Hector Martinez and Jolayne Houtz still grieve for their son.
Sam Martinez died in November 2019 of acute alcohol poisoning while pledging a fraternity at Washington State University, where he was a freshman. He was 19.
Now, three years later, Sam’s parents are supporting two bills in the state Legislature that would toughen the penalties for hazing and educate campus groups about the dangerous practice.
Martinez and Houtz testified recently before the House College & Workforce Development Committee, which was discussing one of the two bills.
“I’m here today as a father who still grieves over his lost son,” said Hector Martinez via Zoom. He described his son as a loyal, athletic and kind person who stood up to bullies on the school bus and loved volunteering in his community. A graduate of Newport High School, Sam Martinez hoped to study business and entrepreneurship at WSU.
One bill, HB 1751, would make updates and clarifications to the state’s 30-year-old hazing laws by redefining the term itself. The new bill would forbid any act “forcing a person to consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug, or other substance which subjects the person to risk of such harm as part of an initiation or recruitment process.” It would also now include athletic teams, along with sororities and fraternities, as a type of student organization forbidden from hazing.
The measure, modeled after an Ohio anti-hazing law passed last July, emphasizes education and transparency. It would require all institutions of higher learning in Washington to hold mandatory anti-hazing training and require all students participating in a student organization, athletic team or school-sanctioned living group to attend. The bill would also require universities to maintain a prominent website detailing all past and present hazing investigations. The bill also requires fraternities and sororities to notify the university when they open a hazing investigation.
“Fraternities have proven again and again and again that they are not up to the task of putting an end to hazing by themselves,” testified Houtz, a former Seattle Times reporter. “I can’t rest until we put in place safeguards to ensure no other family goes through the hell of losing their child to hazing.”
Sam Martinez was found dead Nov. 12, 2019, the morning after Alpha Tau Omega’s “big/little” night. Pullman police originally recommended hazing charges for two former fraternity members, one of whom was Martinez’s “big,” a Greek life tradition in which older members act as big brothers to younger pledges.
Martinez’s death was classified as an accident by the Whitman County coroner. His family filed a wrong death lawsuit in 2020 against the university, the fraternity, and its WSU chapter. As a result of the tragedy, ATO lost its WSU recognition for six years and admitted to violating the university’s standards of conduct.
Houtz and Hector Martinez’s testimony last week was joined by that of their son’s childhood best friend, Will Carlson.
“Even if this bill has the opportunity to prevent maybe just one person from having to go through what Sam did, I think it’ll be worth it,” said Carlson. “If this bill is passed into law, I will be able to remember that the last thing my friends and I were able to do for Sam was help make the world at least a little bit better.”
HB 1751 is accompanied by another proposed piece of legislation, HB 1758, which would reclassify hazing to a gross misdemeanor, or, in the case of significant bodily harm, a felony.
Paytan Murray, the president of the University of Washington Panhellenic Association, spoke in favor of the bill on behalf of the UW’s 18 sororities.
“I am in complete support of more explicitly outlining and updating the hazing policy for all living community groups across the state,” Murray said in an email. “My highest priority is the safety of members in this community and any legislation which further works to increase transparency for the greater Seattle area, with our goal being to completely eradicate hazing, has my full support and the subsequent support of my executive board.”
The University of Washington, represented by Associate Director of State Relations Morgan Hickel, voiced its support for the measure’s aims, but expressed concerns with some of the new requirements, citing the UW’s large student body as a barrier to the anti-hazing education programs the university would be required to run. Hickel also mentioned the UW’s Confidential Advocates program, which provides resources and advice to students who have been impacted by sexual harassment or assault. According to the program’s website, confidential advocates are not mandated to report hazing to the police or the university, but should the bill pass they would be required to do so.
“A student may not feel safe or comfortable seeking help or guidance from a University employee if they know it will automatically trigger a report and subsequent investigation,” said Hickel in an email. “We must ensure that any measure that could further hinder reporting on hazing or other crimes be stringently considered with the victim’s safety and wellbeing as the top priority.”
The university is also concerned that the bill would alienate the UW’s Greek organizations, discouraging them from registering with the school’s Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life. According to Hickel, Greek organizations are private entities and the university thoroughly reviews regulations that may unintentionally discourage them from registering at the UW.
Representatives from WSU’s Center for Fraternity & Sorority Life or the UW’s Interfraternity Council did not respond to a request for comment.
Gary Jenkins, an officer representing the Pullman Police Department, also testified before the committee, describing the Greek scene at WSU and the school’s lack of transparency.
“There’s no requirement for colleges or fraternities and sororities to publicly report sanctions,” Jenkins said. “How do students and parents know which fraternity or sorority is safe? They don’t.”
Jenkins’ comments echo the sentiments of Houtz and Martinez, as well as testimony from Kathleen Wiant, a mother from Columbus, Ohio, whose son Collin died from hazing three years ago. After Collin announced he was pledging a fraternity, Wiant described her cursory search of the organization that didn’t reveal concerning information. The family didn’t know that just months prior, another pledge at Ohio University had been sent to the hospital, requiring eight stitches as a result of hazing.
“Armed with this information, Collin would not have pledged that fraternity and Collin would be alive today,” Wiant said during her testimony.
Even parents who have knowledge of or previous experience in Greek life, as Wiant did, can find the system confusing and opaque. First-generation parents find themselves even more in the dark.
“I think about all the parents like me, first-generation immigrants to this country. We don’t have any experience with fraternities or the Greek system,” said Martinez. He cited language and cultural differences as barriers to clear communication and described the importance of parents having access to information that will help them and their children make informed decisions.
For the Martinez family, advocating for these bills and raising awareness of hazing-related violence is part of the healing process, and it is in Sam’s memory that they work to make sure no other family in the state of Washington loses a child to hazing.
“It’s about making a difference in somebody else’s life because of what we had to go through, and trying to prevent that,” said Houtz. “It’s hard to make something good come out of something so awful. But if we can do that, I don’t know. Maybe we will hurt just a little bit less.”
