Man who claims he lost his sight due to hazing at SU decades ago says pledge's death was preventable
As the news of 20-year-old Southern University student Caleb Wilson's hazing-related death spread, the Walker family felt a haunting sense of déjà vu.
"After 35 years, unfortunately, this is still happening. It has happened and that young man has lost his life," Durrone Walker said.
In 1992, a young Walker decided to go Greek at Southern. He says that following an initiation ritual for Phi Beta Sigma, his life would never be the same.
"I was blindfolded and hit over the head with a frying pan and something was slipped into my drink causing me to go blind and paralyzed."
Walker eventually regained his ability to walk but remains unable to see.
His daughter, Kennedi Walker, said what happened to him has impacted their entire family.
"My dad has never seen me and I'm almost 30 years old. He's never seen me. He's never seen my brother. He didn't get to see me graduate from college," she said.
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She said that she did not realize as a child what had caused her father to lose his sight.
"I just remember from an early age just being confused, not really understanding why this happened to my dad. It wasn't until I was older I really understood that it was hazing."
While attending LSU, Kennedi made the decision to distance herself from fraternities and sororities, but in her senior year, hazing touched her life once again.
"I decided I wasn't going to be a part of it. I didn't want to join any Greek life at LSU, and when I went to LSU, Max Gruver passed away also from hazing and it's like when is it going to stop?"
For Max Gruver, a jury convicted a fraternity member for his death, and state laws were changed to make hazing a potential felony.
In Caleb's case, arrests have been made and Southern has put employees who may have known about that night's activities on leave.
But for Walker, that reckoning never came.
"Southern — there was no accountability with my dad all those years ago and I hope and pray there's accountability this time around with Caleb," Kennedi said.
In 1997, Walker and his parents sued the national chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, but the First Circuit Court found the organization was not liable for what happened to him.
"I'm still paying for this because of my kids. My daughter is getting married and unfortunately, I won't be able to see her because I'm blind. This young man's parents will never see him walk down the aisle. And for what? For three letters?" Walker said.