News
Collin Wiant’s Mother Backs State, Federal Anti-Hazing Legislation
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — The death of 20-year-old Stone Foltz, a Bowling Green State University sophomore who died this month after an alleged fraternity hazing incident, has renewed calls for change at the state and federal level.
“For the last weeks of Collin’s life, he had endured extreme hazing. He was beaten, belted, waterboarded and forced drugs. Our family, individually and collectively, has experienced the most painful type of heartbreak unimaginable because of hazing,” Wiant said.
A toxicology report showed Collin died of asphyxiation caused by nitrous oxide ingestion.
Nine people were indicted as part of the criminal investigation into the death and the Sigma Pi Epsilon Chapter was expelled from Ohio University.
A bipartisan bill sponsored by state lawmakers she is backing would create harsher penalties for hazing and would make it a felony if drugs or alcohol are involved.
She is also supporting federal legislation sponsored by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. That bill would require hazing incidents to be reported as part of annual crime reports from colleges and require universities to educate students about the dangers of hazing.