U.S. Senate passes legislation to prevent hazing on college campuses

The U.S. Senate passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act to improve the reporting and prevention of prevalent hazing on college campuses.

Since 2000, more than 50 hazing-related deaths on America’s college campuses have happened, including Adam Oakes, a Virginia Commonwealth University student who died in a fraternity hazing incident in 2021.

U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia sponsored the legislation.

“Our hearts are with the Oakes family, who lost their son Adam to a tragic incident of campus hazing in 2021,” said the senators. “No family should have to go through what they have been through. This law will improve transparency and accountability around incidents of campus hazing and hopefully help to prevent future tragedies like the one that claimed Adam Oakes’ life. We are proud to see it heading to the president’s desk.”

The Stop Campus Hazing Act will:

·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; and

·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.

Warner and Kaine have long worked to stop the scourge of hazing. The Stop Campus Hazing Act incorporates provisions from their Report and Educate About Campus Hazing (REACH) Act, legislation they introduced in 2022.