A bill sparked by a dangerous hazing incident that left a Minnesota native with permanent brain injuries was signed into law by President Joe Biden this week that will require colleges and universities to report hazing incidents to the public.
Danny Santulli of Eden Prairie suffered permanent alcohol-induced brain injuries following a hazing incident at a University of Missouri fraternity after he was reportedly forced to drink a gallon of vodka during an initiation ceremony in 2021. The injuries left him unable to speak or walk.
His parents, Tom and Mary Pat Santulli, were instrumental in pushing lawmakers to enact legislation to hold groups more accountable for hazing, prompting the bipartisan Stop Campus Hazing Act co-led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Under the legislation, colleges will be required to report hazing incidents in an annual security report. It also will help establish anti-hazing education programs on college campuses and require colleges and universities to publish hazing prevention policies on their websites and organizations that may have violated those guidelines.
"This bill will save lives. If my wife or I had known of the many sanctions that were against the fraternity that Danny was pledging, we would have never allowed him to pledge that fraternity. Parents and incoming students have the right to know the background of any organization they are going to join," Tom and Mary Pat Santulli, said in a statement following the bill's passage.
A 2008 study found that over half of college students in athletics and other extracurriculars go through hazing. Between 2000 and 2021 there were more than 50 hazing-related deaths in the U.S. NBC News reports.
"When parents send their kids away to college, they expect they will get a good education and make new friends. They don't expect them to be harassed and hazed. Unfortunately, hazing is a dangerous — and at times deadly — reality that students are confronted with," Klobuchar said in a statement. "After years of effort from parents, students, advocates and lawmakers, our bipartisan legislation to improve hazing prevention efforts on college campuses has now been signed into law, and I'll keep working to stop this abuse and keep students safe."
Kim Hyatt and Eder Campuzano of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.
In Rochester, locals fret over housing shortage, high rents and expected population boom
Could this mentoring program be part of the teacher shortage solution?
Tolkkinen: It shouldn't be easier for swindlers to get public money than our smallest cities
Are fewer Minnesota 18-year-olds going to college? New data suggest concerning trend.
