• 11
  • November
    2010

This past September, parents of a Texas student reportedly won some semblance of justice following the death of their son. According to reports, their 20-year-old son was pledging to become a member of a Prairie View A&M fraternity when the pledging turned into fatal hazing.

Last year, the parents found out that their young son died suddenly after being put through an excessively rigorous exercise regimen. The autopsy concluded that the student was at risk due to a unique medical vulnerability. But whether his system was vulnerable or not, the Texas parents did not hesitate to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the fraternity whose negligence led to their son's avoidable death.

The fraternity was accused of putting pledges through "tortuous" exercises and allowing them to eat only bread and water. Details of the wrongful death settlement made between the parents and the fraternity have not been publically disclosed, and now as of this week, it looks like the case will not move any further through the legal system.

A Texas grand jury decided that there was not enough evidence to charge an individual fraternity member who's been connected to the hazing with the homicide of the A&M student. The parents, of course, are disappointed. They say, "We thought hazing was against the law ... My son didn't want to be exercised to death."

According to the argument against the fraternity, members of the organization did not respond appropriately when the victim's health declined. They reportedly did not take him to the closest hospital or call 911. Their negligence, argues the victim's family, took away any chance that the victim had to survive.

The victim's parents might not be able to get the level of justice that they believe their son's memory deserves, but justice is not their only goal. They want to create safer campuses for students by eliminating hazing throughout the country.

Source

The Houston Chronicle: "Grand jury declines to indict in hazing incident," Cindy Horswell, 10 Nov. 2010