If you witness a hazing incident or someone is in danger, call 911.

 

Learn What Hazing Is:
  • Familiarize yourself with the definition of hazing: HAZING is any action taken or any situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule and risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.
  • Take responsibility, when you see it occurring or when it happens to you
  • Speak up and report it immediately – you may save a life!
  • Make others aware of what hazing is and their responsibility for preventing it – hazing prevention is everyone’s responsibility
Start a Prevention Movement on Your Campus:
  • National Hazing Prevention Week (NHPW) is officially recognized during the third week of September each year, but you can help prevent hazing year round! If you would like to start a program on campus, raise awareness about hazing and how to prevent it, and encourage your fellow students to join you, you can learn more about the resources available to you here http://hazingprevention.org/home/prevention/national-hazing-prevention-week/
  • Take responsibility, when you see it occurring or when it happens to you
  • Speak up and report it immediately – you may save a life!
  • Make others aware of what hazing is and their responsibility for preventing it – hazing prevention is everyone’s responsibility
Familiarize Yourself with Local Policies & Laws:

Every school, college or university, national organization, athletic department and workplace has an anti-hazing policy and most, a procedure for reporting violations of that policy. Make sure you know what those policies are and be prepared to use the reporting process if necessary. Nearly every state in the U.S. has laws against hazing as well, which means it’s a misdemeanor or felony that should be reported to law enforcement. You can find state laws here: http://hazingprevention.org/home/hazing/statelaws/

Additional Resource: Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline

There is a Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline, established in 2007 by a consortium of national fraternities and sororities, is currently sponsored by 43 national and international Greek organizations and run by Fraternal Law Partners, a division of Manley Burke LLC. The calls are automatically saved as audio files that are then transmitted by e-mail to the headquarters of the fraternity or sorority named in the report. To learn more about the hotline, please visit: https://fraternallaw.com/help-us-stop-hazing

All facts and statistics have been gathered from:
  1. Villanova University Student Life
  2.  www.stophazing.org
  3. www.insidehazing.com
  4. Alfred University Study, Dr. Norm Pollard, Dr. Elizabeth Allen, et. al, 1999
  5. National Study of Student Hazing (prelim), Dr. Elizabeth Allen and Dr. Mary   Madden 2006
  6. Dissertation, Dr. Colleen McGlone, 2005
  7. Inside Hazing, Dr. Susan Lipkins, 2006
  8. www.hazingprevention.org

FACTS AND STATS ABOUT HAZING

Hazing Facts from Breathe Nolan Breathe

The code of silence...

“The code of silence is something that I think human beings know- even four-year-olds know when the teacher suddenly turns out the lights and says “who did that?”. Everybody’s quiet. They kind of know not to tell the authority figure…that is part of why we don’t tell and hazing doesn’t get reported.” – Dr. Susan Lipkins

Nothing is worth the...

“Nothing is worth the risk of not taking these events seriously. Any fear you might have in the future of being the guy who pulled the alarm on something will be nothing compared to the feeling that you could’ve done something to save your friend’s life and didn’t.” -Andrew Lohse

A part of hazing that is...

“A part of hazing that is difficult to explain to any audience is consent. There is no such thing as consent in a hazing, because the hazing is by definition hidden, mysterious, and anxiety provoking.” -Dr. Susan Lipkins

By moving the drinking...

“By moving the drinking age to 21 on a college campus, you’ve created a binge-drinking society- which is almost unholy. They’ll go into dark places, in basements, and they’ll become so intoxicated that their behavior changes dramatically.” -E. Gordon Gee

It seems to me that kids...

“It seems to me that kids have been drinking on college campuses forever; what people don’t understand is that when someone dies of an alcohol overdose, that kid did not choose to drink that much: they were coerced.” -Dr. Susan Lipkins

If someone is breathing...

“If someone is breathing less than eight times a minute under the influence of alcohol, their breathing and pulse can eventually stop. If you can’t wake someone up, pretty much for any medical reason, you need to call a doctor.” -Dr. Joshua Dower

I think the open-door...

“I think the open-door policy is somewhat of a myth. In practice, I don’t think it ends up being true. If it were true, everybody would just choose to be a fraternity brother without doing any hazing at all.” – Andrew Lohse

If you lose the ability to...

“If you lose the ability to walk or to hold your urine, that’s extremely dangerous. That’s the BAC level of .300 or .400. The person may stop getting the circulation they need. These are the warning signs that really scare me, and would make me want to call for help.” -Dr. Joshua Dowers

Seeing someone laying...

“Seeing someone laying there like that and not calling for help; I’ll never understand that. They can take a photo of someone soiling themselves but they couldn’t call 911.” -Kim Burch

This is the kind of event...

“This is the kind of event that weighs on you over time, and it didn’t have to happen. When you see someone who’s 19 or 20 years old, who’s life is just beginning, it’s unfortunate that these tragedies happen, but they happen across the country. The one thing that we should get people to understand is that hazing is not a ritual, it’s criminal. In this case, a young person lost his life. Hazing has to stop.” – Bob Roberts

If the culture was still...

“If the culture was still a beer culture, I would have less concerns and issues. Liquor has such a different impact on these young people’s lives than beer.” -Bob Roberts

If you see somebody...

“If you see somebody whose health is impaired, call us. We’d rather come on those calls and address that health concern before it becomes a tragedy; and it’s getting people to understand that that is the challenge.” Bob Roberts

Hazing Myths and Facts

MYTH #1: Hazing is no more than foolish pranks that sometimes go awry.

