Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina has signed into law a measure that requires the state’s public colleges and universities to publish reports of conduct violations involving alcohol, drugs, sexual assault, and hazing at fraternities and sororities, WYFF reported.
The law, known as the Tucker Hipps Transparency Act, will take effect at the beginning of the 2016-17 academic year. Ms. Haley, a Republican, signed it on Thursday.
The measure is named for a Clemson University student who was found dead in September 2014 after he had gone on an early-morning run with fellow fraternity pledges. He died of blunt-force trauma, according to a coroner, and a toxicology report did not find alcohol or drugs in his system.
His parents filed a lawsuit in 2015 against members of the fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon. They said that the fraternity had pressured pledges to leap off a bridge into a lake, but the defendants denied those assertions.
Under the new law, each report of a conduct violation will have to include the name of the organization in question, the date on which the organization was charged with misconduct, the date on which the misconduct occurred, the date on which the college began its investigation, a general description of the misconduct, and the date on which the investigation was resolved. Individual members of the organizations will not be identified in the reports.
Colleges and universities will have to update their reports at least 45 days before the start of the fall and spring semesters.
State lawmakers approved the bill last week after it was stalled in the State Senate, where lawmakers said it would unfairly single out fraternities and sororities.
