📣 The Gist: The death of Roswell student Max Gruver is prompting congressional action with the introduction of the Stop Campus Hazing Act to address college hazing incidents.
🤔 Why It Matters: With over 50 hazing-related deaths since 2000, a bipartisan group of representatives says there’s a pressing need for stricter regulations and transparency in hazing prevention and reporting.
❓ What’s Happening:
- The proposed legislation mandates colleges to incorporate hazing incidents into their annual crime reports.
- Colleges are also required to establish research-based prevention programs and provide accessible information about their hazing history.
🔍 Between the Lines:
- Hazing is a persistent issue, with the National Study of Student Hazing showing that more than half of college students in clubs and teams face it.
- The Act, although introduced with bipartisan support, highlights a broader challenge of enforcing cultural change on campuses.
🏃 Catch Up Quick:
- Rep. Lucy McBath, along with a group of bipartisan lawmakers, are pushing this legislation forward in Congress.
- Several families, including Max Gruver’s, have expressed the belief that such a bill could have prevented the tragedies they faced.
🔈 Speaking Out: “Our son Max died from hazing at his fraternity house on Sept. 14, 2017 at LSU. After considering several fraternities, he believed the Phi Delta Thetas at LSU were a good choice, but he was unaware they had multiple student code of conduct violations, including hazing, as recent as the semester before he joined. The Stop Campus Hazing Act would have provided this information so that our son could have made a more educated decision about the organization he was joining. Knowing this information would have saved Max’s life,” said Steve and Rae Ann Gruver, parents of Max Gruver.
🖼️ The Big Picture: If passed, the Act will require colleges to be more transparent and proactive about hazing, potentially influencing institutional behaviors and student choices.
🇺🇸 About Representing You: This is an ongoing series of news stories devoted to how the officials elected and appointed to represent you are voting and how they are spending their time and your tax dollars.
