TIME October 23, 201718 members of Beta Theta Pi, whose chap-
ter has been permanently banned at Penn
State. But a judge reduced the most se-
vere charges and dropped charges entirely
in some cases after defense attorneys ar-
gued at a hearing that Piazza’s death was
a tragic accident. Now 14 members are set
to stand trial in a few months for lesser
charges that include hazing and reckless
endangerment.
Parks Miller says she hopes the case
pushes universities to change how they
respond to problems at fraternities.
“Clearly something is seriously broken,
and clearly change needs to be made
that’s significant,” she says. “No more lip
service that, you know, ‘We’re going to
take this seriously, we’re going to make
changes, we’re going to look out for these
students, we’re going to take hazing
seriously.’ That has not happened.”
Penn State announced reforms
after Tim’s death—including an end to
the system of Greek self-governance
and a zero-tolerance hazing policy
that permanently bans any chapter in
violation—but the Piazzas believe the
measures lack strength and immediacy.
They also want the university to take more
innovative steps, including providing
students with a way to anonymously
report hazing in real time.
Fierberg, the lawyer and fraternity
critic, who is not involved in the Piazza
case, believes Penn State is seeking to de-
fuse the situation without alienating in-
fluential and wealthy fraternity alumni.
At least 14 members of the Penn State
Board of Trustees—the body that ap-
proved the reforms—were members of
fraternities or sororities in college, the
PhiladelphiaInquirer reported.
“There is no way that an intelligent,
well-meaning president of a university
such as Penn State could have come up
with these less-than-significant proposals
without having an eye toward the power,
wealth and influence that represents the
Greek industry,” Fierberg says. “That
influence and power has been used over
decades to prevent meaningful reforms.”Penn State officials declined to be
interviewed for this story, but in an
emailed statement university president
Eric Barron called the reforms “aggressive
measures” and said that “significant
progress has been made” in promoting
student safety.UNIVERSITY LEADERS DESCRIBEthe
challenge of reforming fraternity culture
as a balancing act. Some schools have
taken steps to limit alcohol at parties,
push back recruitment schedules and
mandate anti-hazing workshops, and
national fraternity organizations have
rolled out required trainings and safety
programs. But tragedies have continued
to occur with alarming regularity.
West Virginia University President
Gordon Gee acknowledges that fraterni-
ties can be problematic. He temporarily
suspended all Greek life at the school in
2014, when 18-year-old Nolan Burch died
after an initiation event while pledging
Kappa Sigma, according to police. But
Gee recalls his own fraternity experi-
ence in Pi Kappa Alpha at the University
of Utah as a “very constructive and pos-
itive opportunity” and says fraternities
deserve a place on campus.
“The question ultimately is maybe
this: Should you ban fraternities and
sororities, or should you come up with a
model that allows them to flourish—but
in a very constructive way?” Gee says. “I
prefer the latter, because I think that is
more healthy for both universities and
for students.”
University of South Carolina President
Harris Pastides thinks alumni, who
regale younger generations with their
college stories and often contribute
financially to schools, need to be part of
the effort to stop recurring misconduct.
He received pushback from both alumni
and current students after saying in 2016
that he would consider ending pledging
following a student death, though he
ultimately decided not to do so.
“I hope you don’t think it’s easy, even
for me as president, to be receiving callsand visits from chapter alumni and, in
some cases, donors and great friends of
the university, who think we’ve taken too
hard a stand,” Pastides says.
Even when those within the fraternity
community advocate for reforms, they
often face strong opposition. Dave Westol,
a consultant who advises fraternities on
topics like combating hazing, says he
has drawn ire from those who think he’s
“sharing too many secrets” about his
experience decades ago in a Michigan
State fraternity. When, as the national
executive director of Theta Chi, Westol
shortened the fraternity’s pledging period
in an effort to stop hazing, he says, he
began receiving an annual birthday card
from an older alumnus who said his birth
date would “live in infamy because you
are the person who is destroying the
fabric of our fraternity.”‘CLEARLY SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY
BROKEN, AND CLEARLY CHANGE NEEDS
TO BE MADE THAT’S SIGNIFICANT.’
STACY PARKS MILLER,Centre County district attorney