WCCO News
By Susie Jones and Lindsey Peterson
A Twin Cities family is celebrating the passage of a bill in Congress called the "Stop Campus Hazing Act". The bill could become the first federal law to address hazing across the country.
"You know, it's one step further to putting a stop to all the hazing that's going on across the country," says Mary Pat Santulli.
She still vividly remembers getting the call in October of 2021. Her son Danny was taking part in a "pledge" ceremony at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at University of Missouri and was forced to drink massive amounts of alcohol.
Santulli passed out and no one noticed him until his lips turned blue and lost oxygen to the brain. He then went into cardiac arrest. Danny suffered damage to different parts of his brain according to his father Tom. He is now unable to walk, talk, or see. He now lives at home with his parents in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
The anti-hazing bill would also require people to see which infractions that frat houses have had previously, helping parents make more informed decisions.
"They were on probation twice, double probation, and they weren't supposed to be having any type of events at the house," explains his mother Mary Pat. "Which, we had no idea."
She adds that she's grateful that a bipartisan bill passed in the U.S House which was also championed by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar (DFL).
“When parents send their kids away to college, they expect they will get a good education and make new friends. Unfortunately, hazing is a dangerous—and at times deadly—reality, and we must work to end it,” said Klobuchar in 2023 when originally introducing the bill. “Our bipartisan legislation will improve hazing prevention efforts on college campuses as well as reporting of hazing incidents to make sure we have the information we need to stop this abuse and keep students safe.”
The Santulli's are struggling to go through those traumatic events again, but they see it as an opportunity to help others.
"As difficult as it is to talk about and relive all the events that happened, we do just want to just spread awareness and, you know, hope this never happens to another family," Mary Pat told WCCO.
Danny is now doing a lot of therapy, and even showing some signs of improvement.
"He's very, a lot more in-tune with his environment and I just feel like every day is getting stronger," Mary Pat explains. "It doesn't matter if it takes years to improve. We're just, we're always here for him and we just want to love him and support him in any way we can."
The bipartisan Stop Campus Hazing Act will increase transparency and improve reporting processes at educational institutions across the nation.
The National Study of Student Hazing found that more than half of college students involved in extracurricular clubs, athletic teams, and organizations experience hazing. Since 2000, there have been more than 50 hazing-related deaths.
