Today, we welcome Rae Ann Gruver to Chi O Living! Rae Ann is a Clemson University graduate and member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After graduation, she met her husband Stephen who attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and are the proud parents of three beautiful children!
In 2017, Rae Ann and Stephen sent their oldest child, Max, off to college at THE Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Like so many of us, Rae Ann and Stephen had so many hopes and dreams for Max’s future. They wanted him to eat well, get good rest, study hard, and enjoy all that a campus like LSU has to offer – including pledging a fraternity. What they never anticipated was that after they moved him in into his dorm, gave him a blessing and said goodbye, that that would be the last time they would ever see their precious Max alive. Today, Sisters, you are going to hear the excitement of Max beginning life at LSU and of pledging a great fraternity…then Rae Ann is going to tell us of the excruciating hazing which Max endured that led to his lonely, painful, and tragic death in just three weeks of his arrival on campus.
This is not a fun, easy listen, Sisters…but, in order for us to maintain the standards upon which we were founded, we must face these despicable acts in Greek Letter Organizations to END HAZING ONCE AND FOR ALL. This episode is for both our active chapter members and our alumnae…it is not a lecture…it is the horrifying truth that we must put an end to now!
Rae Ann and Stephen Gruver describe their son Max as a “gentle giant.” He was a sports fanatic and wrote for a sports website even before starting as a journalism major at LSU. Just weeks into his first semester, Max died after being forced to consume 190-proof alcohol in a fraternity hazing ritual.
The Gruvers have been fighting hazing ever since, including founding the Max Gruver Foundation (#fly high max!) and worked to pass new hazing laws in Louisiana called The Max Gruver Act. It was signed into law May 2018, just 8 months after Max died. The Gruvers received the 2019 Hank Nuwer Anti Hazing Award for commitment to end hazing.
Rae Ann and Stephen live in Roswell, Georgia, with their son Alex and daughter Lily Kate. This episode is dedicated to Rae Ann and Stephen’s mission to end hazing, and - in loving memory of their precious son - Max. Fly High Max! Now, let’s meet Rae Ann….
