‘UNSPEAKABLE PAIN’

College Settles Fraternity Pledge’s Hazing Death for Nearly $1 Million

Adam Oakes, a fraternity pledge to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Delta Chi chapter, died after being ordered to drink a 40-shot bottle of whiskey.

The family of a 19-year-old man who died after a fraternity hazing incident at Virginia Commonwealth University last year will receive nearly $1 million from the school, with a Fairfax County judge approving the settlement late last week. Adam Oakes died of acute alcohol poisoning on Feb. 27, 2021, with a police investigation finding that he’d been ordered by members of the Delta Chi fraternity to drink a 40-shot bottle of whiskey. In addition to the $995,000 payment, the university agreed to impose significant reforms on the campus’ fraternities and sororities, including prohibiting alcohol at events attended by new members of Greek life. “Adam… had a tremendous future ahead of him and his senseless death brought unspeakable pain and tragedy to all who knew him,” the school and Oakes’ family said in a joint statement, going on to call the changes “a blueprint to foster a safer and healthier community for students who are part of fraternities and sororities.”