Whatever else Ohio University students learn this year, one of the most important lessons was delivered Monday by Athens County Prosecutor Keller Blackburn in the form of nine indictments.

Blackburn’s willingness to take evidence to a grand jury in the death last year of Collin Wiant in a fraternity’s unofficial off-campus house has the potential to teach many more than just the members of Sigma Pi fraternity that hazing must stop.

Certainly nothing else has sufficiently gotten the attention of countless fraternity, sorority and non-Greek organizations on college campuses from coast to coast. Too many don’t see that allowing and even encouraging risky behavior as a pathway to coveted brotherhood or sisterhood is dangerous and can no longer be tolerated.

In last week’s indictments, seven members of the now-expelled fraternity and two others were charged with various crimes related to Wiant’s death. The charges range from involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide to drug charges and hazing.

No one goes to college to get a criminal record along with a diploma, or worse yet, to end up in prison without a degree. But maybe it will take a few students suffering that outcome to prevent more senseless deaths.

(…) The question the prosecutor asked is worth repeating: “What are we going to do about the use of drugs here and everywhere else on college (campuses) and what are we going to demand out of these organizations like the one Collin Wiant wanted to be a part of?”

If collegiate institutions truly want to model often-stated values of leadership, service and character development, they should stop trying to mask poor behaviors behind codes of secrecy and focus instead on positive ways to bring new members into their ranks.

— The Columbus Dispatch