Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Two Mississippi State Greek organizations are raising awareness of the dangers of hazing through sponsorship of “Stand to Stop Hazing” on Jan. 23 at Humphrey Coliseum.
Sponsored by MSU’s Epsilon Eta Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi and the Mississippi Theta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the 7:30 p.m. free event is designed for MSU students and also is open to the public. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The event benefits the Max Gruver Foundation and the Timothy J. Piazza Memorial Foundation.
Featured speakers are Rae Ann Gruver, mother of Louisiana State University student Max Gruver, and Evelyn Piazza, mother of Pennsylvania State University student Tim Piazza. Both parents will share stories about their sons, who they each lost in 2017 to hazing-related deaths.
Mary Grace Payne, recruitment and marketing vice president for Alpha Delta Pi, said the university is “extremely fortunate” to have staff and administrators who closely monitor Greek life activities, promote awareness of the consequences of hazing, and encourage Greek life participants to look out for the well-being of fellow students.
“Spreading awareness of hazing on our campus protects the lives of Greek members, and further preserves the values and beliefs of sisterhood, brotherhood, honor, integrity and wisdom that our organizations were originally founded upon,” Payne said.
John Michael VanHorn, Mississippi State’s associate director of fraternity and sorority life, said the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life collaborates with all of the university’s fraternity and sorority chapters to provide leaders and members with educational programs on the dangers of hazing.
“We work daily to improve the ways we bring new members into our organizations to ensure they are successful students at MSU,” VanHorn said.
For more event information, contact Payne at 901-626-8448 or epsiloneta.rvp@gmail.com.
Learn more about fraternity and sorority life at MSU by visiting www.greeks.msstate.edu or contacting VanHorn at 662-325-3917 or jmv82@saffairs.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.