Fact: Hazing is an act of power and control over others — it is victimization. Hazing is premeditated and NOT accidental. Hazing is abusive, degrading and often life-threatening.

FACT #1: Hazing is a Societal Problem.

Fact: Hazing is a societal problem. Hazing incidents have frequently been documented in the military, athletic teams, marching bands and other performance groups, religious cults, professional schools, and other types of clubs and/or organizations. Reports of hazing activities are on the rise in high schools.

MYTH #2: Hazing is an effective way to teach respect and develop discipline.

Fact: First of all, respect must be EARNED–not taught. Victims of hazing rarely report having respect for those who have hazed them. Just like other forms of victimization, hazing breeds mistrust, apathy and alienation.

FACT #2: Bad things happen when we least expect it.

Fact: Even if there isn’t any malicious intent, safety may still be a factor in traditional hazing activities that are considered to be “all in good fun.” Keep in mind: Bad things happen when we least expect them to. Hazing activities serve no purpose in promoting the growth and development of group members.

MYTH #3: If someone agrees to participate in an activity, it can't be considered hazing.

Fact: In states that have laws against hazing, consent of the victim can’t be used as a defense in a civil suit. This is because even if someone agrees to participate in a potentially hazardous action it may not be true consent when considering the peer pressure and desire to belong to the group.

FACT #3: Human dignity is harmed when individuals or groups are marginalized, ignored or devalued.

Fact: An individual or group’s sense of self-respect, self-worth, physical and psychological integrity, and empowerment, is called human dignity. Human dignity is inherent in every human being. Human dignity is harmed when individuals and groups are marginalized, ignored, or devalued. Discipline is designed to foster respect for self and others. Hazing is harmful to the dignity and self-respect of new members and is the opposite of true discipline.

MYTH #4: It's difficult to determine whether or not a certain activity is hazing--it's such a gray area sometimes.

Fact: It’s not difficult to decide if an activity is hazing if you use common sense. If something seems wrong, it probably is. Is this activity showing concern for the well-being for all members of the group? Besides, when in doubt, you can always ask an administrator.

FACT #4: Tradition DOES NOT justify subjecting new members to dangerous actions.

Fact: “Tradition” does not justify subjecting new members to dangerous action. Traditions are created by groups, and groups hold the power to change or eliminate them. It only takes one year to break a hazing tradition. Remember that the founding members of organizations were not hazed … these “traditions” were created at a later time. One class can break the “tradition” of hazing – it just takes courage and integrity to do what is right.

FACT #5: Hazing does not foster sustainable trust, unity or respect..

Fact: Hazing may seemingly create unity among new members, but there are often larger costs involved. The effect of hazing in a group can be like the effect of a hurricane on a community: residents feel closer to each other afterward but some may be suffering. More often, hazing builds animosity between people and does nothing to foster trust, unity, or respect.

FACT #6: Breaking free from hazing or standing up to a group of peers shows strength.

Fact: Many people submit to hazing because they desire acceptance by others, are afraid to resist, or feel a need to prove to themselves or others they are worthy or tough (i.e. “a real man”). These motives reflect conformity, fear, and insecurity, which are not qualities typically associated with strength. In contrast, standing up to a group of peers or breaking free from hazing shows strength.

Hazing Statistics

Overview

“All hazing statistics are an underestimate of the actual amount of hazings that occur. This is due to the fact that most students do not even recognize hazing when they are involved, and furthermore, there is a strong code of silence that inhibits students from reporting a hazing. Perhaps the most startling statistic is that there are no, as in 0, state or federal agencies that collect statistics on hazing, nor is there a central place (like the CDC) to report hazings.”

Fraternity/Sorority Survey
  • 65% of respondents agree that the primary goal of an initiation is to bond.
  • 57% of respondents agree that it is important to tolerate psychological stress.
  • 31% of respondents agree that a significant element in an initiation rite is humiliation.
  • 29% of respondents agree that extreme consumption is often part of an initiation.
  • 29% of respondents agree that it is important to tolerate physical pain.
  • 29% of respondents agree that they are concerned with the overuse of alcohol during pledge activities.
  • 25% of respondents agree that initiation usually involves the use of paddles.

Rarely do the leaders acknowledge that these rituals are in fact, hazing. However, in this study, a third of the Greek leaders agree that humiliation is a significant element in initiation, and almost as many, agree that extreme consumption and the use of paddles are also part of initiation. Unfortunately, Greek leaders may still deny the connection between these kinds of initiation activities and hazing.

 

College Hazing
  • More than 250,000 students experienced some sort of hazing to join a college athletic team.
  • 5% of all college students admit to being hazed.
  • 40% admit to knowing about hazing activities.
  • 40% report that a coach or club advisor was aware of the hazing.
  • 22% report that the coach or advisor was involved in the hazing.
  • 50% of the female NCAA Division I athletes reported being hazed.
  • More than 20% of female NCAA athletes were subjected to alcohol-related hazing; however even a higher percentage admitted to “mental hazing” which ranged from singing to being kidnapped.3
  • 10% of the female NCAA athletes were physically hazed including being branded, tattooed, beaten thrown in water of having their head forcibly shaved.
  • 6-9% of the female NCAA athletes were subjected to sexually related hazing including harassment, actual assault or being expected to simulate sex activities.

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