Greetings!
What a great time of year! It's conference season, spring break, and HazingPrevention.Org has been recognizing winners of our awards and contests! It took us a bit longer than expected to select the winners this year because of the record number of entries we received - nearly 1000 essays and close to 100 Anti-Hazing Hero nominations! What a good "problem" to have.
This was also the first year presenting the ZTA Award for Innovation in Campus Hazing Prevention Programming & Education, and with a $10,000 cash prize, judging those entries was also quite an undertaking. Huge kudos to Dominic Greene who chaired the awards committee for us this year. I don't think he had any idea what he was getting himself into, but he did an amazing job! Thanks also to all the committee members and award judges listed below, and huge congratulations to all of the winners. Check them out in this newsletter and on our website. We will be accepting nominations for next year's awards starting on May 1.
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HPO Recognizes Hank Nuwer Anti-Hazing Heroes
Edited by Lisa Thibault
Each year, HazingPrevention.Org recognizes students and others who stand up to, educate about or do something to prevent hazing in their communities. This year's recipients of the Hank Nuwer Anti-Hazing Hero Award span the country from Florida to Chicago, Ohio to California. All are fraternity/sorority members, two are professionals and three students, two men and three women. With their actions they have transformed their own organizations at the chapter and national levels, improved their campuses through programming and enforcement and impacted their state and beyond with tough anti-hazing legislation. Each hero was recognized with a plaque, a check for $100 and a copy of Hank Nuwer's book The Hazing Reader. Phi
Delta Theta Fraternity has sponsored the award for the past three years.
HazingPrevention.org
has announced the following recipients of the 2009 Anti-Hazing
Hero Award:
Chamois Crookshanks
Adam Hanser
Erin Huffman
Steven Loya
Katie VanKampen
Chamois
Crookshanks
stood up to her college chapter about its hazing practices, and shared with the
chapter members the humiliation and pain she felt of being hazed as a new
member of her sorority. There was a tradition in her chapter where the seniors
would haze the new members on bid day, encouraging them to drink all the
alcohol that was placed in front of them. She successfully worked with the
national sorority staff and volunteers to change the chapter "tradition" and
more closely align her chapter with the sorority's national values of promoting
sisterhood.
Crookshanks is currently a junior at Washington
& Jefferson College in Washington, Penn. She is a member of Delta Gamma.
Adam Hanser is a Florida state
representative who sponsored the nation's toughest anti-hazing law in 2005. The
Chad Meredith Act, named in honor of a University of Miami student who died in
a hazing incident, provides for tough criminal penalties for hazing that
results in serious bodily injury or death. Those who are convicted of engaging
in behavior that injures students in voluntary or involuntary hazing practices
face a punishment of up to five years in jail. Hanser also speaks to students
around the country about the consequences of hazing and the long-term impact
that it can have on their futures and of others.
Hanser is a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, and
is a graduate of the University of Maryland and Florida State University
College of Law.
Erin Huffman is a leader in
anti-hazing education for her sorority. She spearheads anti-hazing initiatives
for Delta Gamma as its director of resource development and college development
specialists. Erin has been instrumental in shaping DG's Social Responsibility
Programming. She also championed the use of GreekLifeEdu for all members and
new members in 2008-2009, allowing the sorority to have a baseline of
information on chapter members' actions and beliefs about alcohol use, sexual
assault, and hazing. Also, the New Member Pursuit and the Senior Pursuit were
developed using Erin's knowledge and experience of how today's college student
learns and wants to receive information.
Erin has also served HazingPrevention.Org as a
member of the National Hazing Prevention Week Resource Guide Editorial Board
since 2007, and is a member of the Crucial Conversations Development Committee.
She holds a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Ohio Wesleyan University and a
master's degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Miami University.
As the Interfraternity Council's vice-president of conduct,
Steven Loya has done quite a bit of
programming to educate Greeks on campus about the dangers of hazing. He is a
certified peer educator of the BACCHUS network, and is working on the agenda
for the campus' first-ever Anti-Hazing Week this spring for all Greek
organizations as well as the entire campus and local community. Events for the
week include a CAMPUSSPEAK speaker regarding the risks and dangers of hazing,
buttons for the entire Greek community to wear throughout the week, a showing
of "HAZE" (the movie), a PSA competition between campus organizations, and many
other activities.
