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Family of hazing victim expands website documenting incidents

WSU freshman Sam Martinez died in 2019. His family has since pushed for tougher rules for Greek organizations.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Before Sam Martinez headed off to Washington State University his mother tried to investigate the fraternity her son hoped to join.

“I used my web search skills and did the best search that I could to find out the good, the bad, and the ugly about Alpha Tau Omega, the fraternity he wanted to join, and I couldn't find anything but the good stuff,” said Jolayne Houtz.

She said she could only find information about recent renovations at the chapter house and the fraternity’s strong alumni support. Weeks later, in the early weeks of the 2019 school year, Martinez, a 19-year-old freshman, died from alcohol poisoning.

Police blamed his death on a fraternity hazing ritual.

Houtz said the family later learned the organization had a history of alcohol and hazing allegations and investigations.

“We had none of that information. Sam had none of that information. It would have made all the difference in the world to our family to have known that ahead of time,” said Houtz.

She and her husband, Hector Martinez, helped get "Sam's Law" passed in Washington state. The law requires colleges to publicly disclose when students have been hazed in Greek organizations, clubs, and sports teams.

They also worked with legislators to strengthen hazing penalties. An incident that results in bodily injury now results in felony charges.

This summer, their foundation, HazingInfo.org, expanded its website documenting hazing investigations at 466 colleges and universities in nine states.

Beliz Ozhan is one of 20 University of Washington students who gathered data for the website.

”Hearing Jolayne’s personal story, and like learning more about the cause, I just really wanted to be part of something bigger than myself,” said Ozhan.

Nam-ho Park, an assistant teaching professor at the University of Washington’s Information School, worked with researchers from the University of Maine to turn the Martinez family’s vision into a publicly accessible resource.

He said the website provides valuable information for parents and students.

”Almost every year somebody has died of hazing, and some years, multiple people have died of hazing, and it's been pretty consistent, and we're hoping that through this website and through the information and through the awareness, we can stop that,” said Park.

Houtz said federal hazing laws requires public disclosure regarding hazing investigations from schools in all 50 U.S. states by the end of 2025.

She hopes the number of schools on the website grows before the fall.

”Summer recruitment is happening right now by many organizations, including fraternities and sororities, but also athletic teams are starting to come together for their camps. Performing arts groups are coming together. So best to know the information ahead of time,” said Houtz.

Sam’s mother is glad the information she could not find is now available at a family’s fingertips.

”I struggle with that every day, knowing that if we had just had that information in our hands, he would still be okay. He would be with us,” said Houtz.

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