THE AMERICA ONE NEWS
Jun 2, 2025  |  
0
 | Remer,MN
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET 
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge.
Sponsor:  QWIKET: Elevate your fantasy game! Interactive Sports Knowledge and Reasoning Support for Fantasy Sports and Betting Enthusiasts.
back  
topic
NY Post
New York Post
13 Mar 2023


NextImg:Parents of slain LSU student awarded $6.1M for 2017 hazing death

A Louisiana jury has awarded $6.1 million to the grieving parents of a college student who died following an alcohol-related hazing incident in 2017, according to multiple reports.

Rae Ann and Stephen Gruver have been staunch in their efforts to prevent hazing in the wake of the 2017 death of their son, Louisiana State University student Max Gruver.

Advertisement

On Wednesday, a jury in Baton Rouge awarded the parents $6.1 million in connection with the tragedy, local newspaper The Advocate reported.

Max Gruver holding his acceptance letter and smiling for the camera.
Max Gruver announcing his acceptance to Louisiana State University on Twitter.
Twitter/Max Gruver

“This definitely sends a message to would-be hazers across the country to take pause and think about what you’re doing,” Stephen Gruver said after the verdict was announced. “Think about the dangers of hazing, think about how it can harm people and how you’ll be held accountable.”

The family was seeking $25 million.

Advertisement

Max Gruver died on Sept. 14, 2017, from aspiration and alcohol poisoning, according to the report. The 18-year-old journalism student was pledging Phi Delta Theta fraternity at the time.

Max Gruver and his parents in this undated photo.
Max Gruver and his parents in this undated photo.
Facebook/Rae Ann Feldner Gruver

Hours earlier, Gruver had endured a hazing ritual known as “Bible Study,” in which elder members pestered them with questions about the frat and ordered them to drink alcohol when they gave the wrong answers, according to the report.

At the time of his death, Gruver’s blood-alcohol concentration was reportedly over six times the state’s legal limit, at 0.495.

Advertisement

The Gruver family sued the university, the fraternity and several members, and had reached settled with all parties but one — a former student — prior to the trial, The Advocate reported. Previous settlements reportedly include one with LSU in the amount of $875,000.

Stephen and Rae Ann Gruver sit behind a photo of their son inside a House committee room.
Stephen and Rae Ann Gruver sit behind a photo of their son inside a House committee room.
AP

Spokespersons for LSU and Phi Delta Theta did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment Monday morning.

Advertisement

After their son’s death, Stephen and Rae Ann Gruver created the Max Gruver Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to ending hazing on college campuses.

They had been involved in efforts toward “anti-hazing education” at the high school level, as well as the state’s END ALL Hazing Act, which would create reporting requirements for all colleges and universities that receive federal student aid.