He is a senior at California State University,
Chico and a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
On her college campus, Katie VanKampen has been instrumental in bringing anti-hazing
education to her fellow students. During the 2008-2009 school year, Katie
brought several anti-hazing speakers and informational sessions to campus. She
is the co-founder of Circle of Trust, a campus group from The Gordie Foundation
that helps educate students about the dangers of alcohol; including binge
drinking, alcohol poisoning, hazing, and their many side effects. As the
group's vice-president of programming, she planned all the year's major events
and also obtained funding, promoted, and organized an event where Travis Apgar,
a CAMPUSSPEAK representative, came to speak about his hazing experiences.
Katie graduated from DePaul University in Chicago,
Ill., in 2009 with degrees in psychology and sociology. She is currently a
first-year graduate student at Loyola University working toward her master's in
social work. While at DePaul, she was very active in Alpha Phi Fraternity,
Colleges Against Cancer, and Student Government, and worked in the Career
Center as a peer career advisor.
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Zeta Tau Alpha Award for Innovation in Campus Hazing Prevention Programming & Education
 On March 9th, 2010, at a reception during the NASPA conference in Chicago, Florida State University was presented with a check for $10,000 in recognition of their comprehensive, year-round hazing prevention programming. In 2006, after the passage of the Chad Meredith Act in Florida, Associate Dean of Students, Adam Goldstein, knew it was imperative to educate the students on his campus about what this tough new law could mean for them if they chose to haze - including jail time. "Staff from around the campus came to the table and asked hard questions about how we were communicating about hazing and harm reduction with our students," he said. "In the end, we decided there was a way we could do things better." From that initial goal, research was conducted with campuses across the state, a broad-based coalition was formed to begin discussing the most effective approaches and comprehensive plans were developed which have had far-reaching results on FSU's campus. The most visible of which is a website designed to reach high risk groups such as student organizations, sports clubs, athletes and fraternities and sororities. The site serves as a central portal for hazing resources, information and reporting, and includes an interactive quiz to test students' knowledge about hazing laws in Florida as well as the university's expectations of students. "I have been so impressed with the hazing prevention work at Florida State since I first saw an early draft of the website," said Tracy Maxwell, Executive Director of HazingPrevention.Org. "Most impressive, however, is the use of a comprehensive, year-round approach to hazing prevention and education, precisely what this award seeks to recognize and encourage. By involving so many constituencies and approaches in the planning and execution of their programming, they have ensured successful outcomes and will serve as a role model to other campuses as they approach this work." The award money, generously provided by Zeta Tau Alpha and the ZTA Foundation, will be used to support hazing research and assessment efforts, fund undergraduate and graduate student attendance at national hazing trainings and support greater awareness of existing prevention efforts in the Florida State community, Goldstein said. |
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THANK YOU to the 2009-2010
Awards Committee and Judges
Awards Commitee
Dominic Greene, Chair
Deb Ensor Khaatim Boyd
Betsi Burns Lisa Hurwitz
Heather Kirk Stacy Kraus
Kate Steiner Kaye Schendel
Shelley Sutherland
Innovation Award Judges
Joe Gilman, Chair
Elizabeth Allan Mike Hayes
Linda Langford Dick McCaig
Kim Novak Norm Pollard
Cathy Scroggs |
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by Lisa Gregory
Now there IS a sure cure for the summertime blues. Come to the Kimberley J. Novak Institute for Hazing Prevention in suburban Rochester, New York on June 9 through June 12, on the beautiful campus of the State University of New York at Geneseo. Join a small army division of committed campus professionals and graduate students who not only are concerned about hazing but committed to learning the best ways to combat and to detect it. Participants come from all area of campus including Greek affairs, Student Life, athletics, club sports and band. Past participants have included educators, attorneys, campus police, coaches, athletic directors and upper-level campus administrators. Registration costs $750 with a $100 discount ($650) if you register by May 7. If your campus sends five or more representatives there is an additional ten percent discount, and students register for only $600. Registration closes May 21. Register Now!Graduates of the Institute will have initiated and sustained a conversation with their peers from across the country and joined a powerful coalition of partners nationwide. Sponsors of the 2010 Institute include Willis North America, FRMT, Ltd., MJ Insurance and Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity. It's not too late for your organization to become a sponsor. Through April 15, go here to download forms and sign on. |
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Meet Jonathan Kassa
Security On Campus Executive Director
Interview by Hank Nuwer
 For me personally, one of the most exciting elements of my board commitment to HPO is the opportunity to partner with other organizations I long have worked with. Back in 1990 I received a call from a Mrs. Connie Clery who discussed with me her plans for a fledgling organization she had co-founded called Security on Campus which was to try to make sure no other students would be murdered on campus the way her daughter had been at Lehigh University. Twenty years later, Security on Campus [Tracy put link here] has paved the way for campus safety initiatives and mandatory reporting while Lehigh has become one of the most respected of campuses for innovations in its Greek programming. Meet Jonathan Kassa, Philadelphia-based executive director of SOC, and a nationally known, award-winning innovator known for creating collaborations between nonprofit organizations and government entities at both the federal and state level. An alumnus of Penn State (B.A.) and Villanova University (M.A), Kassa has been an invaluable resource for me personally, sharing SOC's 20-year commitment to end criminal hazing practices on campus.
