Adam Oakes was a 19-year-old freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University who died of alcohol poisoning on February 27, 2021, after a hazing ritual at VCU’s Delta Chi fraternity house in Richmond. His death led to criminal charges against eleven fraternity members, nearly $5.2 million in combined settlements with VCU and Delta Chi, the permanent banning of the chapter from campus, Virginia’s “Adam’s Law” requiring hazing prevention training at every college in the state, and the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act signed in December 2024.
What Happened the Night Adam Oakes Died
Oakes accepted a bid from the VCU chapter of Delta Chi on February 23, 2021. Three nights later, the chapter held a “Big and Little Brother Reveal Night,” pairing new pledges with older members.1VCU Fraternity & Sorority Life. In Memory of Adam Oakes Andrew White, the member assigned as Oakes’ “big brother,” gave him a “family drink” and then a large bottle of Jack Daniels, which Oakes was coerced into consuming.2Local 3 News. Family of Student Who Died During Hazing Incident Sues Delta Chi Fraternity
No one at the event called for medical help, despite what the Oakes family later described as clear signs of life-threatening alcohol poisoning.1VCU Fraternity & Sorority Life. In Memory of Adam Oakes At 9:16 a.m. the next morning, Richmond police responded to a call at the 100 block of West Clay Street and found Oakes unresponsive on the floor of the fraternity house. He was pronounced dead at the scene.3WRIC. Medical Examiner: VCU Freshman Adam Oakes Died of Alcohol Poisoning The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death ethanol toxicity, classifying the manner of death as accidental.4VPM. Medical Examiner: VCU Student Adam Oakes Died of Alcohol Poisoning His blood-alcohol content was reported at .419%, about five times the legal limit for adults of drinking age.2Local 3 News. Family of Student Who Died During Hazing Incident Sues Delta Chi Fraternity
Criminal Charges Against the Fraternity Members
Richmond Police investigators ultimately secured indictments against eleven members of the Delta Chi chapter. The charges were misdemeanor unlawful hazing, with some defendants also charged with purchasing or providing alcohol to a minor.5WRIC. Charges Dropped Against 5 Former Delta Chi Members in Adam Oakes Case
Six defendants pleaded guilty or no contest. None went to jail. Andrew White, the “big brother” who supplied the whiskey, pleaded guilty in December 2021 to unlawful hazing and purchasing alcohol for a minor. A judge sentenced him to 24 months in jail with all of it suspended, twelve months of supervised probation, and 100 hours of community service.6Commonwealth Times. Judge Sentences Former Delta Chi Member Andrew White for Hazing of Adam Oakes White was also ordered into a restorative justice program that included a mediated meeting with the Oakes family and required him to speak at five anti-hazing events organized by the Love Like Adam Foundation.7WTVR. Andrew White Sentencing in VCU Student Adam Oakes Hazing Death
Christian Rohrbach pleaded guilty, Jason Mulgrew entered a no-contest plea, and Benjamin Corado, Colin Tran, and Enayat Sheikhzad also pleaded guilty to unlawful hazing.5WRIC. Charges Dropped Against 5 Former Delta Chi Members in Adam Oakes Case Prosecutors later dropped all charges against the remaining five defendants: Riley McDaniel, Robert Fritz, Alexander Bradley, Alessandro Medina-Villanueva, and Quinn Kuby.812 On Your Side. Charges Dropped Against 5 Former Delta Chi Members in Adam Oakes Death
How VCU Responded and What It Paid
VCU’s Division of Student Affairs opened disciplinary proceedings against Delta Chi on May 3, 2021, citing violations tied to chapter events, recruitment, alcohol, hazing, and COVID-19 protocols. Effective May 28, 2021, the chapter permanently lost university recognition. The national Delta Chi organization also suspended the chapter.9VCU News. VCU Statement on Delta Chi10WRIC. Adam Oakes
In September 2022, VCU and the Commonwealth of Virginia reached a $995,000 settlement with the Oakes family, approved by the Fairfax County Circuit Court. The agreement went well beyond the payment. It mandated a package of Greek life reforms, established February 27 as an annual hazing prevention day and day of remembrance on campus, required a physical memorial, and required VCU to maintain a dedicated webpage about Oakes and to link to the Love Like Adam Foundation from its fraternity and sorority life page.11Commonwealth Times. VCU to Pay Nearly $1 Million Settlement to the Oakes Family
The reforms VCU implemented reshaped how students join Greek life at the university. Students must now complete at least twelve credit hours at VCU and hold a 2.7 cumulative GPA before joining a fraternity or sorority. The new-member education period is capped at 28 days. Alcohol is banned at any Greek life event where new members are present, and any student organization event serving alcohol must use a licensed, insured third-party vendor.12VCU News. VCU and Oakes Family Hold Inaugural Day of Remembrance for Adam Oakes The university hired three full-time staff for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, including its first dedicated hazing prevention coordinator, Rachael Tully. VCU now publishes a Student Organization Conduct Report each semester and, beginning in December 2025, a Campus Hazing Transparency Report required by federal law.13VCU News. VCU and Oakes Family Hold Annual Day of Remembrance for Adam Oakes
The Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Delta Chi
