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The Penn State University Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on campus in May 2017 in State College.
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Congress moves forward on requiring schools to report hazing

Haley Nelson/Post-Gazette

Congress moves forward on requiring schools to report hazing

WASHINGTON — Prospective students and their families soon may be able to view reports of hazing at colleges and universities across the country, as Congress moves forward this fall on the first federal anti-hazing rules in response to student deaths at Greek life events.

It remains to be seen, however, just how stringent the reporting requirements will be and how easily families will access and compare those figures.

The measures are being folded into a sprawling higher education bill nearly three years after the hazing death of Timothy Piazza at an alcohol-soaked fraternity hazing party at Penn State University. The 19-year-old sophomore engineering student’s death in February 2017 shocked college administrators and engulfed national Greek student organizations in an existential crisis.

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Mr. Piazza’s parents have since advocated for stricter state and federal laws to prevent hazing and hold student organizations and schools accountable.

Swarthmore College students gather at the Phi Psi fraternity house during a sit-in April 29, 2019, in Swarthmore, Pa. Students at the suburban Philadelphia college occupied the on-campus fraternity house after documents allegedly belonging to Phi Psi surfaced containing derogatory comments about women and the LGBTQ community and jokes about sexual assault.
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In October 2018, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed one of the country’s strongest anti-hazing laws — named after Timothy Piazza — that created a felony-level offense of aggravated hazing, punishable by up to seven years in prison. It would also, for the first time, permit the confiscation of fraternity houses where hazing occurs.

While a handful of states have acted, Congress has been considering bipartisan measures that establish the first federal definition of hazing and require all U.S. schools to be more transparent.

The Piazzas — joining parents of students who have died from hazing at Louisiana State University, Texas Tech University, Lenoir-Rhyne University in North Carolina, as well as Penn State, Altoona — have lobbied for two bills introduced this year that set out reporting requirements.

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The End All Hazing Act, introduced by Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Centre, and Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, mandates schools to report to law enforcement within 72 hours any hazing allegation that involved serious bodily injury or significant risk of one.

It also requires to maintain a web page, updated twice a year, with information about student organizations disciplined for hazing or other misconduct and the corrective measures imposed by the school. 

Those reporting requirements already are part of Pennsylvania’s anti-hazing law, and schools in the state reported dozens of violations on their websites earlier this year.

Last week, Jim Piazza, Tim’s father, said the requirements make a meaningful difference.

The Penn State University Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on campus in 2017 in State College. Timothy J. Piazza, a Penn State sophomore and Beta Theta Pi  pledge died from injuries sustained in February 2017 during an alcohol-laden hazing ritual called “the gauntlet” that sparked a national dialogue about Greek life.
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“From my perspective as a parent, especially now, I’d look at the organizations my kids are looking to join,” Mr. Piazza said. “And if they had infractions like hazing, I’d say absolutely not.”

A second bill, introduced this year in both chambers, defines hazing as “any intentional, knowing, or reckless act” committed as a condition of membership in a student group that causes or risks “physical injury, mental harm or degradation.”

That bill, the Report and Educate About Campus Hazing Act, or REACH Act, does not require schools to put hazing data on their websites but would send parents to the campus crime database maintained by the U.S. Department of Education.

Neither bill has come up for a vote. But House Democrats recently gathered some provisions from both and attached them to the College Affordability Act, currently under debate in the House Education and Labor Committee.

That bill weakens reporting requirements to hazing incidents for the last two years, instead of five, and sends families to the government’s website instead of the schools’. 

Mr. Piazza said he prefers to see the End All Hazing Act signed into law. 

“We’re way more focused on End All Hazing Act,” Mr. Piazza said. “The REACH Act is very limited It’s not going to give people very much clarity and information on what goes on in specific organizations, what’s happening at certain schools.”

Mr. Thompson, whose district nearly touches Penn State, said the higher education bill “isn’t word for word our legislation, but it certainly reflected the intent.”

“We’ve had some unfortunate situations, obviously, that have occurred and had probably been occurring for a very long time,” Mr. Thompson said in an interview last week. “It almost became an acceptable part of the culture when it comes to college campuses all across the United States.”

“My message is: Those days are over,” he said. “Hazing is not acceptable in any form.”

Both bills have support from the Greek organizations and higher education institutions.

“We feel it’s important that hazing information should be reported, just like a mugging would be reported,” said Dani Weatherford, CEO of National Panhellenic Conference, in an interview. “The reports universities put on their websites are really important to consumers.”

In a statement, Judson Horras, president and CEO of North American Interfraternity Conference, stated, “Our organizations will continue to advocate for this bill to become law.”

Like other families who have lost loved ones in hazing incidents, the Piazza’s have chosen a collaborative path with Greek life organizations.

In a May 2018 op-ed published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Mr. Piazza argued for “significant reform” rather than abolishing Greek life. Many leaders of national fraternities and sororities agreed with him that they need to do more to prevent hazing, sexual assault and misconduct. 

Federal anti-hazing laws would be the most sweeping way to do that. 

“We’re just kind of the view, ‘Hey, don’t make us get all 50 states to do it,’” Mr. Piazza said.

Daniel Moore: dmoore@post-gazette.com, Twitter @PGdanielmoore

First Published: November 17, 2019, 4:04 a.m.

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The Penn State University Beta Theta Pi fraternity house on campus in May 2017 in State College.  (Haley Nelson/Post-Gazette)
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