HPO: What ideally should college advisers and administrators do from a procedural level should they suspect that criminal hazing might have taken place?
Kassa: First of all: Take it seriously. Too often, the effects of hazing on individuals and the larger community are not recognized by those in the position to make a difference. This begins by having a well informed, conveyed, and enforced policy and procedure established by an institution. Of course, these policies mean nothing if they collect dust and administrators are not aware and prepared to take action.
All members of the campus community must be empowered and educated to recognize hazing, be committed to a community free of hazing, and make a difference. Not only should administrators know their role and how the institution allows action to be taken (proactively and punitively); the larger community, from students to faculty and staff, must be aware of the ongoing campaign to end hazing.
Lack of action and poor communication undermines the best-written policies. Additionally, something we are well aware of this from the problems in sexual assault reporting on campus, campus confidential reporting procedures must be established so victims feel safe and their justice needs are met. All too often, the judicial affairs process on campus can re-victimize victims. This highlights the need to establish proper checks and balances in the process and procedures of an institution. Sometimes, as but one example, this means the need and ability of victims of hazing to approach non-campus law enforcement and victim service agencies beyond the borders of the school authority.
HPO: Jonathan, how does Security on Campus view acts of criminal hazing on college campuses and even high school campuses?
Kassa: SOC expects there to be no tolerance from higher education institutions and organizations when dealing with hazing. Hazing, beyond typically involving criminal behavior, perpetuates a culture of fear and silence. That culture begins in middle and high school and extends to college campus communities. This connection cannot be ignored - similar to other societal problems like substance abuse, stalking and sexual violence.
Instead of passively reinforcing this attitude, colleges should be at the forefront in combating hazing. Fortunately, we have seen some movement in this direction, but more must be done to capitalize on any momentum and promote the best practices of those institutions that decide to lead.
HPO: Can you envision a day at some point in the future when colleges may need to report officially any acts of criminal hazing on their campuses?
Kassa: Under the Clery Act colleges and universities are already required to disclose some information about criminal hazing. Incidents that rise to the level of an aggravated assault or forcible sex offense, for example, must already be reported in annual statistics. Any hazing involving a crime of any kind that is reported to a campus police or security department must also be reported in the public crime log. SOC is committed to working with HPO and others to enhance these existing hazing reporting requirements and to develop a workable method to achieve an accurate accounting of all criminal hazing incidents known to individual colleges and universities. As the criminal problem is more illuminated, better standards and accountability will occur, making consistent, measurable progress possible.
HPO: What have been some of the ways that SOC has highlighted the problem of hazing and offered either perspective or solutions?
Kassa: SOC has long identified hazing as one of the chief student safety threats in college and university campuses. Over the years we have tracked incidents of hazing in our newsletter and later in our online crime database. SOC also offers the "Hamster Cocktails....and the Truth About Hazing" educational video and study guide for use in high school & college settings. A long-term strategy is the continued facilitation of partnerships across systems, sharing SOC's organizational knowledge to assist any stakeholders whose goals ensure safer campus communities and justice for victims.
