Hazing
Hazing
DePauw recognizes student organizations that encourage a spirit of fellowship, cooperation and individual development. They are part of DePauw’s educational environment and are important to student intellectual and personal growth.
No student who joins or belongs to an organization or team should be subjected to hazing.
What is hazing?
Hazing is any action or experience expected of new or current members of an organization or team, regardless of their willingness to participate, that humiliates or degrades them, or risks emotional or physical harm.
Hazing is prohibited
DePauw prohibits hazing and any other activity that requires violation of University policy or federal, state or local law.
Are you being hazed?
If you are concerned that an activity within a student organization or athletic team may be hazing, the first step is to follow its procedures to address your concerns.
If this does not resolve the matter, you can contact the Student Services office, or the University office that oversees the organization or team – the Athletic Department, the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, or the Office of Campus Activities.
If you have an immediate concern or emergency, call Public Safety at one of these phone numbers:
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On-campus, dial 4261, or 911
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(765) 658-4261
Other resources:
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You can anonymously report hazing through the Silent Witness program.
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Your organization or team can get help to end hazing through DePauw’s Fresh Start program.
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A new toll-free anti-hazing hotline - 1-888-NOT-HAZE - has been established for students on any college campus. (A DePauw alumnus was instrumental in its creation; read more in this article.)
The same resources can help whether the person being hazed is you or someone you know.
Consequences of hazing
A student organization or athletic team – or selected representative members – may be subject to University action for any activity that violates DePauw’s hazing policy.
Public accountability for hazing – the details of hazing violations, and the consequences to the organization or team, are reported here.
Students may be involved in hazing in several ways:
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by directly hazing other students
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by being a leader of an organization or team that hazes
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by being aware of hazing and not acting to stop it or report it
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by retaliating against a student or other person who takes action to stop or report hazing
Consequences for students involved in hazing will vary according to the level of involvement.
Frequently asked questions
Why is hazing wrong?
Hazing is wrong because it hurts people who either want to join or do belong to a team or organization which they value because of its positive principles and goals. Joining or belonging to a group should mean that its members experience constructive educational and inspirational programs that contribute to the positive development and welfare of students.
However, if current members use the implied or actual threat that someone cannot belong if they don’t do as they are told, to make students do degrading, humiliating or dangerous things, then there can be lasting harm to students, which is wrong.
Beyond that, hazing is a crime in 44 states, including Indiana.
What about mentor games – they blindfold people and make them do embarrassing things, so why is that not hazing?
These are challenge by choice activities, with clearly defined educational goals. They are designed to facilitate group development and adjustment in a positive but challenging manner, not to humiliate others.
These activities are done in the open, where anyone can watch or participate, and are facilitated by a trained mentor. The mentor acts to ensure the mental and physical well-being of the students involved. It is followed by a discussion about the students’ experience during the activity and its meaning.
Is it hazing to have a required study table?
No. Committing enough time to study is essential to academic success. Most student groups care enough about their members’ grades to track GPA each semester. An organized time for study can help verify that students are putting in enough time. However, done the wrong way, this could become hazing – if required, say, from 3 to 5 a.m., or in the rain, or with loud music blaring, etc. – but when done during reasonable study hours and in an academic environment, study tables are fine.
What’s the difference between embarrassing and humiliating?
This is a question of degree, and also of purpose. To humiliate someone is either intentional or without regard to whether it harms them, and is destructive to one's self-respect or dignity, lowering their position in their eyes or those of others. To embarrass is to cause self-conscious discomfort but is generally temporary, and is more likely to be unintentional.
What if something is a tradition?
Whether an event has occurred for one year or 100, if it meets the definition of hazing, it’s wrong. The fact that “we’ve always done it that way” does not justify it if it is otherwise hazing. (In the college student world, “always” often means no one can remember when it was done differently - which may mean it’s been the same for only three or four years.)
Activities often have positive underlying purposes but are carried out in an abusive or degrading way. If so, it’s a matter of identifying the good purpose and changing the activity to something that is constructive and inspirational.
How can you haze someone who is already a member?
If someone is already a member, the test turns on what your status will be or how you will be treated if you don’t participate. Peer pressure to participate can be strong. Consider what has occurred in campus events such as flower-ins, where teasing of a senior at his girlfriend’s sorority turns abusive, or at senior dinners where stories can be humiliating. Treating all members with respect teaches them that they should treat others, including new and potential members, with the same respect.
How can I find out if a specific team or organization hazes?
First, ask the group – what is their policy, what do they do if hazing is reported, how would I take action if I am being hazed, etc. Check out their web sites, if any, at local and national levels.
Second, ask the office that oversees the group about their status, such as the athletic department, Office of Campus Life, Office of Fraternity or Sorority Life, etc.
Third, public reports of hazing incidents after January 2007 are available on-line.
What if something is hazing, but I want to do it?
The hazing definition says that a person’s willingness to participate is irrelevant. Consent to doing something degrading or harmful does not make it safe or uplifting. In the context of treatment of a new member, apparent consent may simply the result of coercion, or an expression of how intense the new member’s desire to belong has become.
Does this mean we can’t require anything of new members or members, or ask them to do something that is challenging?
Standards for conduct and achievement are fine if they connect to the purpose of the organization. Certainly a team or group can require a student to attend meetings and practices, assume a reasonable share of responsibilities for group projects, achieve a certain GPA to maintain eligibility, etc. Meeting standards can be challenging, but what’s required should not become abusive, risk physical or emotional harm, or veer outside the legitimate purposes of the group.
If a team or organization is not sure whether an activity is appropriate, advice is always available through University offices, advisors (faculty, staff, alumni, etc.), and other resources such as a group’s national organization.
How can I tell if something is hazing?
If it’s not clear after analyzing it under the definition of hazing, one test is whether the activity is one you would want publicized. Would you hesitate to tell your parents, the Dean of Students, your national office or your best friend about the activity? Would you hate to see it on CNN? If so, it’s probably hazing. Another test is whether all group members would willingly take part, as opposed to it being required only of new members, seniors, etc.
Resources
Examples and types of hazing - based on information at www.StopHazing.com
Athletic Code of Conduct - on the main Athletics page in the Student Handbook
Outside links:
Athletes and everyone can learn something from Hazing Prevention Resources - from the NCAA's Health and Safety web page
National Hazing Prevention Week for 2007 was September 24 through 28 - "Somewhere, some will, some do, we don't. We're above hazing."
A national study of hazing, Examining and Transforming Campus Hazing Cultures, examines student attitudes and behaviors regarding clubs, teams and activities. Principal Investigator is Elizabeth J. Allan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Higher Educational Leadership, University of Maine.
www.StopHazing.org - Stated purpose is "to serve as a resource for accurate, up-to-date hazing information for students, parents, and educators."
"On Hazing" - part of the Risk Management policy of the Fraternal Information & Programming Group (FIPG), which promotes sound risk management policies and practices in the fraternity and sorority world.
Under construction:
Hazing policies of national organizations with a student chapter or unit at DePauw
