Texas State has a recurring cycle of hazing and hazing-related deaths among its fraternities. The deaths of Nick Armstrong in 1999, Jordin Taylor in 2016 and Matthew Ellis in 2017 highlight the ongoing issue.
Texas State fails to punish hazing and continues to allow dangerous practices within Greek life, which demonstrates the university’s indifference to student safety.
The university’s response to hazing related deaths has typically been limited to disaffiliation and shielding the university’s reputation over student safety.
Disaffiliation means fraternities lose “official status” but can still operate off campus without rules or oversight. As a result, hazing continues, just without Texas State’s name attached.
Joseph Wright, a 2001 graduate, said he vividly remembers the unsettling atmosphere of the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity house. He said the fraternity was known for its hazing culture. When a student’s death during a TKE bid party prompted the fraternity’s suspension, conversations around Greek life took a darker turn.
In February 1999, Armstrong died from hazing practices. He was found unresponsive in the living room of the TKE house after consuming excessive alcohol as part of an initiation ritual. In response, Texas State suspended TKE.
“The house, during parties, was covered in black trash bags, a symbol of the hazing and drugged drinks,” Wright said. “But this was different. It was more than an assault. The university did not do enough.”
Rather than supporting the mourning family, Texas State chose to distance itself from the issue, enabling the cycle that stands today.
Texas State’s hazing policies are based on the Texas Education Code, which defines hazing as any act that endangers a student’s safety. The law imposes penalties, including felonies for hazing resulting in injury or death.
Despite this, recruitment activities managed by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) happen year-round, with little awareness of hazing risks. The university’s inconsistent enforcement allows hazing to continue as long as the IFC oversees the process, operating with minimal oversight and protecting fraternities from accountability.
In 2016, freshman Taylor died after she was dragged by a party bus following a fraternity party hosted by Pi Kappa Alpha. Four involved fraternities were suspended for alcohol violations, but the underlying issues leading to the tragedy were not addressed, resulting in another death just a few months later.
Ellis, a 20-year-old Phi Kappa Psi pledge, died due to alcohol poisoning. He was found at his apartment after an off-campus fraternity tradition of bourbon gifting to signify brotherhood. Pi Kappa Alpha, Alpha Tau Omega, Kappa Alpha and Delta Tau Delta disaffiliated from the university not long after the death.
In a statement, university spokesman Matt Flores said the groups were told to suspend campus activities for 2-5 years depending on involvement. Yet, this response still allowed hazing to continue.
No sororities have disaffiliated, proving accountability is possible without severing all affiliations. Texas State has the tools to require training, reporting policies and holding Greek life organizations accountable. Administration chooses not to and actively endangers students.
Saide Lopez, a Texas State graduate and Sigma Lambda Gamma member, said she had a positive experience in Greek life. She said she believes ending Greek life would deprive students of meaningful experiences.
“I was introduced to a community of women who became my family at a time when most students feel isolated,” Lopez said. “Not everybody hazes… it’s bonding, networking and having a home away from home.”
However, Best Colleges data indicates that over 55% of students in all organizations are hazed, and most incidents go unreported. Doing away with fraternities won’t eliminate hazing; it will only push it underground.
Texas State needs to be more proactive by exercising more surveillance during the initiation period, along with random sweeps of fraternity off-campus activities. Anonymous reporting policy on hazing infractions could also be implemented, like at Texas Tech, so students would feel comfortable reporting infractions without fear of retribution.
Because initiation season is in full force, Texas State’s failure to prevent hazing allows a dangerous culture to thrive. Shutting down frats is not the answer, and sweeping it under the rug as “boys will be boys” just allows more violence to ensue.
Texas State must increase transparency and hold organizations accountable. Otherwise, there will be more students at risk.
-Aubrey Haynes is a social work freshman
