Louisiana State University (LSU) has suspended all Greek activities this week after the death of an 18-year-old pledge, Max Gruver. He passed away after being rushed to the hospital for an unspecified medical emergency, and it is suspected that both alcohol and hazing were factors in his death, according to University President F King Alexander.

This is, sadly, the same tale we are told year after year. The beginning of the school year brings many opportunities, and many freshmen excitedly flock to sororities and fraternities during rush week. While an investigation is still under way in this case, it sounds shockingly familiar. Even as we attempt to pull away from these dangerous traditions, a hazing epidemic still rages on at many universities across the nation. As of November 6^th, 2007, the number of recorded hazing/pledging/rushing-related deaths in fraternities and sororities stands at 89 - 83 males and 6 females. Nearly 55% of college students involved in clubs, teams, and organizations report experience hazing.

Just last year, 18 students were charged after an incident at Penn State University led to the death of Timothy Piazza. On the second of February, the second-year engineering student participated in several binge-drinking events at a pledge initiation event for the fraternity Beta Theta Pi. He then fell down an entire flight of stairs, head first. The authorities were not called. He was pulled onto a couch and periodically shaken awake before the activities of the night took everyone’s attention away from the boy. He was discovered the next morning by other members, but medics were not called until nearly 11 ‘o’clock that morning. He sustained major internal injuries and died at the hospital shortly after.

This tragic story was not terribly surprising—nor were the excuses given in the following months of investigation. Fellow attendees of the event were also extremely inebriated, and their logic was to simply watch after the injured man to avoid the trouble of calling the authorities. They feared sanctions for underage drinking and hazing activities. The Piazza family attorney, Tom Kline, described the ‘horrific acts of self-preservation” and complete "callousness” shown toward Piazza shown in several social media videos to the grand jury. Piazza’s mother sat in the pews, crying softly.

The grand jury in this case also put fault on the fraternity culture of Penn State—citing the school’s involvement in Piazza’s death by fostering an environment that was so permissive to acts of hazing and underage drinking that it actually emboldened its members to act with a heinous disregard for human life.

While Beta Theta Pi disbanded their Penn State chapter, this culture continues to claim lives here and at other fraternities across the nation. StopHazing, an organization founded in response to the overwhelming prevalence of hazing at universities, offer many services including campus risk assessments, consultations on policy change, and many other prevention-focused initiatives. See how you can get involved and help save lives on your campus by visiting their website here.