After a year of confusion, new footage has explained the incident at the University of Iowa in November 2024. This new release is prompting many parents, students and other Iowa residents to question campus culture and the level of accountability taken by the school. While the issue was addressed at the time, the release of body cam footage has sparked a renewed conversation, circulating on social media.

The incident involving members of a fraternity group, Alpha Delta Phi, took place a few years back, but is recently gaining internet traction. This incident resulted in disciplinary action for all men involved: suspension. University officials responded at the time, raising questions about how universities ensure students’ safety.

According to reports and news, the situation involved alleged hazing behavior that was extremely beyond harmless. While some people online have been into jokes or memes, it’s alarmingly obvious that serious situations become so minimized once they become trending. These reactions to this incident are sparking even more interest into how people respond in scary situations entering social media.

Hazing, typically dismissed as a “tradition,” can quickly become dangerous and harmful to everyone involved. Hazing is when a student is forced to participate in an activity to join a group, specifically fraternities and sororities. It can entail things like physical abuse, coercion and any activity that places the person in fear. Campuses across the country have had these incidents lead to injury and even death, and it spreads far beyond Iowa City. The new footage has left parents, staff and students wondering if consequences were given and if it’s being overlooked elsewhere.

What Happened? 

Early in the morning on November 15, 2024, Iowa City police, University police and the fire department responded to an alarm pulled at the fraternity house. When officers arrived in the basement of the building, they were greeted by 56 students attempting to join Alpha Delta Phi. They were shirtless, blindfolded and covered in items like ketchup, and alcohol. The body cam footage shows officers asking the group to identify who is in charge, but all the pledges remained completely silent. One student admitted that he was in charge, Joseph Gaya.

He then told officers he had no idea what was going on and they needed to speak to their “house dad,” which he didn’t have a phone number for. He blocked police officers from exiting the basement, and was also blocking pledges from speaking to officers. Apparently, this student was not a part of Alpha Delta Phi, and also was not a student at the University of Iowa. He was arrested, but all charges against him were dropped. The fraternity is suspended until July 2029.

Tradition or Trouble? 

For high schoolers preparing for college, it’s something to stay on the look out for; you should never have to do anything uncomfortable just to be included in a club or organization. Trying to choose a college is about Campus life and education, but also safety. Stories like this remind high school students to be extremely considerate when choosing their school, ask questions and hold people accountable.

This also highlights how important the decisions you make in high school are. The pressure to fit in can lead people to situations they didn’t want to be in. If students focus on that pressure now, and what the possibilities of following through are, they can make safe decisions in college.

As conversations are still being had in the Iowa community, the situation is a warning about traditions and knowing when it’s okay to say no. This should be seen as an opportunity by schools to push students into safer environments.