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| HazingPrevention.Org Newsletter |
January 2008
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Happy New Year!
We have some big news to share on the awards front this month! The HazingPrevention.Org board voted in December to rename our best-known recognition the Hank Nuwer Anti-Hazing Hero Award. Because Hank Nuwer has done so much over so many years to advance awareness and prevention of hazing, this is a well-deserved honor. Go here to read more about Hank, our awards & contests, and to submit nominations for the 2009 award. Hank also wrote the feature article in this newsletter.
Additionally, Zeta Tau Alpha and the ZTA Foundation have made a five year commitment for the development of a new award recognizing the outstanding hazing prevention efforts of campuses. A $10,000 cash prize will be given annually to one campus for innovative, effective, comprehensive, year-round, cross-departmental, senior administration-supported hazing prevention programming. Criteria and application processes are currently being determined for this new award to be called The Zeta Tau Alpha Award for Innovation in Campus Hazing Prevention - and more information will be shared in a future issue of this newsletter, and at the NASPA conference in March. Thank you to ZTA for their outstanding commitment to higher education and the hazing prevention movement!
Hundreds of campuses and organizations observed National Hazing Prevention Week this fall, and more will observe it during other times of the year. Please let us know what you did for NHPW here. You can also complete a survey about NHPW and the resource guide you received as a member of a sponsoring organization. Your feedback helps us continue to provide quality educational resources to meet your needs. The 2009 resource as well as an NHPW Planning Guide are well underway. If you have an idea for a topic or information that should be included in either, please share it at the NHPW link above. Thanks.
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Status Report on Hazing - National Scene
by Hank Nuwer
Imagine the heartache of a mother and father setting dinner places for the family this holiday season and having to take a plate away.
It happened to hazing activist Eileen Stevens after her son Chuck died in an alcohol-related hazing incident for the now defunct Klan Alpine fraternity at Alfred University in rural southern New York, as I reported in my 1990 ground-breaking book on hazing called Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing.
Now this holiday season of 2008 there are four suspected hazing incidents under intense police investigations because they involve the deaths of young men coast to coast. Coupled with two other possible hazing-related cases earlier in the year, these four deaths demonstrate that we still have a lot of work to do on this issue.
--One possible hazing incident is the alcohol-related death of Carson Stuckey, 18, a pledge of Sigma Alpha Epsilon at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA. Police found him unresponsive and near death the morning of December 2 in a private home.
--The second under investigation is the death of Wabash College (Indiana) freshman Johnny D. Smith, 18, of Tucson, Arizona, whose family attorney charged that the Wabash Delta Tau Delta chapter was out of control with regards to drinking and general rowdiness. Delta Tau Delta immediately suspended the chapter and Wabash administrators yanked its charter.
--The third case involves a Salt Lake City investigation into the activities of Chi Omega sorority and Sigma Nu fraternity members following the death of Michael Starks, 18, a Sigma Nu pledge, after he was invited to chug a fifth of vodka in one hour. The family of young Starks charged that he was "captured" by the sorority members at the behest of the local Sigma Nu chapter.
--The fourth type of alleged hazing under police review was that "rough hazing" or physical roughhousing played a part in the head injury that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Harrison Kowiak, a golf team member and Theta Chi pledge of Lenoir Ryhne University in North Carolina last month. Earlier in the year the Lenoir-Rhyne women's soccer team was videotaped in a hazing incident involving alcohol.
The high number of fatalities had me scrambling back to 1997 and then to the 1970s to find other years that were comparably horrific in terms of student deaths that may have been hazing-related.
Other news to end the year is more positive. Author Michael Kimmel's book Guyland included a thoughtful assessment of hazing and cited my work in particular among attempts to end the practice. And young adult author and former New York Times columnist, Robert Lipsyte penned a hard-hitting novel called Raiders Night, which exposes the sordid practice of high school athletic hazing.
Researcher Elizabeth Allan and her team of hazing experts (disclosure: I am a consultant) continues to unveil findings of interest to all following her extensive surveys and studies conducted with a University of Maine colleague over the last nearly five years. The "Examining and Transforming Campus Hazing Cultures" project most recently focused on the Maine team's case studies of 18 participating colleges. Allan believes the project will help campuses better understand hazing in order to intervene with problematic athletes, fraternities, bands and other collegiate groups before a death occurs.
