Stop Campus Hazing Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5646, the Stop Campus Hazing Act.

This legislation, which is long overdue, will finally provide additional protection for students on college campuses nationwide. This is a bipartisan product years in the making. It includes provisions from two previous anti-hazing bills, including a piece of legislation I was proud to lead on called the END ALL Hazing Act.

Simply put, the Stop Campus Hazing Act would improve hazing reporting and prevention on college campuses, including by requiring hazing incidents to be reported by institutions in their annual security report, also known as the Clery report.

The bill also outlines a responsible definition of ``hazing'' so the campus safety professionals can analyze if a reported incident may constitute hazing for the Clery report.

This definition will help students, parents, and the public have access and increased transparency into student organizations on campuses who have reported incidents of hazing.

Finally, this bill builds upon the actions many States have taken, including Pennsylvania, to ensure that State laws are respected when any investigations are conducted.

Mr. Speaker, none of this would be possible without the long and tireless work of many advocates, including Evelyn and Jim Piazza. Evelyn and Jim are the parents of Tim Piazza, who tragically passed away in February 2017 at Penn State as a direct result of a hazing ritual at his fraternity. Tomorrow would have been Tim's 27th birthday.

In the face of this unspeakable tragedy, Evelyn and Jim have been at the forefront of efforts in Pennsylvania, here in Congress, and in other States around the country to speak about the dangers of hazing and enact change in Tim's honor.

In fact, the legislation before us today is shaped by the work of the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform at Penn State, which Evelyn and Jim played a direct role in establishing.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the numerous individuals and organizations that helped bring this legislation to the floor today, including Congresswoman McBath, Congressman Duncan, the National Panhellenic Conference, the North American Interfraternity Conference, the Clery Center, the Anti-Hazing Coalition, and many others.

As we recognize National Hazing Prevention Week this week, I am proud that we can come together in a bipartisan manner to protect students nationwide in an effort to ensure that no one will have to experience what the Piazza family has over the past 7 years.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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