The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS) by Ximena Conde
The first federal law of its type, which President Joe Biden signed on Monday, aims to stop hazing on college campuses and increase transparency about hazing events.
The regulations are inconsistent, even though the majority of states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have passed legislation to prevent hazing by imposing harsher punishments or establishing a public reporting system. Some local families and other parents who have lost children to hazing have long urged federal lawmakers to fill in the flaws in the patchwork system.
Julie and Gary DeVercelly, who lost their son in a 2007 fraternity hazing incident at Rider University in New Jersey, said in a statement this week that no parent should have to bury their child, especially not for something preventable like a hazing death. They also said that this bill will save lives and make a real difference in the fight against hazing.
Hazing is defined by the Stop Campus Hazing Act as any deliberate, willful, or careless act that results in physical harm, mental harm, or degradation and is perpetrated against a student in connection with the beginning or maintenance of membership in an organization. The student’s willingness to participate and involvement outside of Greek life is irrelevant. The new regulation applies to any club or athletic team within a higher education institution that offers federal student aid programs.
Colleges must provide preventative and awareness training based on research, according to the law. Additionally, schools must now publicly record these instances of hazing and release the findings of any follow-up investigations.
Gary Jr., the son of the DeVercellys, passed away following an incident in which he and his fraternity sponsored big brother had to consume an entire bottle of vodka. According to his father, DeVercelly drank the majority of the bottle before passing out because the sponsor had an exam the following day. According to DeVercelly’s father, worried pupils who wished to phone for assistance were advised not to. The following day, DeVercelly passed away from alcohol poisoning.
Hazing killings like DeVercelly’s have raised awareness of the practice and broadened the focus of campus safety discussions. The precise scope of the issue is unknown because there hasn’t been a centralized, required procedure for reporting these occurrences. A national research conducted in 2008 produced the most often cited figures on the subject. That survey found that hazing occurred in groups for 55% of college students.
Parents like Jim and Evelyn Piazza and the DeVercellys have been responsible for a large portion of the awareness-raising efforts.
In 2017, while Tim, the Piazzas’ son, was a sophomore at Penn State pledging Beta Theta Piat, a series of drinking challenges planned by fraternity members went astray. Following his successful completion of the gauntlet, the mechanical engineering major had a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, and non-recoverable traumatic brain injury after falling down stairs. It was about twelve hours before someone made an assistance call.
In the years since, the Piazzas have advocated for federal involvement at roughly 200 schools across the country.
Both parties have backed the Stop Campus Hazing Act. The bill was approved by the Senate earlier this month after being approved by the House in September.
Additional:
Reports of hazing have dramatically increased at Penn State, including at unaffiliated fraternities.
For intimidating new members, the Penn State fraternity was suspended.
Three ringleaders were found guilty in juvenile court in the Middletown football hazing case.
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