(Memphis) News of a UT Knoxville student from Memphis being hospitalized after doing alcohol enemas has parents worried.
Friends told police Alexander Broughton was consuming alcohol through a rubber tube, as you would an enema, at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house when his blood alcohol content soared to a potentially deadly .40.
That’s five times the legal limit.
Broughton was treated and released over the weekend.
“Using alcohol in an enema form instead of orally isn’t new. It’s maybe newly discovered, but it’s been around a long time,” said Dr. Susan Besser.
Besser says alcohol enemas are popular because it goes straight into your bloodstream making you drunk faster, “Because the alcohol gets absorbed so much more quickly you can get a higher level much more quickly before you realize it and you can die. You can die from alcohol.”
Teens have been known to put eye drops of alcohol in their eyes and even insert alcohol soaked tampons to get drunk without drinking.
Besser says you may not smell liquor on your child’s breath, but they could still be secretly abusing alcohol, “You’re going to notice some behavioral changes: their school, their grades may drop, their socialization may change.”
Shante Dennard never knew people did anything with alcohol but drink it, “Peer pressure and the things children see now days, and they want to join and be in groups so it affects me as a parent because I wouldn`t want my child to do those types of things.”
She says she will make sure her daughter knows the dangerous of alcohol in all forms, and she thinks other parents should do the same.
UT Knoxville and Pi Kappa Alpha have released a statement says they are shocked and disappointed and have suspended the fraternity for thirty days while they investigate it.
Pi Kappa Alpha statement:
As previously reported, The Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity administratively suspended the Zeta Chapter and is continuing its fact finding process into the alleged incident involving individuals of the Zeta Chapter at the University of Tennessee that occurred early Saturday morning. “The recent allegations against these individuals have come as a complete shock to The Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity, its 15,000 undergraduate members and over 200,000 living alumni, family and friends. Pi Kappa Alpha’s mission is to develop men of integrity, intellect, and high moral character and to foster a truly lifelong fraternal experience. These alleged activities are clearly not consistent with that mission, nor are they representative of what the Fraternity would expect from any of its members.”
“The Fraternity is working to address this unfortunate, isolated incident and has pledged its full cooperation with the University of Tennessee and local authorities in their respective investigations. Individuals will be held accountable for their actions; however, this should not be an indictment of the 136-year history of the Zeta Chapter, nor its over 2,600 alumni who condemn these alleged activities. While the Zeta Chapter is an independent and separate entity from the International Fraternity; it is the responsibility of the local chapter officers and its members to abide by and enforce the Fraternity’s Standards.”
“Although these activities are isolated to a small group of individuals, the Fraternity recognizes that this is an opportunity to increase the public’s awareness of what appears to be an unfortunate and extremely dangerous practice by some young people today. It is an unfortunate example which reinforces our current and ongoing efforts to educate collegiate students on the dangers of the underage consumption of alcohol, binge drinking, and other potentially dangerous activities.”
“The Fraternity will continue its cooperation with local officials and remains committed to supporting those chapters, undergraduates, and alumni who uphold its values and standards.”