Answer Key
5. The Chad Meredith Act, Florida’s hazing law, was passed by the State legislature in 2005 after a tragic incident in 2001. The organization Chad Meredith was joining held no activities on the evening of the incident, yet the organization was found responsible for hazing and ordered to pay more than $10 million to his family. [True or False]
- True.
The circumstances surrounding Chad Meredith’s death and hazing are: (a) Mr. Meredith was joining a social fraternity that was in good standing at the University of Miami; (b) He and several members of the organization drank alcohol, and then while still intoxicated, tried to swim across a lake near campus; (c) Mr. Meredith drowned in six feet of water; (d) The fraternity had not sponsored any official fraternity activities that evening, nor were members of the fraternity’s executive board present at the incident. Although, the fraternity officers protested that the incident was not a fraternity-sanctioned event, a jury found otherwise, and awarded the deceased student’s family a $12.6 million verdict in a negligence suit based on hazing.
All members of student organizations need to be educated on the consequences of hazing. It should be emphasized that all members hold the future of their organization in their hands when they participate in hazing activities.
| 
