Southern University band advisor Safiyy Abdel-Raoof has been placed on administrative leave for 30 days following the ongoing investigation into the death of Caleb Wilson. Wilson died last month after participating in an unsanctioned fraternity ritual as a pledge of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc.
It is unclear about Abdel-Raoof’s exact position with the band. The Southern University Marching Band’s Facebook page says that he is the assistant director of the band, but according to the university, he was the director of the Southern Lab School’s band. But a spokesman for the university says that he was only a volunteer with the Human Jukebox.
Abdel-Raoof, who is also a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., is the president of the graduate chapter of Lambda Alpha, which oversees the undergraduate chapter at Southern.
“Safiyy Abdel-Ra’oof has been on administrative leave (30 days) since Feb. 28, 2025,” a university spokesman said in an email to WBRZ on last Friday. “No further comment will be made on this personnel matter.”
Caleb McCray, Isaiah Smith, and Kyle Thurman have all been arrested in connection with Wilson’s death; all three men have been charged with criminal hazing. McCray has been charged with hazing and manslaughter. Police reports say that he was the one that issued the punch that killed Wilson. Pledges were instructed to meet at a warehouse in Baton Rouge and ordered to change into grey sweatsuits and line up. They were then punched four times by each member wearing boxing gloves. Six other people can potentially face charges. It was originally reported that Wilson died in a park after following a basketball game, but it was later discovered that it was a cover-up made by fraternity members.
Over 700 people attended the funeral for Wilson this past weekend in his hometown of Kenner, Louisiana. The service was attended by friends, family, faculty, former bandmates, and classmates. Local dignitaries were also in attendance, including New Orleans Saints owner and CEO Gayle Benson. Wilson was a junior mechanical engineering major and a trumpet player in the Human Jukebox marching band.
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