The Supreme Court, as is common, did not explain its reasons for declining to hear the cases, which had been consolidated. But the effect of the decision is to let stand the rulings by the 1st District Court of Appeal. The appeals court gave a full explanation of its reasoning in the case of Petagine, while reaching the same conclusions in the Kluttz and Oppenheimer cases. In part, they pointed to direction that the Supreme Court gave in a 2018 case about interpreting the definition of hazing. That 2018 case, known as Martin v. State, involved the high-profile hazing death of a member of the Florida A&M University marching band.

Two years after the hazing death of a fraternity pledge, Florida State University President John Thrasher said Thursday a “major culture shift is underway” as a result of university policies and a new state anti-hazing law. People can receive immunity if they call 911 or campus security to report the need for medical assistance during hazing incidents. Thrasher, a former state House speaker and senator, said Andrew’s Law has “definitely made a big difference” on campus. The Tallahassee Democrat newspaper reported the separate suspensions of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority due to hazing-related incidents. The Democrat reported that Delta Tau Delta was suspended by its national office, while Theta Nu Xi was suspended by the university.