Jolayne Houtz: Hazing Prevention in Fraternity and Sorority Life

HazingInfo.org is a partnership between StopHazing, the University of Maine, and the University of Washington Information School, along with founders Jolayne Houtz and Hector Martinez, who lost their son, Sam, to hazing in 2019. Sam Martinez was a 19-year-old business student at Washington State University in 2019 when he was hazed to death just weeks into his freshman year. Sam was funny and spontaneous, a loyal friend, a gifted athlete, a youth coach and a loving son and brother. Jolayne and Hector launched HazingInfo.org in partnership with students from the University of Washington Information School to ensure incoming college students and their families have current, accurate information about student organizations so they can make informed decisions about whether to join. Jolayne and Hector are actively working to change policies at the state and national levels to expand education and training about hazing prevention and to increase transparency about and accountability for hazing incidents.

In episode 566 of the Fraternity Foodie Podcast, we find out more about Sam Martinez, what concerns Jolayne had when Sam said he wanted to join a Fraternity, what information Jolayne was able to find about the fraternities on campus through her own research, what happened to Sam on the day he died in 2019, what Jolayne was able to determine from her investigation into hazing reporting, how she felt when the Stop Campus Hazing Act passed into federal law, what are the warning signs of hazing, how we can encourage more college campuses to be transparent about hazing on their campus, how we can get students to come forward and report hazing, how students can honor Sam’s memory, and what gives Jolayne hope for the future.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMF3yJWmS9M