Sigma Nu: Police Warrants Reveal Cocaine and Hazing at NC State Fraternity
Newly public documents show officers found videos of pledges huffing nitrous oxide and members using drugs as late as October before the chapter suspended operations.
By Harper Foster ·
North Carolina State University’s Sigma Nu fraternity has suspended operations after police executed search warrants that documented months of hazing and drug use. The university’s oldest chapter, which ceased active status this month, must have its members fully vacate the house by Tuesday. Investigators are continuing a criminal probe into conduct that included the use of cocaine and nitrous oxide inside the residence.
University police first responded to the Sigma Nu house on the evening of Sept. 9 after a smoke alarm triggered. Officers found the activity room floor soaked with water and charred, with puzzle pieces and unburned kindling scattered around. A fire pit contained unlit wood, and two brothers carried a Blackstone grill to the back patio. Police later determined through network logs that 26 current members and 31 pledges were inside the house that night, contradicting initial claims that many were elsewhere.
Search warrants obtained by police revealed video evidence from fraternity leaders’ phones. One clip from Sept. 17 shows a pledge maintaining a wall sit while inhaling nitrous oxide. Another video from Sept. 26 depicts a pledge in a plank position with a white powdery substance near his face while a brother kicks him in the ribs. A third video, dated Oct. 17, shows members cutting and snorting cocaine in the house. Police also found footage from the previous semester showing pledges forced to vomit into each other’s mouths and inhale dangerous amounts of nitrous oxide.
Anonymous reports filed via the university’s student conduct portal in mid-September alleged that multiple pledges were hospitalized and that members were high on cocaine and crack. The reports stated that leaders instructed pledges to lie to doctors, police, and university officials about the events. One pledge told police he originated the idea for a jigsaw puzzle activity conducted in the dark using only matches for light, which the anonymous reports linked to the Sept. 9 smoke incident.
Police seized devices from four members, including two leaders and two pledges, on Oct. 22. The search of those phones revealed racial slurs, coordination of hazing activities, and efforts to cover up injuries. A subsequent search of the house on Oct. 30 yielded cellphones, laptops, cameras, drug paraphernalia, pill bottles, marijuana, and a plastic baggie containing a white powdery substance. The national fraternity organization called the violations severe and demanded accountability.
A new pledge marshal, identified in police records, expressed intent to intensify hazing activities beyond previous standards. Brothers briefly hung a white sheet reading "relax pal" from a second-floor balcony after news of the suspension broke. The chapter is barred from returning to campus for at least four years while the investigations proceed.