HPO: Is SOC also concerned about acts of hazing that don't technically rise to the level of criminal hazing but still involve demeaning or silly acts that tend to send message that hazing is somehow "normal" in student organizations?
Kassa: Absolutely, SOC is concerned. Since there is no place for hazing in our society, what may be considered "minor" acts that have not risen to criminal levels still reinforce a culture of power and control that may very well lead to more serious victimization.
Such "minor" hazing can easily be the gateway for serious criminal behavior to occur. Such behavior should not be facilitated by organizations or individuals, even if they think it is just "play." Look at some of the methods predatory sexual assault perpetrators use to "groom" victims; such as identifying vulnerable targets, gaining a false sense of trust, exploiting a situation or environment to their advantage, and the use of drugs or alcohol to facilitate the crime. I don't see much of a difference in these criminal traits when applied to the hazing continuum.
A college community is not exempt to crime and is not separate from the expectations and standards of any other community in America. SOC knows all too well that hazing in campus communities across the nation has criminal intentions and serious negative outcomes. No tolerance for any form of hazing, from across the education leadership spectrum and student communities, ensures that no lines will ever be crossed - there must be no space for ambiguity, no gray area to be exploited.
Bio: Hank Nuwer is editor of the HPO Newsletter. He and Jonathan Kassa are members of Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society. Hank has been associated with SOC informally for 20 years and formally as an advisory member for four years. | |
THANK YOU 2009-2010 PREMIER LEVEL SPONSORS
CAMPUSPEAK - six year sponsor
Delta Gamma - four year sponsor
Sigma Nu - six year sponsor
OUR WORK WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT
YOUR EXTRAORDINARY SUPPORT.
For a list of all organizations and campuses that sponsor our work, and to find out how you can become a sponsor, go here. Sponsorship forms are linked on the right-hand side of the page.
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Webinar
Programs $50 fee per site
Know What to Do
April 29, 2010
2-3:30 pm EST
Presented by:
Mike Dilbeck, Director of the Response Ability Project & CAMPUSPEAK Speaker
Kim Novak, Consultant for campus safety, student risk management and student organization development
Once students have been able to identify the behavior as a problem and accept responsibility for doing something about it - what to do? Knowing what to do in a hazing situation is often very difficult. Personal as well as organizational concerns often play a role in determining whether or not someone will act, and if those are overcome, will students anonymously report hazing - to whom? Will they help a friend seek help from a professional? This webinar will help students weigh the pros and cons of taking action and determine the right action for their situation.
Crucial Conversations: How to Talk to Students About Hazing
May 20, 2010
2-3:30 pm EST
Presented by:
Matt Mattson, President, Phired Up Productions
Samantha Armstrong, Asst. Director, Center for F/S Life, Washington State University
When we use the term "hazing" it can cause defensiveness with students and hinder openness. The conversations outlined in this program are based on the Crucial Conversations Guide, developed last year by HPO, which offers an alternative to discussing "hazing" by focusing instead on the concerns and impacts surrounding the issue - respect, dignity, friendships, rites of passage, hidden harm, etc. and in doing so open up the dialogue. In addition to a brief introduction of each subject area, the guide also contains a list of questions that can be asked individually in one-on-one's or in a groups such as president's, team captain or other meetings. This webinar will explore the topics covered in the guide while talking about how to successfully lead these conversations with students.
Preparing for National Hazing Prevention Week
August 11, 2010
2 - 3:30 pm EST
Presented by:
Adam Cantley, Asst. Director of F/S Life at Virginia Tech
Malinda Matney, Sr. Research Assoc. in the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Michigan
This webinar is designed to outline how your campus or organization can plan an effective week of hazing prevention education and activities, connecting with HazingPrevention.Org's National Hazing Prevention Week. This webinar is appropriate for student affairs professionals, chapter and student organization advisors, student leaders, and inter/national organization volunteers and staff. Key concepts will include quick and effective planning, designing learning outcomes for NHPW, coordination among multiple organizations (on campus or beyond campus), marketing, social networking and assessment efforts.
