was intended to gain the attention of other fraternities and serve as an example of the consequences of hazing. Source: The Daily Texan, Feb. 24.
This item appeared in the News section of the March 14, 1997 issue. |
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