Senate Bill 126, also called Collin’s Law, has been reintroduced to the Ohio General Assembly in response to the death of Ohio University student Collin Wiant from an alleged hazing incident.
This bill is being reintroduced to eliminate loopholes that allow for those who may be guilty of hazing to face weaker punishments.
Currently, 44 states have anti-hazing legislation that ranges from classifying the incidents as misdemeanors to felonies. In Ohio, hazing is classified as a fourth degree misdemeanor.
Collin’s Law changes the classification of hazing from a misdemeanor to a felony while expanding the current law to cover acts intended for coercing or initiating an individual into an organization that “creates a substantial risk” for harm. If implemented, individuals that had knowledge of or involvement in the alleged hazing incident would be held accountable.
The addition to the current law from this bill would include specification in areas such as the violation of state criminal law, the consumption of any substance that causes physical or emotional harm, and the addition of the simple added risk of emotional harm to another individual.
Other aspects of the bill include the creation of guidelines for all higher education institutions to follow in developing policy towards hazing, and how to prevent hazing from becoming institutionalized in organizations on campus. A final addition would be the creation of a system of reporting cases of confirmed hazing incidents on a campus that would be accessible to the public.
The parents of Collin, Kathleen and Wade Wiant, have been supportive of this bill and are spreading awareness to campuses and communities about hazing. Kathleen Wiant wants this bill to make Ohio a leader in ending hazing and creating a uniform no tolerance policy when found guilty of hazing.
With the passage of this bill, future hazing incidents will be held to a higher standard and the felony charge will serve as a major potential repercussion which will help the elimination of hazing altogether at Ohio schools.
Hazing has a history at Miami University as well, most recently with an incident in 2019 involving Delta Tau Delta fraternity. In this incident, eighteen men were indicted following the hospitalization of Tyler Perino, who was forced to consume large amounts of alcohol and marijuana in addition to being hit with a spiked wooden paddle. Miami University suspended Delta Tau Delta for up to fifteen years following the incident.