NHPW should involve more than the "usual suspects" - Greek organizations on college and university campuses. Bands, athletics, ROTC and other student organizations should also take part in this national event. NHPW planning is also appropriate for high school and middle school settings.
A key concept throughout this webinar is the idea that hazing prevention is not simply a short-term movement to deal with a temporary problem, but a set of learning goals to teach students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other community members how to more effectively live in community and develop appropriate conflict resolution skills in multiple settings.
Through planning a comprehensive hazing prevention week, campuses and organizations can create the relationships that will allow them to continue ongoing prevention and educational work throughout the year. Join us as we explore planning toward learning outcomes that lead to prevention of hazing practices in organizations and communities.
EACH OF THESE PROGRAMS IS APPROPRIATE FOR STUDENT PARTICIPATION.
Even if the dates aren't convenient for your calendar, register to obtain a recording of the programs to be used anytime. Past webinar program recordings can be obtained through our online store as well. |
News Bulletin
As the newsletter comes to press, a story has broken that Utah State University will now have its day in court following the death of Michael Starks in an alcohol-related hazing death. Whether you agree with the court's ruling or disagree, there is no doubt that this case will be watched with careful scrutiny by HPO as it continues to offer content of relevance to the public. Here is the link.
Also, Family Circle magazine recently published a piece about high school hazing. Read it here. |
The Reality of Hazing
An Editorial By Ruth Goodman of Alpha Xi Delta
I recently watched an episode of Spike TV's Blue Mountain State, a comedy (Spike's word choice, not mine) about three freshmen who attend "Midwestern football powerhouse Blue Mountain State and must adapt to football, women, classes and hazing."
My curiosity was piqued because of the word "hazing," so I watched . . . and was appalled at the stupidity and the "boys will be boys" attitude. Sadly, the show was renewed for a second season, which means people actually watch this drivel and advertisers support it.
Why do people watch shows like Blue Mountain State or MTV's Sorority Life? Are they entertained by the humiliation of others? Do they long for "the good old days" when they, perhaps, humiliated others? Or maybe boys (and girls) behaving badly has become so commonplace that people don't think it's wrong.
In addition to TV shows that present overt hazing, there are far more that display contestants on "reality" shows being yelled at, demeaned and coerced into doing outlandish things. Such acts are not hazing per se, but the root is the same: humiliation, degradation and making someone feel "less than." And let's not forget the person barking out the commands who feels superior, self-righteous and invincible. Chef Gordon Ramsay, the over-the-top chef on Hell's Kitchen, comes to mind. The LA Times reports that Ramsay has "racked up ... notable HK numbers: Eight seasons, 116 chefs, 13 medical emergencies, including one person hospitalized twice . . ." Apparently physical harm, at least to the LA Times, is to be lauded.
This deplorable behavior, similar in so many ways to actual hazing, sends an unwanted message that it's OK to be demeaned and it's not OK to stand up for yourself. We seem to have become desensitized to all kinds of atrocities, and that's a problem.
What's more, no one puts a stop to the behavior we see on TV. Not regulatory powers, advertisers or producers. Younger viewers, seemingly unfazed by these shameful acts, may grow up to be bullies and hazers themselves. And their parents may accept this egregious behavior as strange but "normal" as their children join sports teams and other groups.
Take a stand. Write advertisers and tell them you'll no longer buy their products if they continue to financially support shows that promote overt and covert hazing. When a coworker laughs about the latest episode of Hell's Kitchen or Blue Mountain State, turn the conversation into a teachable moment: Ask him if he realizes that what's being shown on TV is hazing . . . and explain why those behaviors are anything but funny.
If we continue to condone overt and covert hazing, we become part of the problem. We begin to accept all kinds of bad behavior and may even begin to behave badly ourselves. And that's the insidious reality of hazing. |
VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE FOR GREAT RESOURCES:
Posters, brochures, buttons, resource guides, door hangers, etc.
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Editor - Hank Nuwer, Franklin College
Editorial Board:
Ruth Goodman,
Alpha Xi Delta
Lisa Gregory,
Delta Gamma
Jill Lewman Harter,
Alpha Gamma Delta
Lisa Thibault,
Kappa Alpha Theta
Dan Wrona, RISE Partnerships | |
