Campus Hazing and Student Safety

Body‑camera footage obtained by Fox News and local media shows Iowa City police, city firefighters and University of Iowa officers responding to a Nov. 15, 2024 fire alarm at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and finding 56 blindfolded young men packed into a dark basement in what an officer on scene calls "a hazing event." Many of the college‑aged pledges appear shirtless and are covered in brown, white and red substances, yet remain silent and motionless as officers repeatedly order them to evacuate for the fire alarm. The video captures officers confronting a man who identifies himself as fraternity president, who describes the episode as "their lead‑up to initiation" and "a ritual where they’re blindfolded and get messed with," while police warn that refusal to clear the house during an alarm and the hazing itself will be documented and sent to the university. The footage is now circulating widely online, intensifying public scrutiny of hazing practices at the University of Iowa and adding pressure on campus and city officials to explain what disciplinary or criminal steps, if any, are being taken in response.