In Colorado the death of Gordie Bailey inspired his friends and survivors to found The Gordie Foundation in his name. They have sponsored a film called "Haze: The Movie" which attacks both hazing and the alcohol atmosphere on campus, and makes this issue far broader than just a fraternity or sorority issue. Gordie died from alcohol poisoning while pledging a national fraternity in 2004.
Finally, HazingPrevention.Org continues to offer hazing education initiatives such as National Hazing Prevention Week, a national essay contest, and the administration of Anti-Hazing Hero Awards to honor those who have stood up to hazers and possibly saved a life in the process.
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Support Hazing Prevention
Check out how you can help!
There are many ways to support the work of hazing prevention and this organization. The link below takes you to our website where you can read about all the ways and sign on to volunteer, share a personal story, donate or sign up your campus/organization as a sponsor. Our work would not be possible without the support of our many generous sponsors. Thank you so much to all of our current and past sponsors! One sponsoring organization said, "Our sponsorship provides us tremendous access to
cutting edge hazing resources and conversation. The collective work of
this organization provides more fully developed resources than we could
tackle on our own." Sponsorship renewal time is NOW. Click Here to download the forms for sponsorship or renewal. New sponsorships for 2008-2009 begin on October 1 (though you can sign on at any time throughout the academic year), and go through NHPW (September) 2009. If you have any questions about the various opportunities to support this work, contact us at 303-325-7831 or info@hazingprevention.org
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Anti-Hazing Heroes 2008
More than 70 individuals were nominated for this year's Anti-Hazing Hero Awards. Nominees were students at the high school and college levels, military personnel, parents, teachers and others. Cash prizes and plaques were presented to the winners at the National Hazing Symposium on Dec. 3rd in Denver, CO. Go here to read more about this year's winners. Congratulations to: Christina Covington, National President, Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority
Bill Gibson, Sigma Nu, Univ. of Montana Daniel Kim, Delta Chi, Cal Poly - SLO Jacob Lopez,TKE, Cal Poly - SLO Wallace McKinney, SAE, Auburn Univ. Andrew Righter, TKE, Cal Poly - SLO  2008 NHPW Photo
Contest Winners1st Place - Alpha Phi, Arizona State
2nd Place - UNC - Charlotte
3rd Place - University of Connecticut
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Hazing to Heath Webinar
Wednesday, February 3rd
Lunchtime program
for fraternity/sorority leaders
COST: $50 per campus Register Now TIME: 1 p.m. EST
Explain "Hazing" Again!?Still wonder what hazing really means?Are you sick of the threats and scare tactics? . . . then it's time for a new approach!The term "hazing" has become difficult to understand, and there is a huge disconnect between the legal definition and what students perceive to be hazing. The problem is that numerous students are injured (physically or psychologically) or killed by dangerous practices every year. There were six deaths in fraternities in the fall of 2008 alone! Let's leave hazing to the legal experts and focus instead on building healthier communities. Learn techniques for building brotherhood and sisterhood, educating new members and establishing a strong culture of honor and respect within your chapter and community, without one worry about hazing. Presenters: Dan Wrona, CEO & Project Leader, RISE PartnershipsPaul Lawson, CAE, Asst. Executive Director, Delta Sigma PhiDespite lengthy, complicated policies there are really only a few basic factors that characterize hazing. The webinar, based on the Thrive program of RISE Partnerships, will introduce and explore five of these factors in order to: · Give students a simpler understanding of what hazing is and why it is a problem. · Help evaluate and improve chapter new member education programs. · Prepare students to talk about hazing issues with brothers and sisters. · Provide simple steps students can take to move away from hazing towards a stronger, healthier chapter. The webinar will make use of lecture, extensive examples, reflection and a short question and answer period. The program involves mixed media including audio, video, PowerPoint and a student worksheet. A discussion guide will be provided to encourage follow-up discussions among student leaders. This one-hour webinar program will offer an overview of the five steps to a healthier chapter. For a more in-depth program for your chapter or community, go here to read more about the THRIVE program, and how to bring it to your campus. |
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SAVE THE DATE - Interdisciplinary Institute for Hazing Intervention
June 10-13, 2009
Butler University
Indianapolis, IN
Registration available after February 1, 2009. Register at least 5 people from one organization/campus and receive a 10% discount on all.
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Our work wouldn't be possible without those of you out on the front-lines educating, supporting and utilizing our resources within the scope of your work. Please let us know what needs you have, and how we can help.
Sincerely,
Tracy Maxwell
HazingPrevention.Org
email: maxwell@hazingprevention.org
phone: 303-325-7831
web: http://www.hazingprevention.org
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