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Some months before the global COVID-19 pandemic upended learning at colleges and universities across the United States, the tragic fraternity hazing death of San Diego State University Student Dylan Hernandez was making headlines. Dylan’s death sharpened the focus on fraternity hazing not only at SDSU but at colleges and universities across the country. Dylan’s fraternity hazing death opened the door to a close investigation of the prevalence of this type of abusive and potentially deadly conduct at SDSU. Facts Surrounding…

Sacramento State University has commenced a fraternity hazing investigation after receiving a report Delta Chi forced its pledges to participate in what is known among some Greek organizations as an “elephant walk.” Fraternity hazing has been illegal in the state of California since 2006. Despite the 15-year ban on fraternity hazing in the Golden State, year after year new cases of this type of misconduct arise. An elephant walk is considered to be a particularly degraded form of fraternity hazing….

The University of Iowa announced the suspension of the Acacia Fraternity through December 2024. The suspension arose from what UI administrators concluded was “high-risk hazing practices and multiple violations of conduct policies.” The misconduct was identified both during the IC Acacia Fraternity rushes and initiations in the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2020. Founded in 1904 at the University of Michigan, up until the suspension of the UI chapter, Acacia had 28 active chapters across the United States…

Nestled on the plains of Kansas, the University of Kansas may not come to mind as an institution of higher education with a hazing tradition that has been described as “long and sordid.” However, that is the case. The school garnered this reputation because of fraternity hazing incidents, including situations that resulted in the long-term suspension of fraternities. With that said, fraternity hazing is not the only problem of this nature plaguing KU. A particularly disturbing hazing situation at the…

Even though hazing is now a crime in Louisiana, prosecutors are encountering “stone walls” of non-cooperation from fraternities and universities.