Louisiana will see hundreds, then thousands, of members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. as they head from their southern Louisiana homes, from parishes across the state, from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas -- the four states that make up Omega's Mighty Ninth District. There will be Omega brothers from beyond this region, too, because nearly everyone loves visiting New Orleans.

The Bruhz will be headquartered at the Hyatt Regency on Loyola in New Orleans for the 88th Annual District Meeting. There were close to 2,000 brothers registered to take care of Omega's fraternal business the last time I checked. That might be the official count, but if you'll be anywhere in or near downtown and the Central Business District, expect to see hundreds or thousands more men dressed in purple and gold.

Freshly minted Tulane University Omega brothers Rodrek Williams, Justin Haysbert, Shazz Preston, Gerrod Henderson and George Washington will likely be there when they don't have school responsibilities. won't be there.

Neither will .

Wilson died one night in February after something happened during an unauthorized fraternity off-campus activity. Police allege that Wilson and others were punched. They say Wilson collapsed. McCray, Smith and Thurman have been charged in the incident. They were my Omega brothers. Now they are not. The fraternity expelled them. Wilson likely would've been my Omega brother. Now he's not. From all I've heard from those who knew him, he would've been a great Omega brother.

The fraternity I know has a against hazing, and we've been against hazing for decades. That doesn't mean that there aren't lots of Omega men who have experienced hazing. "It was horrible," said one Omega with more than 70 years in the frat. "No one should experience that." I, too, was hazed. Not as bad, though. The fraternity and most Omega men have matured. Hazing is taken seriously. Like other fraternities and sororities, bands and organizations, hazing has been an unofficial part of us. But it's wrong.

And it's against the law.

Touting ourselves with an unofficial mascot hasn't helped. Don't call me a "Que Dog." I'm an Omega man.

The Wilson case is probably the most prominent case since the Louisiana State Legislature passed the felony anti-hazing law called the Max Gruver Act in 2018. The State Legislature named it after a LSU Phi Delta Theta fraternity pledge who died from an alcohol poisoning . Prosecutors can bring felony charges in hazing incidents involving coerced consumption of alcohol, serious bodily harm or death.

I'm certain our Omega founders didn't envision hazing when they established our four cardinal principles for Omega: manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift. For the more than four decades that I've been an Omega, the fraternity has increasingly come down hard against hazing -- with words, actions and punishment.

The fraternity I know expelled  members who were involved with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols in 2023.

The fraternity I know who were involved with the unauthorized and unsanctioned activity that led to Wilson's death.

Tulane University's new members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity

The newest members of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity's Rho Phi Chapter are Tulane University students, left to right, Rodrek Williams II, of New Orleans; Justin Haysbert, of Zachary; Shazz Preston, of Thibodeaux; Gerrod Henderson, of Ruston, and George Washington, of New Orleans.

, 20, a Southern University and A&M College junior majoring in mechanical engineering, died on a February night in Baton Rouge as he was doing what he thought he had to do to become an Omega. The case is still being investigated by the Baton Rouge Police Department, Southern University and Omega. There could be more charges. There could be more expulsions.

I was initiated in July 1981 in a New Jersey graduate chapter. Soon after, I became a life member, making a life-long commitment to the fraternity beyond learning the organization's history, learning organization poems and songs and learning a secret handshake. I paid what for me was a large sum in my 20s. I've been a chapter, district and national committee member, a chapter officer and a district officer. I've volunteered with the good brothers of scanning tickets at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Next year will be my 45th year in the frat.

When I heard the news about Wilson, my heart dropped, my shoulders sunk. I wanted to write about the incident back then. I couldn't. I was so angry. One of my brothers told me he cried. Omegas are hurting.

I didn't know Wilson, or the men charged in the incident. People I know tell me those who have been charged are good people, good people who made a mistake.

Unfortunately, one or more mistakes cut short the life of a young man with a promising future.

As Omegas gather in New Orleans, I ask my brothers to recommit to the organization's founding principles and stop hazing. I expect Omega to do  more. I expect the State Legislature to do more. But, in the end, we must take individual responsibility as Omega men to stop the cancer that hazing has become.

Email Will Sutton at wsutton@theadvocate.com.

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