ALBANY, NEW YORK(TIP): Assemblyman David I. Weprin (D – Fresh Meadows, Richmond Hill) announced passage of legislation prohibiting physical contact or activity in any organization’s initiating ceremony. Introduced in 2014, after the hazing death of Michael Deng at Baruch College, A5200 aims to decrease the amount of dangerous hazing incidents that occur in New York each year.
Deng, who was pledging the Baruch College chapter of Pi Delta Psi when he died during a December 2013 fraternity retreat at a house in Pennsylvania, was subjected to a hazing ritual known as ‘glass ceiling’, in which he suffered a massive head injury after he was blindfolded and forced to lug a knapsack loaded with 20 pounds of sand as fraternity members repeatedly took him down.
Passage of Weprin’s bill follows a November 2017 Pennsylvania court ruling finding Pi Delta Psi Inc. guilty of involuntary manslaughter, hazing, and aggravated assault, as well as the January 2018 sentencing of 4 of 37 individuals charged with aggravated assault, hazing and murder in Pennsylvania after Deng’s death.
“The best way for us to prevent hazing is to ensure that no student is ever put in a situation where their safety is in jeopardy,” said Assemblyman David I. Weprin. “By prohibiting reckless physical conduct and physical activities during initiation ceremonies, we can protect students and other individuals from the substantial risks caused by hazing. There is no better way to honor the death of Michael Deng, one of my constituents, by ensuring that this will never happen to another student again.”