U. of Maryland Fraternity Penalized for Brutal Hazing

College Park, Md. -- A jury has awarded $375,000 to a former University of Maryland student who was beaten severely in a fraternity hazing ritual four years ago.

Joseph J. Snell sued Omega Psi Phi in 1995, after only half of the 24 members who had agreed to pay his medical bills did so. Most of the money awarded by the jury this month was in punitive damages.

Over a period of about four weeks in 1993, Mr. Snell said, fraternity members on the College Park campus beat him with a hammer, a whip, and a chair leg. They put a space heater next to his face, Mr. Snell said, because they claimed that he was not"black” enough to become part of the organization. Omega Psi Phi is one of the country’s seven black fraternities and sororities.

Mr. Snell, who was a junior at the time, was hospitalized for a week after the beatings.

The fraternity argued during the trial that the beatings were committed by a few members and were not authorized by the organization, according to published reports. Telephone messages left at the national office were not returned.

Maryland banned Omega Psi Phi from the campus for five years.

Mr. Snell could not be reached for comment.