By Sheridan White
LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE--Louisiana lawmakers are advancing a new effort to crack down on hazing on college campuses.
The House Education Committee pushed forward a bill Wednesday by Rep. Vanessa LaFleur, D-Baton Rouge, to strengthen accountability for campus organizations involved in dangerous practices.
The proposal, House Bill 636, comes with the backing of New Orleans City Councilman Jason Hughes, a former legislator and current chairman of the Caleb Wilson Hazing Prevention Task Force.
The bill is in direct response to the death of Southern University student Caleb Wilson, whose parents, Urania and Corey Wilson, attended the committee meeting in support of the measure.
Wilson died following a hazing incident involving repeated blows to the chest, an event that led to felony hazing and manslaughter charges and highlighted gaps in enforcement, deterrence and institutional accountability.
LaFleur and Hughes are pushing for stricter consequences after Wilson’s death and other incidents have exposed weakness in the state’s current anti-hazing framework.
At the heart of the legislation is a shift in focus. Existing laws, such as the Max Gruver Act, named for an LSU freshman who died from fraternity hazing in 2017, primarily penalize individuals. HB 636 targets entire organizations.
Under the proposal, universities could impose permanent bans on groups responsible for hazing when it results in a death.
“Prevention requires more than just law in the books,” said LaFleur. “It requires awareness, accountability and consistent enforcement.”
Wilson’s mother said her son’s “life was cut short and it shouldn’t have been. I just don’t want to see another mother, or family, go through something like this.”
Hughes emphasized the broader cultural issue the bill seeks to address. “We cannot value Greek life more than we value human life,” he said.
His taskforce sought justice and recommendations on solutions to the hazing issue, which led to his partnership with LaFleur.
If it makes it into law, HB 636 would apply not just to fraternities and sororities but also to sports teams, clubs, bands and other student organizations.
The bill would require the organizations to report hazing incidents to the universities, and it would require the school to post its disciplinary actions on websites.
It also would ensure that organizations could not simply re-form under a different name after a serious incident. Instead, universities would be empowered to enforce long-term or permanent penalties, closing loopholes that have historically allowed groups to evade meaningful consequences.
The legislation builds on previous reforms. In 2018, lawmakers passed the Max Gruver Act, and in 2019, additional measures elevated hazing from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Still, supporters of HB 636 argue those laws did not go far enough.
“In 2017, Max Gruver died… Now we’re back here because the same thing happened, but a little worse,” said Mrs. Wilson.
For the Wilson family, the bill represents both justice and prevention. They believe Louisiana has the opportunity to set a national standard in combating hazing by holding organizations, not just individuals, fully accountable.
HB 636 ultimately advanced without opposition, signaling strong bipartisan support and a shared recognition that stronger safeguards are needed to prevent future tragedies.
