Mother's speak up for hazing prevention
Ruby Poffinbarger - Contributing Writer
“Hazing should never be a part of your college experience or your friends' college experience,” Rae Ann Gruver and Evelyn Piazza said, opening their talk on Hazing Prevention. Gruver and Piazza both lost their sons to hazing incidents in 2017 when pledging to fraternities.
The Monmouth College website defines hazing as “any action taken or situation created intentionally, whether on or off premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule.”
Gruver told the story of how her son, Max, was hazed, leading to his death only 29 days into his freshman year. He died from excessive amounts of alcohol after no one called for help. The individuals involved in his death, faced major legal repercussions. “So many lives have been ruined by hazing, but most of all, our family has to live without an older brother, a son, a grandson, and a boyfriend.”
Piazza asked the audience to imagine losing a brother to tell the story about her late son, Tim. “It literally takes one second, one person, one bad decision for someone to be seriously harmed and cause physical or psychological damage” Piazza said. “You don't know if something in someone’s life can cause them to be at serious risk.”
Since 1962, except for 2022 and 2024, there has been at least one death related to hazing. On December 24, 2024, the Stop Campus Hazing Act was signed and became federal law, mainly in part due to the Anti-Hazing Coalition that Piazza is a part of. The act requires higher education institutions to report any hazing incidents and post them with the group responsible on their website. Piazza said, “There has to be repercussions. Otherwise, it is a green light.”
This coalition has created a model for felony hazing law. The mothers encouraged students to reach out to their government to utilize this law. They also reminded students of medical amnesty, which protects you and a victim from prosecution if you call for help, to encourage people to make the right choice. “Stepping in and taking action will always be the best choice. It may not be the easiest choice but you may be saving another’s life,” Gruver said. “It really boils down to this: how much do you care?”
Piazza ended the presentation, saying: “If you take nothing else from the presentation, call for help, always call for help, because if someone had called for help with our sons we would not be here.” According to Gruver, the best way to fight hazing: “Talk about it and be honest, that is the only way to stop it, and that is true brotherhood and sisterhood.”