By: Julia Sipelis & Valentin Albouze
Brian Kiersten, Fraternity Leader of Phi Kappa Rho at the University of Minnesota, was charged with Manslaughter of the second degree. A gone wrong “Water Ritual” took place on the night of September 10th, 2023, and resulted in the death of Fraternity Pledge Matthew McKenzie, following extreme overhydration causing bloating and unconsciousness with death following shortly after. This case represents the latest in a series of illegal and harmful hazing incidents, prompting a response from students and school administrations nationwide. How are these reckless and potentially deadly hazing practices still allowed to happen?
Quoted from the Pledgemaster, the tradition goes as follows: “We will drink a large amount of water (1 gallon) following incorrectly answering a frat trivia question.” Except, drinking extreme amounts of water in a short period without engaging in intense physical activity is lethal: human kidneys are not designed to filter or flush such a large volume of water. Common sense should dictate that such practices are inherently dangerous, even with a lack of previous incidents in the history of the fraternity. However, they remain widespread throughout colleges in the United States.
The justice that innocent young McKenzie deserved was quickly swept under the rug after Kiersten’s defense team fed the jury a misleading statement, stating that “Brian followed long-standing traditions” and that “[McKenzie] made the decision to continue” for the duration of the water ceremony. However, even when the defendant explicitly testified that the hazing ceremony was optional and that the pledges could leave at any time, Jacob Johnson, a witness on behalf of the prosecutor, explained that leaving a hazing event as a pledge is like “social suicide”. With both McKenzie’s passion for pledging Phi Kappa Rho, and the social scrutiny of leading a hazing event, it was clear that McKenzie was not in a comfortable position to remove himself from this danger.
The verdict of this case is morally wrong as it dismisses coercion in hazing, ignores Kiersten’s negligence, and allows harmful traditions to override accountability, denying justice for McKenzie’s preventable death. Throughout the U.S., students like Brian are constantly being put at risk for the sake of joining a fraternity. No excuse will make up for the lives lost due to these avoidable actions.
If it wasn’t clear before, we want to make our point explicit: hazing should be illegal. The failure to recognize the inherent danger of such practices not only highlights the disregard for human safety on behalf of the Pledgemaster and the fraternity leader but also exemplifies the extreme nature of such fraternity practices. With stricter laws against hazing to protect innocent students in America, countless deaths can be prevented. If you’re with us on this issue, take action against these hazardous practices.
Do this for Matthew. Do this to ensure that victims receive the justice they deserve.