On February 6, 2023, Adam Oakes’ estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Richmond Circuit Court seeking $28 million. The defendants included the national Delta Chi Fraternity, the VCU chapter, the Delta Chi Educational Foundation, and twelve individual members, among them the chapter president, the pledge trainer, and a chapter advisor. The complaint pleaded three counts: negligence, fraud (alleging Oakes was fraudulently induced into joining based on the fraternity’s published anti-hazing statements), and a claim under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.2Local 3 News. Family of Student Who Died During Hazing Incident Sues Delta Chi Fraternity
In October 2024, a Richmond judge approved a settlement under which Delta Chi and eleven former chapter members agreed to pay more than $4.2 million, primarily through insurance carriers. Of that total, $2.5 million went to Oakes’ parents, with the remainder covering attorney fees.14WRIC. Adam Oakes Delta Chi Settlement Delta Chi also agreed to donate $425,000 to the Love Like Adam Foundation over five equal annual payments beginning thirty days after entry of the settlement, with later payments on each February 27 starting in 2026. The defendants denied all liability. The agreement resolved all claims in the wrongful death litigation.1512 On Your Side. Settlement Reached in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Over VCU Student’s Hazing Death
Adam’s Law and the Stop Campus Hazing Act
Within months of their son’s death, Eric and Linda Oakes, with cousin Courtney White, began pressing Virginia legislators for stronger hazing laws. “Hazing is just a misdemeanor in Virginia, and I don’t get that,” Eric Oakes told reporters in 2021.16Commonwealth Times. Family Members of Adam Oakes Push for Anti-Hazing Legislation
The result was “Adam’s Law” (SB 439), introduced by Senators Jennifer McClellan and Jennifer Boysko. The Virginia Senate passed it unanimously, 38–0, in January 2022, and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed it into law.17Virginia Mercury. Adam’s Law Aimed at College Hazing Passes Senate Now codified as Virginia Code § 23.1-820, the law requires Virginia colleges and universities to provide in-person hazing prevention training to current members, new members, potential new members, and advisors of student organizations. The training must cover the dangers of hazing (including alcohol intoxication), applicable hazing laws, and the institution’s own policies. The law also gives students who report hazing in good faith immunity from certain disciplinary consequences and requires public reporting of hazing violations.18Virginia Code Commission. Va. Code § 23.1-820
A companion measure made hazing resulting in death or serious bodily injury a Class 5 felony carrying a potential ten-year sentence.19PBS. Death of a Pledge: The Adam Oakes Story Virginia’s existing hazing statute, § 18.2-56, continues to classify hazing resulting in bodily injury as a Class 1 misdemeanor and requires university officials to report hazing-related injuries to the local prosecutor.20Virginia Code Commission. Va. Code § 18.2-56
At the federal level, President Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act on December 23, 2024. It amends the Clery Act to require colleges to track and report hazing statistics, publish campus hazing transparency reports, and run research-informed prevention programs including bystander intervention and ethical leadership training. The Oakes family’s advocacy, alongside families of other hazing victims, helped build support for the federal legislation.13VCU News. VCU and Oakes Family Hold Annual Day of Remembrance for Adam Oakes
The Love Like Adam Foundation
Eric and Linda Oakes and Courtney White founded the Love Like Adam Foundation to carry the prevention work forward. The foundation awards annual college scholarships to Virginia high school seniors, runs workshops on hazing identification and bystander intervention for students and educators, and provides professional development for university staff, law enforcement, and prosecutors. It also publishes a multi-day hazing prevention curriculum for high school and college settings, with facilitator guides and assessment tools.21Love Like Adam Foundation. Education
Courtney White partnered with VCU’s hazing prevention coordinator to organize the inaugural Virginia Hazing Prevention Summit in June 2024, bringing together higher education professionals to discuss best practices.22VCU News. VCU and Love Like Adam Foundation Host First Virginia Hazing Prevention Summit The family has also partnered with the iamstonefoltz Foundation, established after the death of Stone Foltz at Bowling Green State University one week after Oakes, to push alcohol education programs aimed at high school students before they reach college. In 2025, the Love Like Adam Foundation supported a Virginia bill it describes as the “High School Hazing Prevention Bill” to extend hazing education into high schools.23Love Like Adam Foundation. Love Like Adam Foundation
On February 27, 2023, VCU and the Oakes family held the inaugural “In Remembrance of Adam: Rams Against Hazing” day, unveiling a memorial bench and plaque outside the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life in the University Student Commons. The plaque reads in part: “In life, we loved you dearly, in your absence, we love you still. In our hearts you hold a place, no one else will ever fill.” It lists his dates of life, October 6, 2001 to February 27, 2021, and carries a QR code to a VCU memorial webpage.12VCU News. VCU and Oakes Family Hold Inaugural Day of Remembrance for Adam Oakes The university continues to mark the anniversary each year.