Virginia Commonwealth University agreed to pay $995,000 to the family of student Adam Oakes. Adam Oakes died of alcohol poisoning at a fraternity last year, and his death sparked renewed scrutiny in Greek organizations across the country.
In a statement Friday, the university said it had agreed to make changes to its fraternities and sororities, including requiring that alcohol served at events come from a licensed third-party vendor, in addition to payment. Stated. Provide more haze prevention training. And in 2021, her 19-year-old her freshman, Mr. Oaks, was found dead on February 27, as a day of remembrance for Mr. Oaks and for haze prevention. I dedicate
“No amount of money can bring Adam back,” his father, Eric Oakes, said Monday.
“As long as we keep praying to wake up from our nightmare, it won’t happen,” he said. It just means we’re making changes to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Oakes’ father said the family had not filed a lawsuit against the school. Virginia Commonwealth University said in a statement that it will soon begin the process of creating a memorial to Oakes on campus.
The fraternity has come under heavy scrutiny in recent years after a number of high-profile incidents that drew the ire of anti-haze activists and the victims’ families, who claimed that the Greek way of life was dangerous and shrouded in secrecy. It has been placed.
Oakes’ family said the young man’s death occurred at an off-campus party at the Delta Chi Fraternity, where he was handed a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and told to drink it.
VCU permanently banned Delta Chi from its campus last year after the university hired a consulting firm to study Greek culture. His Dyad Strategies for the company said in a report that while the Greek organization at the university wasn’t an anomaly compared to other university organizations, VCU still struggled to address concerns about binge drinking and haze. says.
Last September, 11 people were arrested in connection with Oakes’ death. His father said six of his were convicted or pleaded guilty, and charges against the remaining five of him were dropped.
As part of the plea bargain, the six convicted people will travel to colleges across the country to discuss how their actions that night have affected their lives and the lives of others, according to Eric Oakes. . He would discuss how his life was ruined by what the man did or didn’t do that night.
“No one is better suited to talk to a student than the people of his age who annoyed Adam that night,” he said.
He added that the family did not want the six men to serve time in prison.
“I don’t want this to happen again to other students or families,” he said.