The University ordered Texas Alpha Nu to “cease all organizational activities” until it finishes investigating recent hazing allegations, according to a University statement. This comes after UT parents sued the frat for wrongful death involving hazing on Thursday. 

The University delivered a cease-and-desist notice to the Texas Alpha Nu fraternity after it received “new information” about the fraternity’s hazing, according to the University. The parents alleged that their son, Sawyer Lee Updike, took his own life after the fraternity’s hazing and use of illegal drugs pushed him into a mental health crisis, according to the lawsuit. 

The parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Sigma Chi International Fraternity, Texas Alpha Nu Chapter, Alpha Nu House Corporation and five members of the fraternity after their son took his own life in 2024. 

“UT Austin is committed to providing a safe educational environment for everyone and does not tolerate hazing by any group or individual affiliated with the University,” a University spokesperson wrote in an email. “All such investigations receive the utmost attention and thorough investigation.”

The University investigated the Texas Alpha Nu Chapter, known as Sigma Chi at the time, for hazing in 2024, according to a University website. The University found the chapter guilty of hazing and sanctioned it to deferred suspension, according to the website. The Sigma Chi International Fraternity closed the chapter soon after this action in 2025, according to the website. The Texas chapter then changed its name from “Sigma Chi” to “Alpha Nu,” and has been active on campus, according to the chapter’s Instagram, which went private following the lawsuit.

Ted Lyon, the attorney representing the Updike family, said in a Thursday press conference that this case is one that “cries out for recognition.” He hopes that in the future, University officials will be more diligent, and fraternities will not let this kind of thing happen again.

“This fraternity should be banned forever from the University of Texas,” Lyon said in the press conference. “I know the University of Texas will be very astounded by what’s happened here.”

Bill Johnston, co-counsel for the case, said the attorneys for the family welcome the University’s investigation.

“Hopefully, these combined efforts will make the University of Texas a safer place for students,” Johnston said.