List of hazing deaths in the United States

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
In 1905, as Stuart Pierson was being initiated into Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, students sent him to a railroad bridge, which they believed was not in use; however, an unscheduled train arrived, killing Pierson.

This is a list of hazing deaths in the United States. This is not an exhaustive list. An exact list is not available because there is no central system for tracking hazing deaths, and the role of hazing in some deaths is subject to disagreement. Inclusion in this list requires that the incident was described by the media as a hazing-related death. Incidents involving criminal or civil proceedings that did not find a definite link with hazing may still be included if they meet this criterion.

According to the National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention at the University of Maine, hazing is defined as "any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers them, regardless of a person's willingness to participate".[1] Although hazing is often associated with the activities that take place as a prerequisite for joining a group, it can also include activities that take place as an established member, such as the 2011 death of fraternity brother George Desdunes.

There has been at least one university hazing death each year from 1969 to 2021.[2] Over 200 university hazing deaths have occurred since 1838, with 40 deaths between 2007 and 2017 alone.[3] Alcohol poisoning is the biggest cause of death.[3]

  1. ^ "Hazing Research and Prevention". Umaine.edu. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
  2. ^ "Hazing Deaths". Hank Nuwer. 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Hazing deaths on American college campuses remain far too common". The Economist. October 13, 2017.