By Robert Kittle
Clemson and the University of South Carolina are both already looking into ways to better protect students after two fraternity deaths this school year. Now, a state senator is calling for a statewide task force to look at all college student behavior in the state.
Clemson fraternity pledge Tucker Hipps died last fall after somehow falling off a bridge during a pledge run. USC fraternity member Charles Terreni, Jr. died last month after a party at an off-campus house. His cause of death is pending toxicology results.
Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia, has filed a bill to create a statewide task force to look at student behavior on college campuses, not just in fraternities and sororities but all students across all campuses.
His youngest child is in college, so he says the issue hits home. “I think about the families and what they’re going through and, you know, they send their kid to college and they get this phone call one day and I can’t even imagine,” he says. “My thoughts and prayers are with them. And I think about maybe there are some things we can do proactively to prevent other families from enduring this same type of tragedy down the road.”
At USC, three fraternities have been closed this year, including Terreni’s. In the previous three years, two fraternities were shut down. At Clemson, Hipp’s fraternity has been shut down, the first one in at least four years.
The statewide task force would be made up of: representatives from the state’s colleges and universities, public and private; representatives from the state Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services; local police; and campus police.
He says, “Are there some best practices that we can look at, areas like education about alcohol abuse, alcohol prevention, drug addiction prevention? Do we have the right resources in places so that if a student thinks they may have a problem they know where to go?” He says he also wants the task force to look at preventing domestic violence and sexual assault on campus.
USC fraternity member Jonathan Treihaft says he thinks more oversight is a good idea. “I think it’s definitely needed. We’ve had our problems in the past and it’s becoming more of a problem nationally, and it’ll just make our community probably a better place,” he says.
His fraternity brother, Zachary Kenney, says, “A lot of times it just seems like when one person does something bad it comes down on the entire fraternity or just Greek life as a whole, and I feel like we just need to be holding individuals accountable for what they’re doing. If they’re just going to be idiots, then hold the idiot accountable. Don’t give people guilt by association.”
Clemson already has a task force that’s assessing Greek life at the university and will make recommendations this fall to improve it.
USC also already has a focus group that’s looking at student conduct issues. USC spokesman Wes Hickman says it’s looking at high-risk and abusive behaviors among all students, not just fraternities and sororities. The focus group is looking at alcohol and drug abuse, hazing, sexual misconduct, and cyber bullying. It will also look at diversity and inclusion, racism and other forms of incivility, after a USC student was suspended last week for writing a racial slur on a university white board. A picture of it spread quickly through social media.
Hickman says for years USC has educated students on high risk and abusive behaviors. AlcoholEdu is an online module that all incoming students have to complete and be tested on before they’re allowed to register for classes. And last year, the university launched Haven, a similar online program to educate students about sexual assault and consent.
