SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sean Tran, a first-year UC Davis student, began to blossom as he threw himself into campus culture. He experienced college life with a core group of friends and loved his environmental sciences degree program.

To further his career opportunities, Tran pledged Alpha Kappa Psi, a co-ed professional business fraternity, one of the more than 50 on campus. AKPsi attracted him, in part he said, because it boasted many minority members — just like him — who billed themselves as hard-working people.

But the pledging process turned dangerous after he experienced a series of hazing events across two weeks, one of which sent him to the emergency room, Tran said. He suffered crippling anxiety, a panic attack and an asthma attack, he said.

“I thought I was going to die that night, to be honest,” he said in a phone interview. “I have never had ... any feeling like that before.”

Alpha Kappa Psi and some of its members have been temporarily suspended from participating in Greek life after University of California, Davis, officials and the national fraternity’s chapter launched an investigation into the allegations just days before the school’s 110th Picnic Day.

Bill Kisliuk, a UC Davis spokesman, said the university takes all allegations of hazing seriously and expects students to abide by the school’s standard codes of conduct. The Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs will be conducting an investigation, he said.

“This incident is under review, and the student organization has been required to cease operations until the review is complete,” Kisliuk said.

The alleged hazing

Starting from the beginning of April, Tran alleged a series of incidents in which fraternity members dehumanized and humiliated students.

It involved fraternity members yelling at recruits incessantly because they didn’t know information such as each of the 59 fraternity brothers’ names. Work piled onto AKPsi hopefuls barely allowed time to eat or attend lectures, Tran said.

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