Public hazing reports are more frequent at Pitt than at other schools in the state, with accusations including forced fighting and forced consumption of dog food.
Since the 2017-2018 academic year, Pitt has accounted for about 40% of all hazing reports statewide. Additionally, Pitt has had the highest number of public hazing reports in the past year compared to other large universities in the state.
According to Pitt’s 2025 Campus Hazing Transparency Report, there were 15 reports in the past year. There were 12 reports at Penn State, two at the University of Pennsylvania and two at Drexel University. While Pitt and Drexel publish unsubstantiated claims, Penn State and UPenn do not.
The Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law, which the Pennsylvania state legislature passed in 2018, requires colleges and universities to maintain a public report of all hazing violations and establishes a tiered penalty system. More recently, the U.S. Congress passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act in 2024, requiring institutions of higher education to disclose hazing incidents reported to campus security or local police in their annual security report.
Pitt has suspended four organizations and placed five on interim suspension since the 2017-2018 school year. The rationale for suspension is based on the University’s anti-hazing policy.
“The nature of the sanction in any particular case is governed by applicable policy,” University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said.
Most public hazing reports at Pitt are against fraternities and a majority of them are repeat offenders, such as Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Sigma Phi Epsilon has nine hazing allegations from the past four years, including forced fighting under Panther Hollow Bridge in Schenley Park and forced consumption of dog food and vomit. Ben Ford, marketing and communications director for the national organization of Sigma Phi Epsilon, said staff at its headquarters investigated reports of hazing in its Pitt chapter and — consistent with the University’s findings — was not able to corroborate the reports.
“Hazing has no place in our experience,” Ford said. “Should new information emerge and an individual or chapter is found to be responsible for confirmed violations of policy or law, SigEp will respond with swift and appropriate accountability — as our track record shows.”
Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Alpha Epsilon did not respond to requests for comment. Pi Kappa Phi declined to comment.
Pitt hazing prevention includes Fraternity and Sorority Life 101, which teaches new members how to report concerning behavior during recruitment. Additionally, all incoming students are required to complete an online hazing awareness module.
The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Pitt provides training each semester to chapter officers on the effects and consequences of hazing. FSL also requires chapters that host new member education sessions to submit a packet outlining their intake processes.
“This packet allows FSL staff to learn specific details about these sessions and will hold meetings with chapters if there are any questions regarding the sessions,” Stonesifer said.
Evelyn Piazza, whose son Timothy Piazza died from a hazing incident at Penn State in 2017, said schools need to be more proactive and devote more time to hazing education, especially during orientation and towards parents. Since 2017, Piazza and her husband have been advocates against hazing at universities.
“[Parents] really don’t know the extent of it, and they don’t understand the legal ramifications for them if their kid gets involved in hazing somebody,” Piazza said.
Piazza said schools should also have a hazing prevention task force and promote awareness of medical amnesty, so Greek life organizations are more likely to call emergency services in moments of crisis. Overall, she said, university policy should be better enforced.
“I have rarely seen a school throw somebody out or suspend them because they’ve been part of hazing,” Piazza said. “If somebody is violating the basic rules of being a human being then you don’t want them to be a part of your school.”
Many of Pitt’s hazing reports are unsubstantiated. Piazza said she believes universities need to publish unsubstantiated reports because they often point to repeat offenders.
“If you see it often enough with the same group, where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Piazza said.
So far, one fraternity has been charged under the Piazza law, and none under the new national law, which Piazza finds questionable.
“I wonder if police and [district attorneys] and schools really understand and get it, because I don’t know that the law is being used to its fullest extent,” Piazza said.
While Piazza believes national organizations must hold their chapters accountable, she said students should also keep each other in check to maintain the overall reputation of Greek life on campus.
“You need to constantly bring [hazing] up, and have it be a topic of conversation. Chapters should, at every meeting, cover that as a point,” Piazza said.