A new California law will require universities to report any signs of hazing and take action to stop it.
Tyler's Law, named for 20-year-old Tyler Hilliard, who died in a 2018 fraternity hazing incident while pledging UC Riverside's Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, allows parents to sue not only hazing participants but also the university system itself.
James De Simone, the family’s attorney, said during the pledge, there were nightly beatings and sleep deprivation over the course of two months.
“They would beat them with blindfolds, hands over their head, and repeatedly over and over,” he said. “[They’d] hit them in the chest, an area where it caused bruising. The stress of that situation caused Tyler, during one of those incidents, to have a cardiac event that led to his death.”
Myesha Kimble, Tyler’s mom, said there were signs of hazing, such as paddles, from the fraternity being left around the campus but that the school did nothing.
“You know, when you send your kids to college, you don't ever think that they won't come back home,” she said. “You trust the institutions that they are attending to keep them safe.”
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Toni Jaramillo, a family attorney, said with Tyler’s Law,if the college sees or knows about a hazing incident and doesn’t do anything to investigate or stop it, the school will be held responsible.
Tyler's family won a civil suit against the school and got state lawmakers to pass the law.
Tyler’s Law is set to take effect next year.
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