A member of the Syracuse University chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha has been charged with assault after being accused of beating one of the fraternity’s pledges.

Joshua Weisfeld, 22, has been charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Weisfeld, a Great Neck, New York native, was arrested on the first of the month and then released, according to Syracuse.com. Weisfeld is listed as a senior communication and rhetorical studies major in the SU Directory. The fraternity was suspended from holding social events in late April.

On April 9, the pledge class of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, commonly known as PIKE, was left in the basement of the Comstock Avenue fraternity house. After about two hours, several fraternity brothers, including Weisfeld, came down into the basement. The victim, Ethan Strauss, who was pledging the fraternity, was then beaten in the face by Weisfeld, according to the syracuse.com article.

“I was defenseless in the basement of this three-story house and absolutely scared,” Strauss said in his statement to the Department of Public Safety, according to the syracuse.com article. “I was in a daze and had to be held up by kids on each side of me because without them I could not keep myself up.”

Strauss said when he was allowed to leave the basement, Weisfeld hit him one more time on his way out. Strauss told the police that he went to the emergency room at Upstate University Hospital afterward, where he was treated for a concussion and perforated ear drum, according to the article.

An ear, nose and throat specialist later told Strauss that he might require surgery on his ear drum if it does not heal properly, according to the article.

Strauss added in his statement that he has dropped from the fraternity and fears returning to the SU campus because of this incident, also according to the article.

Tony Callisto said at this point, DPS has completed its investigation of the incident and the case is now with the city court. He added that DPS was made aware that the case has been signed over by the city court and that it is going through that process now.

PIKE is still being investigated for hazing as it is defined by SU’s code of conduct, according the syracuse.com article.

Patrick Munnia, president of SU’s chapter of PIKE, said in an email that the SU chapter is still “on cease and desist” regarding all activities. He said the fraternity is continuing to cooperate and answer questions from DPS.

Munnia added that the fraternity is waiting for further updates on the investigation and will make another statement when more information is available.

When asked for a statement, Brent Phillips, senior marketing officer for the national chapter of PIKE, did not provide any additional information except that the fraternity “continues to cooperate with authorities.”

Published on May 13, 2015 at 6:52 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann