The Shippensburg University Student Senate voted in favor of returning a portion of the SU men's rugby team’s budget on Oct. 1, after it was frozen following an alleged hazing incident earlier this year.
In September, Student Senate made the team’s budget of $4,900 inaccessible after SU officials confirmed that rugby players hazed their newest members.
Allegedly, a Shippensburg resident recorded a video of the male rugby team engaging in a hazing-like ritual on Washington Street, which was then posted onto social media where it was seen by SU officials.
Following the Student Senate’s vote to suspend the budget, team members immediately appealed. The successful appeal resulted in the team retaining $3,600 of its funding.
The team's vice president, Jamison Barker, stressed that without the budget, the team could not function due to high out-of-pocket expenditures. With the budget reinstated, the team can now afford its most integral and expensive necessities, such as league dues and renting facilities to play in during the winter.
Last month, SU authorities asserted that hazing will always be taken seriously.
“Hazing is never warranted and is strongly condemned as it is demeaning and against the values of SU,” said Roger Serr, vice president of student affairs. “When made aware of hazing we will and have responded in an assertive manner.”
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