It surprises a lot of people that I was not in a sorority in college because I attended an all-girls high school, where sisterhood and uniformity were celebrated.
I primarily oppose Greek life because of the humiliating and life-threatening practices common at initiation events.
Dr. Susan Lipkins, a psychologist and author, conducted a survey among fraternity and sorority members about initiation rituals. According to the results, 29% of respondents agree that extreme consumption is often part of an initiation, 29% of respondents agree that it is important to tolerate physical pain, 31% of respondents agree that a significant element in an initiation rite is humiliation and 57% of respondents agree that it is important to tolerate psychological stress.
It was announced this week that the family of a student who died from hazing-related alcohol poisoning at Bowling Green State University will receive nearly $3 million in a settlement.
Stone Foltz, 20, died of alcohol poisoning in March 2021 after a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity “initiation event, where there was a tradition of new members finishing or attempting to finish a bottle of alcohol, according to a university investigation,” The Associated Press reported.
Following Foltz’s death, Pi Kappa Alpha, better known as PIKE, was expelled from Bowling Green State University’s campus. Several former fraternity brothers have also been convicted.
After losing their son, Foltz’s parents started a foundation to educate parents and students about the risks of hazing.
The recent news of the Foltz settlement reminded me of a similar case at my alma mater, Ohio University.
I was a junior when freshman Collin Wiant, 18, pledged the Sigma Pi Epsilon fraternity. The New York Times reported that Wiant “collapsed at an unofficial party at the fraternity’s off-campus house” in Athens on Nov. 12, 2018.
“A coroner later determined he had died of asphyxiation after inhaling nitrous oxide from a canister, known as a whippet,” wrote Emily S. Rueb, The New York Times reporter.
In February 2019, Wiant’s parents sued the fraternity he pledged to join and several of its members, stating his death was a result of hazing rituals. The rituals allegedly included “consuming alcohol by the gallon, being beaten and told to beat other pledge members, being pelted with eggs and being forced to take drugs, the lawsuit alleged,” reported David Forster, news assignment editor at WOUB Public Media in Athens.
Ohio University expelled the fraternity. Additionally, an Athens County grand jury indicted nine men, including seven Sigma Pi members, in connection with events that led to Wiant’s death.
As a journalism major, I remember peers, who wrote for the university’s paper, The Post, or WOUB Public Media, missing class to cover the case at the local courthouse. The lawsuit was settled in 2021 after I graduated.
In Wiant’s honor, Gov. Mike DeWine signed anti-hazing legislation, known as Collin’s Law, in July 2021, which makes Ohio the 11th U.S. state to make hazing a felony.
I don’t want to prohibit Greek life on college campuses because I realize hazing is not an issue unique to fraternal organizations. In fact, the National Study of Student Hazing reports that 55% of college students involved in clubs, teams and organizations experience hazing.
Nor is it a new problem. According to journalist Hank Nuwer’s research, at least one U.S. school, club or organization hazing death has been reported every year from 1959 to 2021.
Are education and legislation enough to prevent these reckless deaths? Perhaps, universities should ban the pledging process of fraternities and sororities to address the issue. I would also encourage universities to require all organizations to watch the “We Don’t Haze” documentary. Furthermore, I urge fraternities and sororities to inform members of the Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline. The 24-hour hotline allows anyone to anonymously report a suspected or recent hazing incident to 1-888-NOT-HAZE (668-4293).
–Ally Lanasa is a reporter with the Journal-Tribune.