Nineteenth century writer Charles Dudley Warner once wrote, “Politics make strange bedfellows.”

This means that sometimes for the greater good (or evil), unusual and unexpected alliances are formed. This is precisely what we are seeing in the fusion between the parents of several deceased college hazing victims, including those at Penn State University, and Judson Horras, president and CEO of the North American Interfraternity Conference. Horras also has enlisted the support and cooperation of Carole Jones, president and CEO of the National Panhellenic Conference.

Among them, they represent almost 100 fraternities and sororities throughout the country.

Give a lot of credit for this major breakthrough to James and Evelyn Piazza of Lebanon, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, parents of Timothy Piazza, whose shocking death at a fraternity party at Penn State in February 2017 touched off a demand for major reforms in Greek life.

Piazza was a 19-year-old sophomore engineering student who was pledging the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. On Feb. 2, 2017, while participating in hazing rituals at the fraternity house, Piazza was encouraged to drink large amounts of alcohol on an empty stomach.

While in an intoxicated state, Piazza fell down the basement steps twice and was knocked unconscious. During the next 12 hours, he remained in an injured state and suffered what proved to be fatal injuries as his fraternity brothers pondered how to handle the situation, then tried to cover up their lack of action. Piazza died in a hospital the next day from brain trauma and other injuries.

The irony of all of this is that the fraternity was supposed to be alcohol-free after being suspended in 2009.

Three months after Piazza’s death, an investigating grand jury recommended action against 18 fraternity members, eight of whom were charged with involuntary manslaughter and the rest with multiple offenses including hazing. The fraternity was also charged, and the college shut it down.

Charges against most of those charged were dismissed. Earlier this year, one fraternity member pleaded guilty to four counts of hazing and five counts of participating in unlawful acts. Another member was sentenced to three months of house arrest after pleading guilty to nine misdemeanor charges, including four counts of hazing. He also was sentenced to 27 months of probation and assessed a fine, court costs and ordered to make restitution.

Earlier this month, the Piazza family and the fraternity reached a settlement which includes an undisclosed amount of cash and a commitment to require all 139 chapters of the fraternity nationwide to be alcohol and substance free by August 2020. The settlement also required the fraternity for the first time to endorse publicly an approach to end hazing injuries and deaths.

The top priority for the Piazzas is to have the “Timothy Piazza anti-hazing bill” adopted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The bill was passed in the Senate during the past session but not in the House of Representatives. Sponsors will reintroduce the bill at the start of the new session in December.

The bill would create tiers for hazing. Hazing resulting in serious bodily injury or death would be a third-degree felony, which could include fines of up to $15,000 and imprisonment for up to seven years. Hazing resulting in bodily injury would be a third-degree misdemeanor, which could include fines of up to $2,500 and imprisonment for up to one year. Other lesser hazing incidents would be considered summary offenses.

The legislation defines hazing as “coercing an individual to participate in any illegal activity … including the use of drugs and alcohol to inflict physical or emotional harm or the use of other forces such as whipping, beating or extreme embarrassment.”

I am encouraged by the actions taken by the Piazzas and the parents of other hazing victims, but pardon my skepticism. There have been other determined efforts after previous high-profile hazing deaths, yet the drinking and the hazing still go on. To expect college students to refrain from drinking and using drugs at fraternity and sorority events might be wishful thinking, even if the organizations officially ban these substances.

What must accompany these changes is a culture makeover among college students, who view drinking as a rite of passage rather than a potential killer. For that to occur will require time, patience and re-education.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com