Parents, Leaders Work to End 'Hazing' at US Colleges

 

Tim Piazza¹ and Marquise Braham told their parents they just wanted to make some new friends by joining college social groups called fraternities. Neither of them got much of a chance.

The two young men died after taking part in extreme rituals for admission into the all-male student groups. They were not even 20 years old.

Now, their parents are launching a campaign to end these rituals across the United States. They are joined by the parents of Max Gruver and Brian Kowiak, two students who died in similar ways. And they have partnered with national leaders of fraternities, and of female student social groups called sororities.

Fraternities and sororities are private social groups common to many colleges and universities in the U.S. They have a long history as part of the American higher education experience.

Students pay membership fees. The groups hold parties and other social events. Some offer shared housing. Members usually also must take part in community service programs. And members often help each other find jobs after they graduate.

But there is a darker side to Greek life, as involvement in fraternities and sororities is often called. The term comes from the letters of the ancient Greek alphabet the groups use to make their names.

The process of becoming a member sometimes involves what is called hazing². This is when current members force pledges, those interested in joining, to take part in dangerous, abusive or possibly illegal activities.

Last week, Tim Piazza’s father, Jim, and Marquise Braham’s father, Rich, began preparing for a number of television appearances. They would use those appearances to announce their anti-hazing campaign.

“I know it might seem strange to some people that families who lost their children to fraternity hazing are now working with fraternities and sororities to eradicate³ hazing,” Jim Piazza told the Associated Press.

“But,” he added, “we will do anything that we can to save a life and to prevent another shattered family.”

His 19-year-old son died last year after his fraternity “brothers” ordered him to drink a huge amount of alcohol. He became severely⁴ intoxicated⁵. He fell repeatedly, including down stairs and into an iron fixture⁶. It was almost 12 hours before the fraternity members called for medical help. He received treatment at a hospital but it was too late. Tim Piazza died from his injuries.

Police arrested almost 30 members of Piazza’s Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Pennsylvania State University in Centre County, Pennsylvania. All higher level charges have been dropped. Three people have since admitted their guilt⁷ to lesser⁸ charges and one is already under house arrest.

The Piazzas⁹ have reached a settlement with the fraternity to end the civil legal action the family had sought.

Eighteen-year-old Pennsylvania State University student Marquise Braham killed himself in 2014. His suicide took place after a series of extreme Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity hazing rituals, about which he had protested to school officials.

“Currently the system — and that’s the police, the district attorneys, the judges — they seem to view hazing as it’s kind of like kids’ stuff,” said Braham’s father, Rich.

These fathers say they are happy to have found allies at the top of the North American Interfraternity Conference and the National Panhellenic Conference. Together, these organizations represent nearly 100 fraternities and sororities nationwide. And their leaders are ready and willing to work with Piazza and Braham.

Judson Horras is the president of the North American Interfraternity Conference. He said a first goal is of this new joint¹⁰ effort is to press lawmakers in all 50 states to strengthen anti-hazing laws. They want lawmakers to make it a felony to force a student to drink alcohol.

Some state governments have been slow to strengthen such laws in the past. But Horras said he believes Greek organizations can get them to change their policies.

“Keep in mind fraternities and sororities have 9.1 million students and alumni as members,” Horras said. “That’s part of the network we’re building now to make this happen across North America.”

His organization is also trying to solve the alcohol issue itself. By this time next year, he said, highly alcoholic¹¹ drinks will be banned from all fraternity housing of organization members.

“We can do more together than we can alone to address this societal problem,” said Carole Jones, Chairman of the National Panhellenic Conference. “The fight against hazing requires that an entire community step up, including sorority women, who can and must do our part to create safer campus cultures.”

The Greek life leaders also plan to have parents like Piazza and Braham speak to as many as 25,000 college students this school year. They will talk about the dangers of hazing. And members of fraternities and sororities will be asked to speak to high school and middle school students.

“We realize that it takes many years to change a culture,” said Piazza. “We’re not going away. We’ll be here next year, the year after, the year after that.”

I’m Pete Musto. And I’m Dorothy Gundy.

Words in This Story

ritual(s) – n. an act or series of acts done in a special situation

graduate – v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

eradicate – v. to eliminate or destroy something harmful

shattered – adj. very shocked and upset

intoxicated – adj. affected¹² by alcohol or drugs

district attorney(s) – n. a person who is responsible for starting legal cases against people accused of crimes in a given U.S. state or county

felony – n. a serious crime, such as murder or rape¹³

alumni – n. someone who was a student at a given school, college, or university

network – n. a group of people or organizations that are closely connected and that work with each other

address – v. to give attention to something

campus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or school

realize – v. to understand or become aware of something

1 piazza   

n.广场；走廊

参考例句：

• Siena's main piazza was one of the sights of Italy.锡耶纳的主要广场是意大利的名胜之一。
• They walked out of the cafeteria,and across the piazzadj.他们走出自助餐厅,穿过广场。

2 hazing   

n.受辱，被欺侮v.（使）笼罩在薄雾中( haze的现在分词 )；戏弄，欺凌（新生等，有时作为加入美国大学生联谊会的条件）

参考例句：

• With labor, the hazing period ends. 费了好大力气，痛苦的时期终于过了。 来自互联网
• A high-gloss paint surface is one that directly reflects light with minimum hazing or diffusion. 高度光洁的漆表面可以直接反射光源。 来自互联网

3 eradicate   

v.根除，消灭，杜绝

参考例句：

• These insects are very difficult to eradicate.这些昆虫很难根除。
• They are already battling to eradicate illnesses such as malaria and tetanus.他们已经在努力消灭疟疾、破伤风等疾病。

4 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

5 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

6 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

7 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

8 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

9 piazzas   

n.广场，市场( piazza的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the cities of Italy, piazzas are the acknowledged centers of local activity. 在意大利的城市里，广场是公认的群众活动中心。 来自互联网
• Alleyways wind through the city like a maze, opening up into surprising, sunny fountained piazzas. 小巷子像迷宫一般蜿蜒穿过这座城市，出现在令人惊讶、绚烂的喷泉广场上。 来自互联网

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。