Officials at Penn State University announced they have suspended a fraternity following an investigation into accusations of hazing and abuse.

The Lambda Lambda chapter of Phi Beta Sigma will be suspended for four years, effective Aug. 4, according to a press release from the school.

During that time, the chapter will lose all of its privileges, including access to school resources, staff support, campus facilities, and participation in such events as Homecoming, intramural sports and THON.

If the chapter seeks to be recognized again after the suspension period is over, it will need to go through an additional two years of conduct probation.

The university’s Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response (OSACR) started an investigation into the fraternity chapter in March after getting credible reports of hazing, including physical and mental abuse and forced physical activity. The chapter was placed on an interim suspension at that time.

Ultimately, the Penn State officials determined that the chapter was in violation of Penn State’s Student Code of Conduct and the school’s hazing policies.

“Hazing has no place at Penn State,” the school said in the release. “The University remains committed to holding individuals and organizations accountable for actions that endanger the safety and well-being of our students.”

The press release added that one student is being held accountable through the student conduct process. A second student is no longer enrolled at the school.

In May, the fraternity’s dean, Jacob D. Francis, and president, Jayson Archer were charged with assault and hazing by Ferguson Township police. The fraternity was also charged with conspiracy organizational hazing, a misdemeanor under the state’s Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law.

Police said the leaders of the fraternity were present, oversaw and participated in hazing workouts that pledges were forced to do, which included physical beatings with paddles.

The abuse included being “punished” by being hit on the buttocks with a 24-inch long paddle, as well as being punched in the chest 10 times with a closed fist.

The Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law was signed by then-Gov. Tom Wolf in 2018. The law is named after Timothy J. Piazza, a 19-year-old Penn State student who died in 2017 of severe head and abdominal injuries after a series of falls after a Beta Theta Pi fraternity pledge party.

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