- Hazing research
- Sam Martinez
- 3 mins
Your gift to fund the new National Study of Student Hazing goes twice as far in November
I was cleaning out our house recently, getting ready for an upcoming move, when I found a small red travel bag with the word “Sam” stitched in blue letters on the front.
The bag had fallen behind a drawer in Sam's bathroom, a gift from Santa the year he turned 6. It used to hold his toothbrush, a comb, sunscreen that he sometimes remembered to apply. Now it holds precious memories of our family trips.
The surprise family Christmas trip to Disneyland. The camping trips and sleep-away camps. The mission trips our family led each summer in Mexico.
I sat on the bathroom floor and cradled the little bag in my arms for the longest time.
Honoring Sam's memory through research and advocacy
Today marks six years since Sam was hazed to death by his fraternity “brothers,” just weeks into his freshman year at Washington State University.
Since then, we have joined forces with the nation’s leading hazing researcher, Dr. Elizabeth Allan, to try to prevent any other family from facing the trauma of losing a child to hazing.
Our family's organization, HazingInfo, is proud to partner with Allan and the Hazing Prevention Research Lab she leads at the University of Maine.
Together, we are working to raise $500,000 by December 31 to fund a new National Study of Student Hazing.
In Sam’s memory, will you join us in the fight against hazing and make a gift today to support this lifesaving research?
New hazing study launches next spring
Allan and her team of researchers will work with up to 70 US colleges and universities to launch a survey of thousands of students and campus professionals in spring 2026, asking about their experiences with hazing.
It's been nearly 18 years since the last comprehensive study of student hazing, also led by Allan. In that time, at least 87 students have died from hazing, including Sam.
One death from hazing is heartbreaking. Eighty-seven deaths since 2008 is intolerable.
The data and insights from the new study will create the foundation for evidence-based hazing prevention strategies and training programs that are grounded in the real-life experiences of today's college students.
Your gift goes twice as far in November
This month, your gift in support of the Hazing Prevention Research Lab will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to a total of $25,000, thanks to generous hazing prevention advocates and families who have lost children to hazing.
The Lab is the nation’s first independent research center dedicated to understanding and preventing hazing. Allan's seminal study of student hazing in 2008 revealed that hazing was much more widespread than previously known.
Since then, the rise of social media, the pandemic, and increasing concerns about student mental health have profoundly changed the college experience.
Data to transform campus hazing culture
Sam should have turned 25 years old in October. Every day, I wonder what his life — and mine — would have been like if he had lived.
Sam's death was entirely preventable, just like the deaths of all 87 young people killed by hazing since 2008.
With up-to-date information, we can stop hazing, empower students and families, change campus hazing culture, and help leaders make smart decisions about how to prevent hazing.
Please join us in the fight to end hazing for good.
