Louisiana
Louisiana task force confronts future of Greek life, pushes new hazing safeguards
BATON ROUGE, La (Louisiana First) — The final meeting for the Caleb Wilson Hazing Prevention Task Force took place Thursday.
The committee, organized by the Louisiana Board of Regents, brought together lawmakers, university leaders, student advisors, and hazing prevention stakeholders to make sure no Louisiana family loses another student to hazing.
State representative Vanessa LaFleur, a leading voice on this task force, said, “We don’t want there to ever be another Max [Gruver], or another Caleb in the state of Louisiana.”
Her statement referenced two high-profile hazing deaths that reshaped the conversation around student organizations in the state. Members echoed the sentiment that this isn’t just an isolated issue; it’s a culture issue.
“There are things that shift culture, things that create culture,” said Winton Anderson. “And what we were doing today was not only dealing with the prevention piece as much as dealing with the accountability piece.”
Task force leaders said Thursday’s meeting was about closing gaps in oversight, enforcement, and advisor responsibility for all Louisiana schools.
“Today, what you saw is closing the gap of our attempt to close the gap on what we believe are going to be the next phase of policies to help us ensure that there’s accountability at every level,” said Anderson.
The policy reform is key, but leaders said education is the foundation.
“The key to this is education,” said LaFleur. “And I think we’ve put in the safeguards for that. Safeguards will be there when the legislation drops. We’ve got to show them why hazing does not create sisterhood, why hazing does not create. But what it does is it destroys.”