A 2×4 as a hazing device? What where the upperclassmen on Southern University’s Marching Band thinking? Obviously they weren’t, because two of the three band mates were beaten so badly they had to be hospitalized! One kid claims he was hit more than 50 times. 50 times with a freakin’ 2×4! That usually means more than just a slap on the wrist by Dean Wormer. This time, someone is going to jail, and it likely the guys in the French horn section. Here’s more from KSLA in Shreveport:

Three members of the Southern University band were beaten with a 2×4 wooden board as part of initiation into the band’s French horn section, a probable cause report says. Two of the victims remain hospitalized in serious condition.

Six band members were arrested Tuesday (Dec. 2) and a seventh suspect turned himself in to authorities Wednesday (Dec. 3). Tuesday morning, East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested Harvey Harrison and Carlos-Andres Carter, both 19 years old. They are each charged with aggravated battery and ritualistic acts, both felonies. The pair denied any knowledge of the incident, investigators said.

Tuesday afternoon, four additional suspects were arrested and also charged with aggravated second-degree battery and ritualistic acts. The suspects include 23-year-old Jeremy Dixon of Natchez, Mississippi; 21-year-old Joseph Lee Webb of Columbus, Georgia; 22-year-old Lagarian Bridgewater of Baton Rouge; and 20-year-old Aubrey Harris, Jr. of Canton, Mississippi. Wednesday morning, 20-year-old Clifton Taylor of Baton Rouge turned himself in. He faces the same charges as the other suspects.

The probable cause report states that according to a witness, as part of the initiation ritual, “The three subjects were blindfolded and told to remove their shirts.” The report also states, “They then had water splashed on them as senior members of the organization struck them numerous times with open hands. The three victims were then told to bend over at the waist and the senior members began striking them numerous times with a large wooden board, commonly referred to as a 2×4. One victim elected to stop the ritual after he had been struck over 50 times with the board. In a statement to investigators, he identified seven members of the French horn section of the band who were present at the home and participated in the ritual.”