Following the death of Debbie Smith’s son, Matt, the family learned the severity of what happened to him due to hazing. Since then, they have made documentaries, launched a non-profit, and have been working to change laws to prevent hazing. Susan Snyder with ‘The Inquirer’ reports:

“It puts a bigger face on the story,” said Leslie Lanahan, whose son, Gordie Bailey Jr., the captain of his high school football team, died after an alcohol-saturated fraternity event in 2004 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. “I don’t think it has ever gotten the attention it deserves collectively.”

Hazing has been a problem for decades. In a national 2008 study of more than 11,000 college students, 55 percent of those involved in clubs, teams, and organizations said they experienced hazing. Dozens of students have died, including four in 2017.

Click here to access the full article, and click here for more posts on hazing.