Hazing, a dangerous and often deadly practice, continues to cast a shadow over college campuses across the country. Each year a new tragedy makes headlines, leaving institutions to grapple with the reality that hazing is more than just rituals gone wrong.
The groundbreaking 2008 Hazing in View1 study found that over half of college students involved in student groups experience hazing, often involving dangerous and potentially illegal activities, including forced consumption of alcohol, isolation, and sleep deprivation. Yet despite growing public awareness, the problem remained largely unaddressed at the national level.
Inconsistency Is a Challenge
"Hazing is notoriously underreported, leaving institutions with limited data to gauge its prevalence."
-Jessica Mertz, Executive Director of Clery Center
While 44 states have laws related to hazing, the scope and impact are inconsistent and few specifically address colleges and universities. For nearly a decade, parents of hazing victims and campus safety experts have advocated for federal legislation to help address the harmful culture of hazing on college campuses with a more unified response. Increased public pressure, media attention, and demand for accountability finally culminated in the drafting of new federal legislation.
THE STOP CAMPUS HAZING ACT
On December 23, 2024, President Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) into law. The bipartisan Stop Campus Hazing Act (H.R. 56462, S. 29013) amends the Clery Act4 to reduce hazing on college campuses and will require actions by most colleges and universities beginning in January 2025:
"Hazing is often seen as a ‘wide-open secret’ on many campuses, with students and staff aware of its occurrence but unsure how to address it." -Jessica Mertz
Accountability, Transparency, and Prevention
The new legislative requirements aim to:
Identify the problem: Hazing is notoriously underreported, leaving institutions with limited data to gauge its prevalence. The Stop Campus Hazing Act requires colleges to collect and report hazing incidents annually in their security reports and submit the data to the Department of Education. This will help build a national database to better understand the scope of hazing while increasing accountability among institutions.
Increase transparency: Hazing is often seen as a “wide-open secret” on many campuses, with students and staff aware of its occurrence but unsure how to address it. The new law mandates that schools post their hazing policies and publish a transparency report detailing which student organizations have violated them.
Prevent hazing: Education, identifying the problem of hazing, and holding groups accountable are essential to eliminate hazing. Institutions will now be required to offer research-informed, campus-wide prevention programs designed to reach students, staff, and faculty. Prevention programs can help people build skills to be active bystanders, promote strategies to encourage group cohesion without hazing, and offer information about ethical leadership.
Empowering Campuses = Reduced Hazing Risk
This groundbreaking legislation will help shift societal norms and reduce the risks of hazing:
By requiring consistent reporting, colleges will be better equipped to address and combat the culture of hazing.
Mandating clear policies and transparency reports will provide valuable information to students and parents, helping them make safer decisions.
Increasing transparency ensures that campuses are not only aware of the problem but actively working to expose and prevent it.
Supporting hazing prevention efforts will build institutional cultures where student organizations can build cohesion and trust without harm.
Institutions seeking training, resources to support implementation, and guidance on complying with the new legislation can visit clerycenter.org.
"Supporting hazing prevention efforts will build institutional cultures where student organizations can build cohesion and trust without harm." -Jessica Mertz
https://stophazing.org/research/national-hazing-study-hazing-in-view/
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/5646?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22%22%7D&s=1&r=1
https://www.clerycenter.org/the-clery-act
https://www.clerycenter.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=268:scha-what-you-need-to-know&catid=24:blog&Itemid=159