PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas — One of Texas’ oldest universities has sought to come to grips in the last year with one of the age-old problems of campus life – hazing. But officials at Prairie View A&M were aware of a problem long before the death of a fraternity pledge during a physically punishing initiation ritual.
Interviews and records reviewed by The Associated Press reveal that the death last October of 20-year-old Donnie Wade II of Dallas was at least the seventh hazing incident in seven years brought to the attention of officials at the historically Black institution 45 miles northwest of Houston.
University administrators said they believe they’ve done everything possible to curb hazing on their campus. Those efforts include suspending offending organizations and conducting annual programs with an anti-hazing message. Since Wade’s death, all student groups have been barred from recruiting new members until an anti-hazing workshop is held next month.
But some experts who have studied college hazing say the number of incidents indicates that the school, part of the Texas A&M University System, may not have been vigilant enough.
“If you have so many incidents that it’s nearly an annual activity, especially something that by nature is secret, you have to acknowledge there’s more going on than you’re probably aware of, and that should prompt action,” said Norm Pollard, dean of students at Alfred University in New York and a leading hazing researcher.
Dr. Ricky Jones, a professor of Pan-African studies at the University of Louisville and the author of a book on hazing by black Greek-letter organizations, said Prairie View’s practice of suspending groups instead of kicking them off campus for good has allowed the problem to fester.
“Schools are falling short if they don’t have a true zero-tolerance policy,” he said.
