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'Stripped naked, beaten': inside the US's most brutal fraternities

Stripped, beaten with a paddle and forced to stand in buckets of ice - welcome to the brutal world of initiation into US fraternities.

A former member of one of America's most notorious fraternities has revealed the horrific hazings new members were forced into to try and become part of the exclusive organisation, the Daily Mail reported.

Justin Stuart, then 19, was attempting to become a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Salisbury University in Maryland when he was subjected to hazings he likened to torture at Guantanamo Bay.

The student recalled rituals such as being stripped naked, being locked in a basement without food or water while loud music played on repeat, and being forced to dress in nappies.

Stuart went through his ordeal over an eight-week period in 2012, a time that he says still haunts him.

"I have dreams of the basement sometimes. I hear the yelling. It sounds like they’re about to attack me. Then I wake up from my nightmare," Stuart said

It is a dark glimpse into a world where ritualistic torture has become a part of the "college experience".

The dangers of "pledges" - those trying to join a frat - going through risky initiation trials came under the spotlight after the death of Chen "Michael" Deng, who died from brain trauma after "too many" tackles during a fraternity hazing incident.

Deng was pledging his college chapter of Pi Delta Psi fraternity, the Pennsylvania DA's Chief County Detective Eric Kerchner said in a statement.

He had travelled with a group of about 30 people to Tunkhannock Township in Monroe County for the weekend, Kerchner said.

The residence where it is alleged Deng suffered the fatal blows during a hazing ceremony. Photo: AP.
The residence where it is alleged Deng suffered the fatal blows during a hazing ceremony. Photo: AP.

Early Sunday morning, Deng was one of four pledges involved in a ritual in the yard of a residence on Candlewood Drive. After suffering a head injury, Deng was brought inside the home, Kerchner said.
"He got tackled too many times," Christine said in an interview.

Deng was driven by his friends to the emergency room at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Hospital in Wilkes-Barre, where he was unresponsive and in critical condition, Pocono Mountain Regional Police said. Diagnosed with major brain trauma, he was placed on life support but later died.

Chen
Chen