The UND chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity is involved with an investigation of a hate crime, related to a 911 call made at the fraternity about a “physical altercation” that had broken out on the property.

The victim, Haakon Gisvold reported the incident to the UND Police Department that he had been attacked by multiple assailants, who stripped him and beat him with his own belt while they assaulted him with anti-gay slurs.

The incident reportedly took place during a party at the fraternity that Gisvold attended with friends. Gisvold says that he was told by a fraternity member who had objections with Gisvold’s metallic shorts and a tank top. The same fraternity member later allegedly called Gisvold a anti-gay slur.

Another fraternity member allegedly told Gisvold to leave the party due to his sexual orientation.

Gisvold says that when he went onto the front lawn, he was pushed by someone he thought was a friend of one of the fraternity members and the two began to fight.

Gisvold says that more men then joined the fray, choking him. According to Gisvold, the men then held him down, stripped him, and began to beat him with his own belt.

When police arrived on the scene, Gisvold hid in the bushes, still naked, until an unknown man approached and loaned him some clothes.

“I was crying at this point because I was so overwhelmed this happened,” Gisvold told The Grand Forks Herald.

Gisvold was latter urged by his father to report the incident to the police.

In response to the events, President Kelley issued a statement saying that despite the fact that the details of the incident still being unknown, it is still disturbing to hear of a non–student being attacked on campus due to their sexual orientation.

“I want to be very clear: violent behavior of this nature is not tolerated at UND.” Kelley wrote.  Any student or student organization found to have violated the UND Code of Student Life will be subject to disciplinary action. No decisions will be made until investigations are completed.”

Kelley also quoted UND Student Body President Matt Kopp, who said “As a fraternity man, I know that incidents such as this alleged situation do not reflect the values of UND’s fraternities and sororities.  It is imperative that we create a safe environment for all within our campus community.”

On Wednesday, Lambda Chi Alpha issued a statement regarding the investigation, saying that the chapter has been placed on limited operations until the investigation is concluded.In reference to the attack, Lambda Chi Alpha professed to be an inclusive organization. “We take this alleged incident extremely seriously, and although there isn’t any sufficient information to support the claims, we are working in partnership with the university and local law enforcement to ensure an immediate and thorough investigation is completed,” said Nick Zuniga, director of chapter services, Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.”

The investigation into the case remains open.

Alex Bertsch is the editor-in-chief of The Dakota student. He can be reached at [email protected]