The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Tuesday that would establish an anti-hazing education program in all Virginia high schools.
Senate Bill 379, introduced by Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-38), would require the Board of Education to develop research-based learning standards and curriculum guidelines for anti-hazing education as part of health and physical education classes. It is mandatory to do so.
BoysCo co-sponsored Adams Law in 2022 in response to the death of Potomac Falls High School graduate Adam Oakes in a hazing incident at Virginia Commonwealth University on February 27, 2021. The law requires universities to provide extensive in-person education and information about hazing. All members and new members of the student body.
Courtney White, Oakes' cousin and an advocate for anti-hazing education, said she worked with Voiceco to create the bill because she felt high school students needed to be informed.
White, who has worked as an educator for the past 18 years, just started her doctoral degree in January 2021. She said her Adam's death changed her entire outlook on herself and she decided to write her doctoral dissertation on her anti-hazing educational curriculum.
She will take a research-based curriculum and begin presenting at high schools in both Loudoun County and surrounding jurisdictions during 2022. She said many times that they were stunned to learn that the majority of the students she presented to did not know what hazing was. .
“We spoke to 300 kids in neighboring departments and none of them had ever heard of it or been educated about it,” she said. “I thought, 'We've got to do something about this.' If they don't learn about it before they get to college, how can we expect to see change?”
She said that through research, they found that 1.5 million high school students become hazy each year.
“Why are we waiting to educate them?” she asked.
She partnered with VoiceCo again to expand her reach.
“For too long, hazing has been accepted as part of education, and that's simply not true,” Boyzko said in the release. “By passing this bill, we are acknowledging and acknowledging that hazing does not start in college. It teaches you to recognize when it happens and to stop it.”
“Education is a powerful tool in the fight against hazing. Through Senate Bill 379, we are not only honoring Adam’s memory, but taking proactive steps to prevent future tragedies. This bill represents hope for a future where hazing does not exist in schools,” White said in the release.
White said the bill requires the inclusion of educational curriculum into high school learning standards. He said that once the law is enacted, the Health and PE SOL will be revised to include the latest standards.
“Unless you make it part of the learning standards and provide instruction, no one will teach you,” she said.
“February 27th marks three years since his passing. Every step we have taken since then honors him and ensures that nothing like this will happen to anyone else in Virginia.” I feel like that's what I want to do.”
Five of the boys charged criminally in Adam's death were from schools within Loudoun County, and four others who were present at the event where he died grew up in the county's school system.
At the Love Like Adam anti-hazing presentation shown at the high school, an 18-minute video is shown showing what happened to Oakes. In the video, viewers are introduced to the five boys involved in his hazing. There is a question and answer session at the end, and the boys rise from various seats in the audience and come to the front.
White said the boys participated in the presentation as part of a plea deal to spread awareness.
To learn more about Adam Oakes and Adam's Law, please visit LoveLikeAdam.com.
