A University of Tennessee fraternity is facing suspension after an alleged "alcohol enema" incident at the chapter's house on campus over the weekend.
UT suspended the Phi Kappa Alpha chapter Monday for 30 days or until a decision is made about the chapter's future. The fraternity cannot operate during that time.
The international PIKE organization said Monday that it also placed the chapter under immediate administrative suspension.
The suspension is a result of alleged violations to fraternity and university policies.
The potential suspension stems from an incident over the weekend that landed a student in the hospital with a potentially deadly blood alcohol level.
Alexander Broughton, 20, was dropped off at UT Medical Center around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, Knoxville Police said.
Hospital staff told Knoxville Police investigators that Broughton was in critical condition and unresponsive when he arrived, with a blood alcohol content level greater than 0.4, which is considered toxic and potentially deadly.
Broughton has since been discharged from the hospital, according to UT Medical Center.
KPD investigators went to campus Saturday morning and found several other people, including three men, passed out at the PIKE house.
After conducting several interviews, investigators determined the fraternity members had used rubber tubing to give each other alcohol enemas. Police said the practice heightens and speeds up the process of alcohol entering the blood stream because it bypasses the liver's filters.
The UT Police Department said this is the first incident on campus that they are aware of which involved that process. The department did not receive any complaints or tips about a large party or event at the PIKE house on Friday night or Saturday morning. Read more at The Tennessean
