University administrators and national
fraternity leaders admit that reforms will
work only if fraternity members follow
them. Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma
Phi Epsilon both ended pledging in an ef-
fort to reduce hazing, but several chapters
have since been investigated for hazing
violations. The Beta Theta Pi house where
Piazza pledged and the Phi Delta Theta
house where Gruver pledged were both
supposed to be alcohol-free.
In the rare instance when a chapter
is banned for good, it can still re-emerge
underground. In August, American Uni-
versity in Washington, D.C., expelled 18
students for their involvement in recent
hazing incidents, violence and under-
age drinking as part of an unauthorized
fraternity. In September, at Cornell Uni-
versity in Ithaca, N.Y., a white student
allegedly affiliated with the Psi Upsilon△
Students at Penn State gather
for a candlelight vigil on Feb. 12,
following Piazza’s deathEven after Penn State implemented
stricter alcohol policies following
Piazza’s death, an 18-year-old student
was found unconscious and hospital-
ized in September after allegedly drink-
ing at Delta Tau Delta. The fraternity,
which under the university’s new rules
was prohibited from serving alcohol at
social events until November, has been
suspended while the case is investigated.
Such incidents are troubling to those
who are still mourning Piazza. Brooks, his
former roommate, worries about what
will happen as more time passes and the
urgency behind hazing reform fades.
“Around the country, people are going
to see that there’s literal video evidence
of hazing happening and still no one got
in any real trouble,” Brooks says. “In a
few years, people are just going to revert
back to the way it was before.” □fraternity—which lost its recognition in
2016 for repeated conduct violations—
was accused of assaulting a black stu-
dent and using racial slurs, according
to police. The fraternity says no official
member was involved.
In the face of these challenges, critics
say the reforms many universities have
adopted are too incremental to ensure
the safety of the hundreds of thousands
of students who participate in Greek life.
Without major changes in how fraterni-
ties operate, they say, it’s only a matter of
time before another student dies at an-
ALEX YUAN—THE DAILY COLLEGIAN other university.