A push to stop the dangerous practice of hazing on college campuses is gaining support across the country.
Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), along with Representatives Lucy McBath (D-GA) and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) are introducing the bipartisan "Stop the Campus Hazing Act" which would require that schools report hazing incidents, along with establishing a campus-wide program to educate students about the dangers of hazing.
"When parents send their kids away to college it's supposed to be a time of celebration," Klobuchar says. "They're going to get an education, they're going to make new friends, but the sad reality is some kids never come back. They're killed, or they are hurt or are maimed by hazing."
At a press conference Tuesday that addressed the bill, Klobuchar was joined by the Santulli family of Eden Prairie, MN, and their son Danny. The 19-year old was left blind and in a wheelchair after nearly dying during a hazing incident at the University of Missouri in October of 2021.
His father Tom says it happened during what's called, “secret pledge Dad reveal night”, where the young men were ordered to the basement without wearing shirts. Danny was given vodka. There is surveillance video that shows Danny asked for them to stop.
“Danny wanted to stop,” says his father Tom. “He said ‘no more, no more, I'm good.’ And then the pledge that took the bottle, looked at it, realized it wasn't empty, and gave it back. So that happened three times.”
Then Danny was forced to drink from a beer bong. Finally, after falling over other members of the Fiji Fraternity were seen dropping him unconscious on a couch. Tom says at one point, Danny slid off the couch and panic set in. Danny lost oxygen to the brain and went into cardiac arrest.
"Some students join organizations thinking they won't be hazed but later learn that the group has a dangerous history," Klobuchar explains. "And unlike other campus crime and conduct violation, colleges are not required to publish information about hazing happening on their campuses."
The National Study of Student Hazing found that more than half of college students involved in extracurricular clubs, athletic teams, and organizations experience hazing. Since 2000, there have been more than 50 hazing-related deaths.
The Stop Campus Hazing Act would:
Improve hazing reporting by requiring colleges to include hazing incidents in their Annual Security Report.
Prevent hazing by establishing campus-wide, research-based hazing education and prevention programs.
Help students and their parents make informed decisions about joining organizations on campus by requiring colleges to publish on their websites the institution’s hazing prevention policies and the organizations that have violated them.