Over the past weekend, a student from the University of Tennessee was rushed to the hospital with severe alcohol poisoning as a result of a drinking game called ‘butt chugging.’ The student, 20-year-old Alexander P. Broughton, had a blood alcohol level over .4 when brought into the hospital. Broughton is a member of Pi Kappa Alpha at the school. A report obtained by the Knoxville News Sentinel said that Broughton was “extremely intoxicated and showed signs of physical and possible sexual assault.”
Butt chugging used to be known as an alcohol enema because the person pulls the alcohol into their rectum using a hose or a tube. Officers discovered multiple young men passed out in bedrooms with “bags from wine boxes, some empty and some partially empty, strewn across the halls and rooms.”
Dr. Dan Quan of the Maricopa Medical Center said that but chugging and other dangerous forms of alcohol ingestion cause a “Quicker high — they think it’s going to last longer; it’s more intense. If the person does pass out or lose consciousness, health care professionals won’t necessarily know that they have to look in those areas, and that may delay treatment.”
Broughton was released from the hospital on Sunday after receiving treatment and the fraternity house was placed on a 30-day administrative suspension by Pi Kappa Alpha International. There will be a decision as to whether or not he suspension will remain permanent. Broughton’s father, Mark Broughton, said that the issue “is not as has been reported, and we want to get our side out. … From our standpoint, what has been reported is not what occurred.”
A statement was released by the school that said:
“University officials are currently conducting an investigation into allegations involving the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity chapter and incidents that occurred over the weekend. Due to the gravity of the allegations, interim sanctions have already been imposed upon the chapter and will remain in effect until the investigation is concluded and final reports are available.”
