VCU, Oakes family hold annual day of remembrance for Adam Oakes

By Brian McNeill

The family of Adam Oakes and Virginia Commonwealth University remembered Adam’s life on Tuesday, marking five years since the 19-year-old VCU student died due to an alcohol-related hazing incident at an off-campus event at a fraternity. Subsequently, VCU permanently banned the fraternity as a registered student organization.

The Oakes family and VCU gathered for the annual Adam’s Day of Remembrance to honor Adam and hold a workshop that educates students about the dangers of hazing. VCU and the Oakes family are committed to fostering a safer and healthier community for all students, and the workshop is an important part of those efforts.

On Tuesday, VCU faculty and staff, members of the Oakes family and community stakeholders gathered for a reception to celebrate Adam’s legacy. VCU and the Oakes family offered remarks about their partnership and the actions taken in recent years to elevate awareness of hazing, its dangers and the ways to prevent it.

“I don’t think people really realize just how many kids have died from hazing,” said Courtney White, Adam’s cousin. “When Adam passed, we really started to look at: What education are we giving? What laws are in place? What are all these things that could be protecting kids but aren’t? What did he not have that he should have had? And that’s really where we started to hit the ground running, and started doing the work, and found the gaps that needed to be filled.”

Eric Oakes, Adam’s father, said his son would be proud of the work they’ve done to “help kids, help families and to try to make a difference.” 

“Adam would be blown away” by what has been accomplished, Eric Oakes said. “He’d be really happy about the steps that we’ve taken.” 

Adam’s Day of Remembrance participants highlighted significant progress toward addressing hazing, including:

• The passing of Adam’s Law and its requirements of education and transparency within Virginia’s higher education institutions, and within secondary education.
• The passing of the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act and the passing of the federal law requiring education and transparency across the country regarding hazing.
• The creation of the Virginia Hazing Prevention Summit, which is in its third year and invites campus professionals from across the state to discuss programs and practices related to eliminating hazing on campus.

Remarks also addressed ongoing efforts to develop students into strong leaders who make ethical decisions related to creating and developing organizations of belonging. Following the reception, leaders from student organizations with new-member processes gathered for a workshop addressing the root causes of hazing and how they as leaders can address them. Students also engaged in a Q&A with the Oakes family.

Additionally, members of the Oakes family and VCU Hazing Prevention spoke at a panel discussion, where they shared remembrances of Adam and discussed ongoing hazing prevention efforts by the Love Like Adam Foundation and VCU Hazing Prevention.

“I have had the privilege of working with the Oakes Family for the past four years, beginning with the first Adam’s Day of Remembrance event,” said Rachael Tully, assistant dean of students. “We have developed a partnership that embeds Adam’s legacy into VCU’s hazing prevention culture. I hope to continue this relationship for years to come and continue to empower students at VCU to address hazing and harmful environments that hinder unity and a sense of belonging in organizations.”

On Saturday this week, Adam will be remembered during VCU’s Homecoming basketball game against Fordham. His family will be introduced during the game.

In 2023, VCU installed a plaque and bench in Adam’s memory outside the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life inside University Student Commons. 

“Adam Oakes was a beloved son, grandson, nephew, cousin, student and friend. He had a tremendous future ahead of him and his senseless death brought unspeakable pain and tragedy to all who knew him,” the plaque reads. “Adam’s family and friends, in partnership with VCU, are dedicated to fostering a safer and healthier community for students who are part of fraternities and sororities and to create a climate of respect and inclusion that is needed for academic and personal success.”

The plaque features a QR code that links to a webpage with more information about Adam and how to honor his memory by being a part of the solution.

Following Adam’s death in 2021, VCU implemented a number of measures to limit alcohol use by members of student organizations and to reduce the likelihood of students experiencing hazing. These efforts included:

• Increasing the staffing and improving processes in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life to elevate the office’s reporting structure. Three full-time staff were hired to support the office, including the director of fraternity and sorority life and VCU’s first hazing prevention coordinator.
• Implementing a number of policy changes for fraternities and sororities, including: requiring 12 VCU credits and a minimum 2.7 cumulative GPA at VCU to join a Greek organization; requiring hazing prevention training; limiting the new-member education period to 28 days; updating the events with alcohol policy for student organizations to require alcoholic beverages to be provided by a licensed and insured third-party vendor; and prohibiting new members at events with alcohol during their new-member education period.
• Incorporating bystander intervention instruction in the hazing prevention training required by Va. Code §23.1-820 (Adam’s Law) that focuses on assisting individuals who are being subjected to hazing, intoxicated, at risk of sexual violence, bodily injury, or otherwise in need of help.
• Increasing communication and relationship building with stakeholders by holding regular adviser meetings, leadership retreats, individual chapter leadership meetings and regular council meetings, and having leaders attend regional leadership conferences.

In 2022, the Virginia General Assembly passed Adam’s Law, which was supported by VCU and is designed to reduce hazing in fraternities and sororities at Virginia colleges and universities.

VCU also posts online two transparency reports: the Student Organization Conduct Report and the Campus Hazing Transparency Report.

• The Student Organization Conduct Report is designed to help students make informed decisions about joining a student organization at VCU or participating in a student organization’s activities. The report is broad in scope and includes all violations of the Student Code of Conduct (including hazing, as required by Adam’s Law, Va. Code § 23.1-822) by any student organization (including sport clubs, fraternities and sororities).
• The Campus Hazing Transparency Report, first released Dec. 23, 2025, in compliance with the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, summarizes findings concerning any student organization found to be in violation of the institution’s standards of conduct related to hazing.

White encouraged students entering college to research the student organizations they’re considering joining.

“It’s really important for us to teach kids that are coming on to college campuses to take the time, do the work, really engage with people, find out if that organization is right for you. Use the hazing incident report,” she said. “Really do your due diligence to find out who you’re joining, what you’re joining, and really what’s at their core, because I do feel like that if [Adam] had done that, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here today.”