In the most f*cked up story you’ll hear all day, a Tarleton State University professor recently resigned after forcing students to watch him hang from trees with hooks in his skin.
Again, WTF?!
Former political science professor Jeff William Justice was accused of coercing students to aid him in what he referred to as a “Sundance Ritual,” a gruesome ceremony in which various students would help hang him from trees using hooks directly attached to his chest.
According to police reports – and an insanely long witness statement – a student recalled how Professor Justice would repeatedly try to get a group of male students to come to his house to partake in the crazy Native American ritual.
According to Gawker,
Justice reportedly attempted to lure the witness and several other students to his house several times with offers of free scotch. After repeatedly turning the professor down, the students, according to the witness, finally conceded. That, of course, is when things got weird. From the campus police report:
They talked a lot of of small talk then Prof. Justice began to talk about the pain in his chest from hanging from a tree by spikes in his chest, praying to the sun god. Prof. Justice said that when he was around 13, a friend had shown him how to do this act and that he has been doing this practice since then.
That’s not creepy at all! This is a totally normal conversation to have with your students, genius idea!
This little trip down memory lane eventually led to asking the students if they’d be interesting in trying out the ritual firsthand. After warily agreeing that they’d “think about it,” the group helped Justice with the ceremony – twice.
According to the witness statement:
He went to the bathroom and came back and took his shirt off. He had the stakes through his chest with blood dripping down and rope tied to them. He turned off the lights and had us follow him out back. He hugged all of us and asked us what we need him to pray for us about…
Dr. Justice then climbed up a step ladder, tied the rope to the tree, and then hung off the ground from his chest. He told us to be on the lookout for cars and other people. I stood there in disbelief and speechless about what was happening. I was doing my best not to laugh. I at first though it was really weird, but kind of cool and selfless that he was sacrificing his body like that for God.
Needless to say, the students never wanted to return.
Of course, the story gets weirder, with Justice not openly stating what happened here was wrong or totally batshit crazy. During a conversation with the Texan News, Justice said, “[I] attempted to harm myself in the presence of students. While I do not recall what initiated such action, I do know this incident was caused by the accumulation of events in my life that resulted in me entering a state of severe depression. As the result of those ongoing events in my life, I made the decision to resign from my position at Tarleton State University.”
Since when is Texas the new Florida?
[H/T: Gawker]
