Max Gruver died because of fraternity hazing by members of the Louisiana Beta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at LSU. Two dates that will forever shape the history of Phi Delta Theta are September 14, 2017, the day Max died due to hazing, and January 8, 2020, when the Max Gruver Foundation announced a partnership with the Fraternity.
Since it was announced in January 2020, Steve and Rae Ann Gruver have shared Max’s story within and beyond Phi Delta Theta with hopes of preventing tragedy and putting a stop to hazing. As the work has continued, the partnership has come to realize that with more than 15.1 million high school students at 23,000 high schools in the United States, anti-hazing conversations and education need to begin before students enter college. To educate and prevent hazing at an earlier point in students’ lives, the partnership has undertaken the effort to present the program Take Action: Building New Traditions to high school students across North America.
Take Action is a no-cost, 60 minute program that shares Max’s story and provides peer-to-peer education from current college students who share their experiences in clubs, teams, and organizations. During it, students are empowered by understanding what hazing is, how it starts, why it occurs, and identify positive approaches to help make better decisions, build new traditions, and STOP HAZING.
Max Gruver Foundation and Phi Delta Theta are proud sponsors of the Hazing Prevention Institute and ask its attendees associated with high schools to help bring this program to their community. If you are able to help with this or introduce us to someone who can, please go to www.Stopthehazing-takeaction.com to fill out a form and someone will follow-up with next steps.
