Four men have been charged with hazing following the drowning of at least one Virginia State University student, who was swept to his death as he attempted to cross the Appomattox River as part of an initiation rite, police said on Tuesday.
A second student remained missing on Tuesday, three days after seven male students were pulled down the river by the current as they tried to cross on April 20 as part of their initiation into a group known as “Men of Honor.”
The rest of the men were pulled to safety or drifted to shore, a police statement said.
College hazing has attracted attention since the high profile 2011 death of 26-year-old Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion during a band trip. That death was ruled a homicide and led to felony charges against a number of band members.
In Virginia, police in Chesterfield County said they charged four men with five counts each of hazing following the drowning of 19-year-old Marvell Edmondson, a freshman at Virginia State University in Ettrick.
Edmonson’s body was recovered on Monday, while fellow freshman Jauwan M. Holmes, also 19, remained missing. Police divers were searching the river for his body.
