OSWEGO – A student at SUNY Oswego is suing the state over injuries from a hazing incident at a fraternity house last year.
Liam McDonald was pledging on Oct. 8 in the Sigma Gamma fraternity when he was hazed, resulting in a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding from injuries to his chest and abdomen. There is no information as to what activity McDonald was doing to cause the injury.
The lawsuit accuses the state of negligence, since SUNY Oswego had approved Sigma Gamma, located at 110 W. Bridge St., as a registered fraternity. The lawsuit states that the college “assisted Sigma Gamma with issues related to recruitment activities, new member activites, risk management, and conduct.”
Both McDonald and his lawyer, William Ryan of Albany, gave no public comment, and McDonald’s mother, Judith McDonald, said her son’s lawyer told her to not publically discuss the case. On the other side, spokeswoman Julie Blissert said that SUNY Oswego officials don’t make comments on matters of lawsuits.
SUNY Oswego holds training sessions with the sole purpose to help recognize hazing, how to respond as a bystander or a victim, and how to create bonding activities that wouldn’t be considered hazing. Any hazing allegations that are reported to the college are investigated by SUNY Oswego’s police and through the disciplinary system.