29 SC fraternity brothers know what happened when Tucker Hipps died. Will they tell?

The parents of a Clemson University student who died seven years ago during an early morning pledge run pleaded with his fraternity brothers to come forward and tell them what happened.

Cindy and Gary Hipps held a press conference Wednesday, the anniversary of their son Tucker’s death.

“I’ve forgiven them,” Cindy Hipps said. “I would love to tell them that.”

The Hippses were joined by Daniel Catullo, a documentary filmmaker who has included Tucker Hipps’ story in a film about fraternities, hazing and the code of silence that surrounds their activities.

Catullo, who was a member of the same fraternity Tucker was pledging, Sigma Phi Epsilon, said the Hipps case was the only one in which no fraternity brother would talk about what happened. He said he has pleaded with them as a fraternity brother through phone calls and emails to tell what they know.

“Clemson is better than this,” Catullo said. “We’ve been blocked every step of the way.”

He said 29 fraternity members were there that day, and all 60 members know what happened.

They are men now, possibly fathers, who should no longer wrestle with their consciences about that day, he said.

“We’re still not seeing that compassionate side,” Catullo said.

Catullo also said Clemson President Jim Clements has not returned his calls, even as all the other college presidents have agreed to be interviewed for the film.

“We’re going to figure this out,” Catullo said.

Oconee County Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Dixon said at the press conference the Hipps case remains open and is being reinvestigated with “fresh eyes.”

“What we’re looking for is the truth,” Dixon said. “We won’t stop until we find the truth.”

Fraternity members have declined to talk to law enforcement.

Helen Westmoreland of Oconee County Crimestoppers announced a $50,000 reward for information in the case.

What is known about Hipps’ death is that after some sort of altercation with an older fraternity member, Hipps slipped from a guard rail on the Highway 93 bridge, hitting his head on rocks in Lake Hartwell. No fraternity member reported him missing for hours.

Cindy and Gary Hipps have crusaded for fraternity safety in the years since. Their work resulted in the Tucker Hipps Transparency Act in 2016. The act requires public schools to report investigations of student organizations.

Fox Carolina reported Tuesday night that Kappa Alpha Order at Clemson was being investigated by its national office after a report of hazing.

Gary Hipps said he and his wife have learned a lot about fraternities in the years since their son died.

“There’s definitely room for improvement,” he said. “When you have youth and autonomy, it’s a tragedy waiting to happen.”

He called the code of silence “misguided allegiance.”

Catullo said the Mexican mobs and Bloods and Crips gangs have less of a code of silence than fraternities.

He is hopeful his film will lead to reform and possibly shutting down fraternities that break the rules.

“This is not brotherly love,” he said.

Cindy and Gary Hipps both decried the fact that their son has come to be defined by how he died.

Cindy Hipps said the last time she spoke to her son was the day before he died, and his last words to her were, “I love you, too, Mom.”

She has that, among memories of his big hugs and him coming through the garage door into the house and calling for her, to hold onto.