COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s illegal in the state of Ohio, but so-called “initiations” that humiliate, degrade, abuse or endanger newcomers joining sports teams, fraternities, sororities and other groups can still happen.

What You Need To Know

  • Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate

  • Hazing can happen with any kind of group — sports teams, sororities, fraternities, academic clubs and church groups all have reported instances of hazing, according to the Hazing Prevention Network

  • Kathleen Wiant is an advocate working to stop hazing from occurring, after her son Collin was killed during an incident while pledging to an Ohio University fraternity in 2018

College leaders from across the state and around the region learned best practices for combatting hazing on campus at the third annual Ohio Anti-Hazing Summit at The Ohio State University Tuesday. One of the event’s speakers, Kathleen Wiant, is making stopping hazing her life’s mission.

“The importance of eradicating hazing is trumping everything for me,” she said.

There’s not a day that goes by that Kathleen doesn’t think about her son, Collin.

“He was strong, he was confident, he was smart, he was athletic,” she said.

In 2018, Collin was excited to begin his freshman year at Ohio University and told his parents he was interested in joining Sigma Pi fraternity.

“We had no idea that hazing was going on there,” Kathleen said.

But she claims university administrators knew. Collin was killed during a hazing incident while he was pledging to join the fraternity in November 2018.

“They had a long list of hazing violations that were going on their campus,” Kathleen said. “They’re tuning a blind eye to it. And meantime, they’re promoting Greek recruitment on their campus to freshmen.”

A judge dismissed the family’s lawsuit against Ohio University last week, siding with the school. Kathleen said they plan to appeal.

“It has fueled our fire more than ever to ensure we hold Ohio University accountable,” she said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Ohio University said:

“We are pleased that the judge has granted the University’s motion for summary judgment, finding that Ohio University had no liability in the tragic death of Collin Wiant. Ohio University has always and will continue to educate our students and ensure their success throughout their time at OHIO.”

Kathleen is now keeping Collin’s spirit alive through her work with the Hazing Prevention Network and advocacy efforts.

“When I learned more about it and the psychology behind it and how it's very much a grooming process, I understood that anyone can be susceptible to hazing,” she said.

She helped to pass legislation known as Collin’s Law in Ohio, which raises the penalty for hazing from a misdemeanor to a felony, mandates students receive anti-hazing training, and requires schools to report violations of their student codes of conduct.

“Our hope is that when they have that information, they can make the decisions and hopefully save any of their family in the state of Ohio or nationwide from the tragic loss of their student to hazing,” Kathleen said during her presentation.

She has also lobbied in Congress for a federal ban on hazing, knowing Collin is smiling down on her efforts to save lives.

“I think he is rooting me on every single day,” she said. “And I think he is giving me constant energy that keeps me going in this fight.”