The University of Southern Mississippi and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. are facing a federal lawsuit after a student was hospitalized for nearly two weeks following what he describes as a brutal hazing ritual. The case comes as the fraternity also faces a wrongful death lawsuit in Louisiana tied to another violent hazing incident. The Mississippi suit, filed Monday in federal court by former USM student Rafeal Joseph, names the university, the fraternity’s national organization, its Nu Eta chapter, and several individuals, including Valencia Walls, associate director of USM’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. According to the complaint, the hazing began in December 2022 when pledges were called to a “haze talk” in the campus library. There, fraternity members allegedly t

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