Tag Archives: Stop Campus Hazing Act
Phi Delta Theta Celebrates Passage of Stop Campus Hazing Act, Reaffirms Anti-Hazing Commitment
Phi Delta Theta proudly celebrates the recent Senate passage of the Stop Campus Hazing Act (S.2901), a critical step in the fight against hazing. This legislation, designed to strengthen federal hazing prevention efforts through improved data collection and transparency, is now headed to the President’s desk for signing into law.
The Stop Campus Hazing Act requires each institution of higher education that receives federal student aid to maintain and update biannually a website page that discloses student organization violations of the institution’s code of conduct that threaten the safety of students. The report would detail the corrective measures imposed by the school on the student organization. This would allow students and parents to make more informed decisions about which student organizations are safe to join.
Phi Delta Theta holds the safety of every member of the Fraternity, as well as the members of their campuses and communities in the highest regard. The organization does not tolerate any actions that directly contradict its values and policies and holds strict rulings against members who violate Fraternity expectations or the law. Phi Delta Theta does not condone any form of hazing and spends great resources educating about its dangers and consequences. If discovered, the Fraternity takes swift disciplinary action against chapters or individuals responsible. Hazing is contrary to the purpose of fraternity, let alone Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.
In September 2017, the death of Max Gruver proved Phi Delta Theta wasn’t doing enough to fight hazing. Since then, the Fraternity has worked to restructure its approach. Through partnerships with the Max Gruver Foundation and the Anti-Hazing Coalition, we are working together to educate and eradicate the behavior.
Partnership with Max Gruver Foundation
Following Max’s death, Rae Ann and Steve Gruver created The Max Gruver Foundation. In January 2020, Phi Delta Theta announced its partnership with The Max Gruver Foundation. This relationship provides unique opportunities to work together to strengthen educational efforts to prevent future tragedies.
Our partnership with the Max Gruver Foundation has led to additional efforts. In February 2022, Phi Delta Theta joined the Anti-Hazing Coalition. This coalition is an unprecedented collaboration between families who have lost a child to hazing, to establish laws that provide consequences for hazing. Phi Delta Theta has used its network and has supported Capitol Hill lobbying efforts, including the Stop Campus Hazing Act (S.2901, H.R. 5646).
Anti-Hazing Education
In the fall of 2022, it became apparent that anti-hazing conversations and education need to begin before students enter college. As a result, Phi Delta Theta expanded its partnership with the Max Gruver Foundation by assisting with the education of high school students. Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and the Max Gruver Foundation created Take Action: Building New Traditions to further anti-hazing education in high schools to ensure that no more lives are affected by hazing.
Our efforts with the Anti-Hazing Coalition, the Gruver family, and The Max Gruver Foundation celebrate the life and memory of Max while working to eradicate hazing. Through this partnership, we have initiated a grassroots effort to mobilize members, volunteers, friends, and families to join in the measures to establish laws that provide transparency and true consequences to this behavior that directly contradicts our values.
Founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, on December 26, 1848, Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity has 194 chapters and emerging chapters and 85 alumni clubs across the United States and Canada. To date, the Fraternity has initiated nearly 280,000 men into the society whose founding principles are Friendship, Sound Learning, and Rectitude. In 2000, Phi Delta Theta became the largest fraternity to implement an alcohol-free housing policy in all facilities. Guided today by its Phi Delt 2030 strategic plan, Phi Delta Theta’s vision is to be recognized as the premier fraternal leadership development society in North America.
Phi Delts on Capitol Hill
Seven student members of Phi Delta Theta were selected to join hundreds of undergraduate fraternity men and sorority women to represent the Fraternity and the larger Greek movement on behalf of the Fraternal Government Relations Coalition (FGRC) in Washington, DC.
Participants included:
Richard Steiner-Otoo, Montclair State ’24 (NJ Epsilon)
Austin Lauziere, UCF ’24 (FL Iota)
Cayden Stone, Boise State ‘26 (ID Beta)
Daneel Konnar, Mississippi ‘24 (MS Alpha)
Colin Shea, Cal Poly ‘26 (CA Nu)
Zachary Mayer, Washington State ‘25 (WA Gamma)
William Bechtel, Illinois ’23 (IL Eta)
On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, these Phis joined David Almacy, Widener ‘92, Phi Delta Theta General Council President, and Sean Wagner, Widener ’02, Phi Delta Theta’s Executive Vice President and CEO, in meetings with Members of Congress and their staff.
The National Panhellenic Conference and North American Interfraternity Conference set legislative agendas that guide the FGRC’s work. The agenda includes the following priorities:
- Protect students’ freedom of association rights by ensuring they can join women’s-only and men’s-only student organizations like fraternities and sororities;
- Pass anti-hazing legislation to provide additional transparency and education about hazing on college campuses, and
- Advocate for the passage of the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (CHIA), which would update the tax code to provide more access to funding for infrastructure improvements to fraternity/sorority housing.
Later that evening, the Phis met with Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC-7th), NC State ’94, to discuss how leadership roles in the fraternity helped prepare him for a career in public service.
Delegates visited the office of Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19th), Texas Tech ’94.
ABOUT THE FGRC
The Fraternal Government Relations Coalition (FGRC) is a collaborative effort that includes the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), which is made up of 59 men’s-only fraternity organizations, and the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), which is comprised of 26 women’s-only sorority organizations. In total, the FGRC represents 85 fraternities and sororities nationwide with more than 600,000 undergraduate members at 9,300 chapters on nearly 700 campuses.
Phi Delta Theta Lobbies in Support of Stop Campus Hazing Act
Phi Delta Theta is a values-based organization that is committed to promoting a culture of responsibility in our chapters, and we remain vigilant in our efforts to protect the safety of our members and guests. Phi Delta Theta has long battled the societal issue of hazing through policy and education. On November 15, 2023, Phi Delta Theta stood on Capitol Hill in support of the Stop Campus Hazing Act (S.2901, H.R. 5646), which will require each institution of higher education that receives federal student aid to maintain and update biannually a website page that discloses student organization violations of the institution’s code of conduct that threaten the safety of students.
Phi Delta Theta Executive Vice President and CEO Sean Wagner joined to lobby with our partners at the Anti-Hazing Coalition and the Max Gruver Foundation. They met with several elected officials, including Brother Dusty Johnson, South Dakota ’99, U.S. Representative for South Dakota, and Senate Co-Sponsor, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, to help spread the word about the Stop Campus Hazing Act.
