PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — The University of Florida is investigating a fraternity over claims that members disrespected wounded veterans during a spring break trip to Panama City Beach.
The Warrior Beach Retreat honors wounded veterans and their families while giving them a chance to have some much-deserved R & R. But some veterans say their weekend took an unexpected and ugly turn.
One veteran said, "They actually spit on me and my service dog as well, and that's just so disrespectful and it hurts really, you know, I come and I feel honored and I feel safe and like I belong and now I feel like I'm defending myself."
The veterans claim members of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity from the University of Florida and Emory University harassed and heckled them at the Laketown Wharf Resort in Panama City Beach. The fraternity was there for its spring formal. Linda Cope is the founder of Warrior Beach Retreat. She said, "They're a total disgrace for our military. They were urinating on the American flag. They were throwing things off of the balconies."
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Cope got a letter from UF President Ken Fuchs apologizing for what happened and noting an investigation is underway. "Do your investigating, but I want to know what are you going to do?" Cope said. "I think they all should be put on probation."
Emory University has also apologized, but says so far, campus life administrators have found no evidence implicating Emory students in the incident.
The executive director of Zeta Beta Tau, who is also a UF alum, issued a statement saying in part, "As we continue our investigation, our chapters at the University of Florida and Emory University have suspended all activities… In addition, we have already expelled three members of the University of Florida chapter from our organization who we found to have been behaving inappropriately and we will take any further action necessary as we learn more."
Read the full Zeta Beta Tau statement here.
Read the full UF statement here.
Read the full Emory University statement here.
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