Student files suit against UC Riverside for hazing
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A University of California, Riverside fraternity pledge who suffered a lacerated liver during what was described as a hazing incident gone awry filed a negligence suit against Psi Chi Omega and the college.
Dann Ryan Banaag, 20, of Loma Linda filed the Superior Court suit this month seeking unspecified damages for conduct described as ‘‘despicable, grossly wanton and reckless. Defendants included UC regents, the fraternity and two Psi Chi Omega members.
University spokeswoman Kathleen Peach declined comment.
The suit said Banaag was injured during a Nov. 5 ‘‘trust game’’ at a park near the university. He was allegedly blindfolded and told to run through the park, where he was tackled by fraternity members.
Banaag suffered unspecified long-term physical and mental injuries and continues to incur expenses, the suit said.
Psi Chi Omega was suspended for a year and will remain on probation for three years, the UCR student conduct committee decided.
Challenge to lap dance ban fails in court
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A judge threw out a strip-club owner’s lawsuit claiming the city of La Habra’s law banning lap dances was vague and unconstitutional.
Taboo Gentleman’s Club owner Badi ‘‘Bill’’ Gammoh sued La Habra challenging an April 2003 ordinance requiring dancers to stay at least two feet away from customers. Gammoh said he would appeal the federal court’s decision, made public Wednesday.
U.S. District Court Judge Gary Taylor said the club’s dancers have no First Amendment right to make contact with patrons and that the city’s law ‘‘is not a complete ban on protected expression.’’
Reports from Bruin wire services.
Students, former U.S. president oppose Taco Bell:
Student activists from the Student Worker Front and the Social Justice Alliance marched through campus Thursday in support of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and their continued boycott of Taco Bell.
The protest came in response to the decision from the students’ association board of directors last Friday to keep UCLA’s Taco Bell on campus. A day before the board voted, Yum! Brands CEO David Novak offered to address workers’ concerns if the CIW ended its boycott.
About 20 students marched up Bruin Walk and around North Campus, beating drums and expressing dissatisfaction with ASUCLA’s decision.
On Wednesday, former President Jimmy Carter spoke out against Novak’s offer to the CIW, releasing a statement calling the CEO’s proposal “a lost opportunity for the head of the world’s largest restaurant company to take the lead in eliminating human rights abuses.”
Compiled from Bruin reports and wire services.