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With students back on campus, the sentencing of Troy Henricksen and Jacob Krinn on charges related to the death of 20-year-old Stone Foltz in March 2021 are a good reminder of the dangers that come from hazing.
Henricksen, 24, of Grove City, Ohio, and Krinn, 21, of Delaware, Ohio, were each sentenced to six weeks in jail for their roles in Foltz's death after a Pi Kappa Alpha initiation event at Bowling Green State University.
What happened to Foltz could happen to anyone; and it is essential parents talk to their students about the dangers of binge-drinking and giving in to hazing pressures.
Henricksen and Krinn were among those who convinced Foltz it was necessary for him to drink an entire bottle of alcohol. Pi Kappa Alpha "brothers" then dumped him at his apartment, where a roommate found him. Foltz died three days after he was put on life support.
Foltz's parents called those fraternity members' actions "cruel, senseless, and destructive -- to their lives and ours."
Parents, arm your college students with the tools they need to defend themselves against hazing pressures; and remind those who might be in a position to do the hazing that they must be better than that. Universities and national "Greek" organizations must institute zero tolerance policies against such behavior.
No one should die because they wanted to belong. To perpetuate such a perverse tradition is, indeed, criminal and deadly.