« New Member Education

As hazing is a detailed and complex issue, the following information is meant as a general overview (future posts will focus on specific aspects of hazing in a more comprehensive manner).

Like a storm cloud on a summer day or a hair in your food, the issue of hazing is the ever-looming aspect of Greek life that threatens to ruin everything. While every inter/national fraternity and sorority has a no-hazing policy, the issue continues to be a problem (in fact, last week a chapter at my alma mater was reprimanded for hazing). For all those Greeks who don’t believe hazing is a prevalent problem, here’s a reality check, courtesy of the National Study of Student Hazing*:

• 55% of college students involved in clubs, teams and organizations experience hazing
• 69% of students who belonged to a student organization were aware of hazing that occurred in another student organization
• 95% of students who identified their experience as hazing did not report the events to a campus official
• alcohol consumption, humiliation, isolation, sleep-deprivation, and sex acts are common hazing practices
• 25% of organization advisers were aware of hazing behaviors
• 9 out of 10 students who were hazed in college do not consider themselves to have been hazed
• 25% of hazing occurred on campus in a public space
• 25% of hazing experiences occurred with alumni present
• college and university students recognize hazing as part of the campus culture

Despite the consequences of hazing (personal injury, college expulsion, & chapter closure), many Greeks take the issue lightly, believing that, for some miraculous reason, it could never happen to them. Therefore, it’s important to bring the issue of hazing to light in your chapter. There are three basic steps to preventing and discouraging hazing: education, establishment of hazing policies, and enforcement of policies. While you may say that this is common sense, you’ll find that it is easier said than done. So, here are some pointers.

Chapter Education

As with most chapter issues, the first step to preventing hazing is to give your members the facts. A hazing education program should cover the following:

• What hazing is (an action expected of a member that embarrasses, or puts the individual at risk, regardless of the individual’s willingness)
• Examples of hazing (from mild hazing like cleaning to severe hazing like physical abuse)
• Dangers of hazing (personal injury, death, individual expulsion from college, legal ramifications)

Remember that your chapter education extends not only to your members, but to your executive members, alumni and chapter advisors. It is important to remind these individuals, in addition to your chapter, of the issue of hazing.

Hazing Policies

Like I said before, all national sororities and fraternities have a no-hazing policy. However, in most cases this is not enough to prevent hazing from occurring. In addition to your national’s hazing policy, it is critical to create hazing policies and consequences for your chapter. These should also be presented to your members, alumni and advisers, and should cover the following:

• A statement of the chapter’s stance on hazing
• A system of consequences and punishments for members who are caught hazing (i.e.: 3 strikes, expulsion from the chapter for serious offenses)
• Your college or university’s policies on hazing and the related punishments
• Chapter contacts for members to report hazing

Policy Enforcement

Creating hazing policies and presenting them to your chapter is just the easy part. The hardest part is enforcing your policies. Unfortunately, there is no snap-of-your-fingers way to make this happen. Rather, your policy enforcement will be successful due to the cooperation between the executive members, chapter members, advisers and alumni:

• Executive members need to follow through on hazing policies and consequences (no matter what), and they need to set a good example for the chapter
• Your members need to feel comfortable reporting hazing incidents by other members
• Your advisers need to support executive decisions and be a confidential contact for members to report hazing (if they so choose)
• Your alumni need to set positive examples and deter younger members from hazing

Finally, the most important thing to remember is repetition. Your members may take something away from the initial hazing meeting, but chances are slim that the information will stick five or six months down the road. Reiterating your hazing education material and hazing polices once a quarter or semester is a great way to ensure that your members retain the information (it also guarantees that your newly initiated members know the information as they become an active part of the chapter).

*Note: More findings from the National Study of Student Hazing, as well as study overview, methods and implications , can be found at hazingstudy.org.