The Louisiana State Legislature passed a bill that requires all students who are involved in campus organizations to complete a two-hour hazing prevention course online.
Anyone who does not complete the training will be relieved of their position in their chosen organization.
When taking the course, students watch presentations explaining what hazing is and the negative consequences of it.
The goal is to teach students more about hazing so they can help to prevent it. According to hazingpreventionnetwork.org, hazing is defined as “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.”
The Hazing Prevention 101 course described bullying as repeated actions or threats of action directed toward a person by one or more people who have (or are perceived to have) more power or status than their target in order to cause fear, distress or harm.
This is different from hazing, as bullying aims to exclude a person while hazing is a way to “earn” inclusion.
Upon beginning the first presentation, students were given various situations and had to classify it as always acceptable, sometimes acceptable or never acceptable. Next, eight questions were provided for students to consider in order to determine whether or not something is hazing.
Some of the things to consider include comfortability in participating if parents were present, whether students would get in trouble if a school administrator saw or if a video was posted online, being asked to keep activities secret, participating in illegal activities, violating values of students and/or the organization itself, whether or not activities are causing emotional or physical harm and whether or not anyone is being humiliated.
The most common types of hazing are alcohol consumption, isolation, humiliation, sleep deprivation and sexual assault.
Hazing is not only harmful, it is also illegal and can lead to consequences up to and including complete expulsion from college.
According to Louisiana law, “The penalty for Criminal Hazing in Louisiana is a fine of up to one thousand dollars and/or imprisonment for up to six months. This is a misdemeanor offense.”
“If the hazing results in the serious bodily injury or death of the victim, or the hazing involves forced or coerced alcohol consumption that results in the victim having a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.30 percent by weight based on grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood, any person who commits an act of hazing shall be fined up to ten thousand dollars and imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for up to five years. This is a felony offense.”
Harrison Kowiak was a sophomore at Lenoir-Rhyne University who was killed in 2008 due to a head injury that occurred while being hazed.
Kowiak’s fraternity brothers repeatedly tackled him in the dark as part of his “initiation.”
According to The Gordie Center, “Harrison suffered a head injury during a tackle, and instead of calling for help, the fraternity members eventually drove Harrison to a hospital near the campus. Harrison was airlifted to a trauma center, and died the next day from a severe brain hemorrhage.”
Timothy Piazza was a student at Penn State who died after being served a dangerous amount of alcohol at a frat party and falling down a flight of stairs.
According to USA today, “…Tim Piazza, was served 18 drinks in roughly an hour and a half during a pledge initiation called ‘The Gauntlet.’ Tim Piazza, 19, fell several times, including down a flight of stairs, which caused him numerous traumatic injuries. Members didn’t get him medical attention until the next morning. He died on Feb. 4, 2017.”
These are only two of many deaths that have resulted from the hazing that is so often called harmless initiation.
Hazing does not only affect the victim, it also affects families, friends, witnesses, other members of the organization and more.
Students should immediately report any hazing that they experience or witness to a staff member at the university.
Hazing is an issue that everyone should be aware of and know how to recognize.