Editor’s note: The University Press reached out to FAU’s Interfraternity Council, the university’s Delta Tau Delta chapter, and Delta Tau Delta’s national office for comment. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Delta Tau Delta fraternity is facing a lawsuit from a Florida Atlantic University student who alleges he suffered permanent injuries during an off-campus hazing incident in November 2025.
According to a 23-page complaint filed in the Palm Beach County Clerk of Courts, student Tyler Decowski alleges he was subjected to months of hazing while pledging, the initiation process, of Delta Tau Delta’s Iota Nu chapter at FAU.
The lawsuit names the fraternity’s Indianapolis headquarters, Delta Tau Delta Operations, LLC, Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, Inc., former Delta Tau Delta President Evan Alfonso and member Carson Tesar as defendants.
According to the summonses, the defendants have 20 calendar days from service to file a written response to the complaint with the court, which is Aug. 4.
The complaint alleges Decowski and approximately 20 other pledges, or non-initiated members, were subjected to “humiliating” and “dangerous” activities throughout the pledging process.
Those obligations included being blindfolded and forced to squat for extended periods, participating in 4 a.m. workouts at Spanish River Park, cleaning fraternity members’ homes, serving as sober drivers, and surrendering meal swipes to fraternity members.
According to the lawsuit, initiated members told pledges that their membership in the fraternity depended on participating in the fraternity’s pledging activities.
On Nov. 5, 2025, Decowski and other pledges were allegedly directed to an off-campus house in Boca Raton under the impression they would be receiving their “big brothers.” The lawsuit claims the pledges were blindfolded, transported to the house, and given Four Loko malt liquor drinks, which they were allegedly forced to consume.
Initiated members blindfolded a smaller group of approximately seven to nine pledges, including the student, and transported them to a second house believed to be in Delray Beach.
There, the lawsuit claims the pledges were given three-fifths of 99 Bananas, a schnapps containing 49.5% alcohol by volume, and told to finish the bottles within approximately nine minutes. The complaint alleges that some pledges vomited during the process and that the student was told he would be dropped from the fraternity if he did not finish his bottle.
According to the complaint, Decowski drank approximately half a bottle before fraternity leadership allegedly directed him to consume one or two beers. He then vomited and lost consciousness, the lawsuit states.
The complaint alleges that while Decowski was severely intoxicated, his right hand went through a piece of glass, believed to have been either a glass table or window. Rather than calling emergency medical services, the lawsuit claims Alfonso drove him to the hospital and left before ensuring his condition was stable.
Decowski alleges he suffered permanent injuries as a result of the incident. The lawsuit seeks $50,000 in damages for bodily injury, pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, medical expenses, and loss of earning capacity.
The lawsuit accuses Delta Tau Delta’s national organization of negligence, alleging they failed to adequately enforce anti-hazing and alcohol policies, properly train chapter leadership, and implement sufficient safety procedures to protect pledges.
The complaint also alleges the organizations failed to end what it describes as the Iota Nu chapter’s “Big Brother” tradition involving excessive alcohol consumption and failed to revoke the chapter’s charter following a previous hazing incident in 2015.
The university’s chapter of Delta Tau Delta faced disciplinary action over hazing allegations in 2019, when the fraternity was initially suspended for nearly two years, but the university later reduced the suspension to about six months without publicly explaining the decision. The fraternity was placed on probation for one year following the suspension.
This also isn’t the first time the fraternity has faced a lawsuit. In 2023, Aleyah Rosenbloom filed a negligence lawsuit against FAU and Delta Tau Delta after she was allegedly injured at a fraternity tailgate on FAU’s campus. According to the lawsuit, Rosenbloom was attending the event on Aug. 27, 2022, when a flagpole at the fraternity’s tent collapsed and struck her on the head.
Chief Executive Officer of Delta Tau Delta Headquarters, Jack Kreman, acknowledged the November 2025 hazing incident at the time, stating, “Delta Tau Delta is aware of an injury sustained by one of its members last fall at an off-campus location. The Fraternity is working with chapter leadership and university staff to review the matter and support the injured student,” Kreman said.
Since the investigation was ongoing, FAU Media Relations declined to comment on the matter at the time, as did the university’s Interfraternity Council.
The university’s Campus Hazing Transparency Report details the terms of the fraternity’s suspension following the hazing allegation.
The organization is under suspension until Dec. 31, 2026, followed by a year of probation through Dec. 31, 2027. Sanctions also included restrictions on social events and recruitment during portions of 2027, the requirement of educational and training programs, regular meetings with Fraternity and Sorority Life officials, and compliance with sanctions imposed by the fraternity’s national headquarters.
Lisa Metcalf with FAU’s Media Relations team shared this video with the University Press from the September 2025 FAU Anti-hazing summit in response to the lawsuit: “Florida Atlantic has zero tolerance for hazing on or off campus,” she wrote in an email on Monday.
In the email, she stated a quote from FAU President Adam Hasner at the summit stating, “The issue of hazing is something I take very seriously, and here at Florida Atlantic, we don’t tolerate it, and we deal swiftly and severely with students who participate in any kind of hazing, either on or off campus.”
Ava Hilton is the Editor-in-Chief of the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].
