Who's Responsible for Hazing: Wabash/Phi Psi Lawsuit

[LaneSig]

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/2...ternity-hazing

"A case before the Indiana Supreme Court this month could set the stage for the state’s first jury trial examining the responsibility that colleges and fraternities have to protect students from hazing.

But before that can happen the state’s high court must decide a more basic question: Does the personal injury lawsuit that former Wabash College student Brian Yost filed even merit a trial?

Yost’s broader case centers on whether Wabash or Phi Kappa Psi, known on campus as Phi Psi, had a duty to ensure his safety -- specifically after a string of hazing and alcohol-related problems at the private school in Crawfordsville, Ind. More than a half dozen incidents since 2000, including the deaths of two underage students who had been drinking, prompted sanctions against fraternities."


So, how much liability/responsibility does an organization or a college have in a hazing issue?

I've always wondered about this. The college and the organization cannot watch 24/7 over the members to see what is happening. But, if the college or organization are aware of past behaviors in a chapter, shouldn't they step in to make sure the members/new members are safe?

And, in this case, the "creeking" and "showering", was it actually hazing?

[AOII Angel]

I agree. This doesn't sound like hazing at all but horseplay gone wrong. The other hole in the story is whether or not Phi Psi had ever been sanctioned for hazing or if it was other groups on campus, which makes a huge difference to whether or not Wabash should have been on alert that pledges could be in danger.

[Lilgiant2016]

This is not hazing....it all started when pledges tried to "creek" an active.
The campus has a culture that a lot of national groups consider hazing. All freshman pledges participate in Chapel Sing (youtube it...it was the toughest thing I have endured preparing for it), staying up all night to paint a bench, guarding the campus at the Monon Bell Game. Still, the 2008 death put a bad light on the entire system, and almost all houses have a semester long pledgeship. The campus is in more danger from the Johnny Smith case than the Yost case (at least I hope).