Members of Zeta Beta Tau from the University of Florida and Emory University reportedly spat on veterans, stole their flags and threw beer bottles of a balcony.
Panama City Beach
Melissa Nelson-gabriel / AP
Two chapters of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity were suspended by the national organization after allegations that members spat on wounded veterans at a resort in Panama City Beach earlier in April, the fraternity's executive director said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.
Fraternity brothers from the University of Florida and Emory University reportedly spat on veterans, stole their flags, and threw beer bottles over a balcony. Nicholas Connole told WJHG he and his service dog were spat on.
"On behalf of our entire organization, I want to apologize to veterans, both those who were in Panama City Beach, and those who have felt the pain from afar," Zeta Beta Tau executive editor Laurence Bolotin said in a statement, adding that three members of the fraternity have already been expelled from the organization.
University of Florida spokesperson Janine Sikes said the school is investigating the matter.
"We do not yet know the full extent of what transpired," she said in a statement. "Regardless, we are deeply sorry for any hurt caused to veterans and their families."
Emory University said in a statement that it is investigating the complaints but that it has so far found no evidence to implicate its students to the incident.
Bolotin, the University of Florida chapter's president, and members of Zeta Beta Tau each sent a letter to the creator of the retreat, Linda Cope, apologizing for the for the students' behavior.
"The behavior of some students who attended this event was out of line, and we apologize on their behalf," members of Zeta Beta Tau said in their letter. "To know that the actions of certain individuals in our chapter could have negatively affected your retreat is unacceptable to us."
Cope told WJHG she has not heard from officials at Emory University officials yet.
The Warrior Beach Retreat, at Laketown Wharf Resort, gathers veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cope created the retreat in honor of her son who lost both his legs in Baghdad in 2006, according to the Associated Press. The fraternity members were at the resort for their spring formal.
Bolotin also said that the national organization plans on hiring an independent investigator to help gather information on what occurred.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1DZJfZt
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