RICHMOND, Va. — The family of Adam Oakes, a VCU student who was killed in a hazing incident involving the Delta Chi fraternity, took to the road to spread their heartbreaking story of loss with the hopes of spreading an important message for students.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't imagine how it feels to be in your position. Just looking at him, I could tell he was a beautiful person," one student who attended the presentation said, hugging Eric Oakes tearfully.
Eric received an emotional welcome at Virginia's Roanoke College.
The sentiment was the same from students and parents at the University of Lynchburg.
"My son is a freshman so this really hitting me," one parent said.
Eric spent Monday speaking to students about the hazing death of his only son Adam.
Oakes was a 19-year-old freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University and an underground pledge at the now-expelled Delta Chi fraternity.
He died of alcohol poisoning in February 2021 following a fraternity party where he was made to drink large amounts of alcohol. Eleven men were charged in relation to his death.
On Monday, a sixth person plead guilty in Adam's case.
Benjamin Corado, 19, pleaded guilty to hazing and providing alcohol to an underage person. The judge deferred judgment for a year and ordered Corado to not break any laws in that time.
Corado must also complete 100 hours of community service and participate in four anti-hazing presentations with the Love Like Adam foundation. If he complies, the judge will dismiss the charges against him.
Five more people who were arrested in the case are still waiting to be sentenced.
"There's no therapy in the world that could replace what we received this weekend," Eric Oakes said.
For the Oakes family, the past year and a half have been filled with grief and pain.
"Most days, we just want to pull the shades down and curl up in a ball in the corner of the room and just get through the day," Eric said.
Besides that pain, there has also been promise.
This past year, the Virginia legislature passed Adam's Law. The legislation requires colleges and universities to provide hazing prevention and education training to students.
This past weekend, the Oakes family took their message directly to students and parents for the first time along with three VCU students who have since been convicted of misdemeanor charges in Adam's death.
"I truly believe that every kid in the audience that we were with this weekend will remember it and will remember what they saw," Courtney White, Adam's cousin, said.
But so far, the Oakes family has only been asked to speak at three Virginia universities. They say some of Virginia's largest campuses, like the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and VCU, already have educational tools in place.
"But who better to hear it from than the actual people who created the law? We're offering a free, impactful and powerful program that we just want to make real change with," Courtney said.
The Oakes family said they saw the look on students' and parents' faces and realized they were making a difference.
"Adam would want change and Adam would want people to love each other and show compassion to each other, instead of being incarcerated or instead of hazing each other for pleasure. He'd be really proud of us," Eric said.
The Oakes family is also creating an educational curriculum for middle and high school students on the dangers of excessive drinking and hazing.
Some video for this story was provided by a production crew chronicling the Oakes family journey — Michael Candelori and Daniel E. Catullo III with 10 Lives Content, LLC.
