PULLMAN, Wash. — The parents of a former WSU student who died in a hazing incident are behind a new federal anti-hazing bill set to become law.
The Stop Campus Hazing Act recently passed the U.S. Senate. This would require colleges and universities to publish hazing reports.
Jolayne Houtz host her son Sam Martinez in a hazing incident at WSU in 2019. She and other parents who lost children in similar incidents have been working together to get this legislation passed federally for the last several years.
“It’s a club of families that nobody wants to join and we would really like to not have any new members,” Houtz said.
Sam Martinez died from acute alcohol poisoning after attending a night of hazing at his WSU fraternity. His parents say it took a couple of years for their family to begin recovering from his death. Now, they’re hoping this federal legislation will prevent other families from experiencing the same tragedy.
“The transparency piece alone, requiring colleges and universities to share what they know about hazing happening on their campuses, is going to save lives,” Houtz said.
Once the president signs the bill into law, every college and university in the country will be required to publish hazing reports publicly within a year of when the bill is signed. Those reports will have to be updated twice per year after that.
Only nine states currently require colleges and universities to publicly report hazing incidents. Within those states, nearly half of schools aren’t publishing the required reports.
“I have asked for a work session in the upcoming legislative session and I’m working with some state lawmakers to bring together the colleges and universities so that we can understand what may be getting in the way of them implementing the law,” said Houtz.
Houtz also founded HazingInfo.org which has free information on hazing incidents at colleges and universities. She hopes to have comprehensive information for schools in every state available by 2026.
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