Almost six years ago, Ohio University student Collin Wiant was a victim of hazing in the unofficial annex house of Sigma Pi, located at 45 Mill Street. Wiant’s family faced OU in a wrongful death lawsuit following his death. On August 1, 2024, a Court of Claims judge ruled that OU was not liable.
At the time of his death, Wiant was a pledge at OU’s Sigma Pi Fraternity (Epsilon chapter). According to court documents, Wiant received a bid from Sigma Pi in September 2018, along with 10 other young men, three of whom dropped out of the process. The documents also detail the abuse of the pledge process the men went through.
“During the pledging process, Collin Wiant was subjected to physical abuse, verbal abuse, mental abuse, sleep deprivation, forced drug and alcohol use and other forms of hazing intended to humiliate and demean him,” the filing reads.
Inside the unofficial annex house at 45 Mill Street is where much of the hazing occurred, according to court documents. (Pledges were allegedly subjected to being whipped with a belt, pelted with eggs and forced to do wall sits, among other things. Sigma Pi Fraternity, International Inc. said they are without knowledge that such allegations were true and denied them in the proceedings from 2019.
Wiant died on November 18, 2018, inside the annex house of asphyxiation due to ingesting nitrous oxide shortly after arriving. According to court documents, the drug was supplied by the fraternity. The document also said the drugs were introduced to Wiant during his time as a pledge.
OU expelled Sigma Pi permanently on April 11, 2019, for hazing and other violations of the Student Code of Conduct. The family suspected Wiant’s death was connected to the fraternity and filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OU in June 2021.
In a letter documenting the University Hearing Board’s rationale, they found the fraternity in violation of ten charges related to hazing, damage to property, harmful behavior, alcoholic beverages and drug violations.
OU’s anti-hazing policy states, “Ohio University acknowledges the vast array of groups and organizations with different purposes and processes for affiliation. The university supports tradition within organizations that match OHIO’s core values. Hazing is antithetical to our institutional mission and has no place at Ohio University.”
With this policy in place, the question of the school’s responsibility for Wiant’s wrongful death was left to the courts to decide.
Court of Claims Judge Lisa Sadler wrote in the latest ruling that even though OU had an anti-hazing policy, which was instituted at the time of Wiant’s death, there was nothing the university could do to monitor Wiant’s off-campus activities. The ruling releases OU of any responsibility regarding Wiant’s death.
Dan Pittman, senior director of communication for Ohio University, shared the school’s official response to the ruling.
“We are pleased that the judge has granted the university’s motion for summary judgment, finding that Ohio University had no liability in the tragic death of Collin Wiant,” the university says. “Ohio University has always and will continue to educate our students and ensure their success throughout their time at OHIO.”
