Emotional Parents' Plea for Change After Hazing Led 20-Year-Old Son to Drink Himself to Death
Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch/USA Today From left: Cory Foltz and Shari Foltz
The parents of a 20-year-old Ohio college student who drank himself to death during a fraternity's hazing ritual earlier this year tearfully testified in front of lawmakers on Wednesday, urging them to pass an anti-hazing bill to prevent more deaths.
Stone Foltz, a sophomore at Bowling Green State University, died in the hospital on March 7, three days after an off-campus Pi Kappa Alpha initiation event where he and other fraternity pledges were encouraged to consume excessive amounts of alcohol.
Foltz died from alcohol poisoning after he drank an entire fifth of liquor, his father, Cory, told lawmakers, according to The Toledo Blade.
An investigative report, conducted on behalf of the university, said Foltz's blood alcohol content before he died was .35 — four times the legal limit.
The report noted there was an apparent "tradition" at the initiation event, where new members met their "Bigs," that the new members would need to try and finish their liquor at the encouragement of others in the fraternity.
"Stone Foltz was apprehensive about the event, and he told non-PKA friends that he felt he had to drink an entire bottle of liquor or he could not join PKA," the report stated.
One witness told investigators that at the party, Foltz finished his entire bottle of bourbon in 20 minutes.
"Stone thought these guys were his friends, because they were soon to be his brothers," his mother, Shari Foltz, told lawmakers on Wednesday. "He trusted them, and yet none of these brothers were around to help. In fact, they just took him to his apartment, closed the door, and left him behind and never saw him again."
In April, eight people — including seven other students — were charged in Foltz's death.
Charges against one of them were subsequently dismissed, according to the Associated Press. The other seven have pleaded not guilty.
In addition, 21 students were charged with infractions of the university's code of conduct.
But Cory and Shari Foltz testified in front of a state Senate committee on Wednesday, arguing that current legal punishments for hazing crimes are too weak and asking Ohio lawmakers to pass Collin's Law.
"We need the law to be passed," Cory later told the Blade.
Gofundme Stone Foltz
Cory held back tears during his testimony as he described his son's death.
"Our son will never come through the door of our home to give us a hug and a kiss," Cory said, choking up.
"If hazing causes death or serious injuries, these kids need to know their behavior will follow them for a long time," Cory testified, calling for "stronger misdemeanors for hazing."
The school's investigative report said Foltz was initially found by his roommate passed out at his apartment after three other fraternity members took him home and left. The roommate and three other of Foltz's friends were "concerned" by his condition and called 911.
Collin's Law would increase the legal penalty against those who conduct hazing and create an "aggravated hazing" felony which could result in up to eight years in prison, according to the Blade.
The bill also encourages students to report hazing incidents — something Foltz's parents told lawmakers would decrease the likelihood another student would die from fraternity rituals.
The Blade reports the anti-hazing bill is named after Collin Wiant, an 18-year-old Ohio University student who died in 2018 as a result of a hazing incident. His mother, Kathleen, testified in March.
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"We don't know how widespread hazing is because the only time we hear about hazing is when there's a death, and it makes the news," Kathleen told lawmakers then, asking them to think about the impact on students' mental health even if they survive extreme hazing scares.
"What about all the hazing that doesn't make the headlines?" Kathleen said.
Earlier this month, local TV station WCMH reported that Shari filed a lawsuit against the fraternity and the university, saying that her son was "subjected to excessive hazing."
Stone's 17-year-old roommate, Wade McKenzie, also testified on Wednesday, telling lawmakers he thinks harsher laws are needed to cut down on hazing incidents.
"I have firsthand witnessed hazing taking a life," McKenzie said, according to the Blade. "Hazing is being treated as a minor crime but can lead to death. Therefore, it should not be treated as a minor crime."
