by Dave Westol

There are five assumptions I will make about the investigation of hazing cases as a basic starting point. If your policies and procedures do not include all five, perhaps you may wish to rethink them before proceeding.

The heart and soul of your investigation involves asking the right questions of victims, bystanders, witnesses and alleged hazers. Note: if you suspect that criminal hazing might have taken place, protect yourself and your institution by reporting to proper law enforcement authorities. Always use individual interviews - never interview anyone in groups.

Pay careful attention to your demeanor during an investigation. Be calm, professional, and unflappable even when you hear things that make you angry. Don't threaten or attempt to intimidate. Never, ever lie about the information that you have or have not received.

As you pose each question, listen for code words or special terms and phrases. Hazers are compulsive about revealing some aspects of hazing. These will be oblique references, so listen carefully for terms, codes, and phrases like "pledge class unity" and "respecting the house." Many who haze use this language because they want it to be known that hazing exists.

Look for and record all outward indications of hazing that witnesses observe: grouping of pledges, specialized greetings, carrying unusual items, dress (including the same attire worn repeatedly), demeanor, and behavior around members.

Insist that those whom you interview walk you through a week. Ask about rote memorization of trivial facts, canned or orchestrated answers, prohibiting access to phoning those outside the group, black plastic garbage bags over windows (or curtains shut), group exercises, or late night activities. Look for signs of exhaustion in pledges. In cerain cultlike chapters, look for withdrawal from or exclusion of friends, family, and other students.

Consider the timing. Hazing usually occurs in a prescribed time period. For athletic teams it often happens after the pre-season and before the regular season begins. For bands, it tends to take place on trips and during "band camp" and pre-season. For Greek letter organizations, hazing often takes place near the end of the semester for pre-initiation. In addition, there are two especially dangerous nights for fraternities and sororities: bid night and "bigs" night. With high school hazing in cheerleading, athletics and freshman foolishness, look for what may occur on trips, camps, and overnights. Parents may hear comments like "We're just going out tonight to welcome your daughter into cheerleading." Uh huh.

When speaking with parents, be prepared to respond to inquiries such as, "If I tell you in detail what is going on, can you promise me that the season will not be cancelled/the group will not be closed down or suspended/the team will be punished." Your response: "We don't know what we have yet...we can't predict what will happen, but we know what will happen if the hazing continues...let me walk you through our procedures." (Never make a promise you cannot keep such as failing to report criminal behavior to law enforcement or you and your institution may suffer most of all).

When investigating hazing, The Three Trench Metaphor usually applies.

Trench I: (also known as the kicked anthill response) Expect to hear any and all of these responses: "We didn't do anything. Who are your sources ratting us out? There's no way hazing occurred by our definition! Our university or national or other affiliate organization has a policy against hazing. We want to get a chance to question the person who reported this. Tell us what you heard and we'll tell you if it is true. Dude, our alumni and parents are gonna sue, and our alumni are going to stop giving. What gives you the authority to do this?" Anticipate these questions and prepare for how you will respond.

Trench II: (euphemisms galor) "It depends on your definition of hazing. I can't believe you are hanging us out to dry on that evidence. You don't know what it means to be a teammate, member, pledge, associate or rookie! Well, it was technically or maybe a little hazing. No one intended for anyone to be hurt. It was a tradition-do you know about those when you were in school?"

Trench III: "If we admit this what will happen to us? There may be more hazing than you know about but we want an assurance that if we tell you we won't be closed down." Note: You can't assure anything that you can't assure. "It was some rogue members who did this without the knowledge or permission of the leaders / coaches / advisors." Ask for specifics. "Some of us wanted to change but we didn't know what to do and no one from the 'U' would help us/we thought we'd get into trouble if we admitted what was going on." This may be useful if only some members who were the perpetrators are to be expelled with others to reform what is left of a chapter or team.

Expect these dynamics to occur once the investigation begins:

• If you suspend the activities of the organization pending an outcome, this will not actually suspend all activities.
• If you tell the leaders not to meet with the rookies / associates / new members, they will nod politely and then immediately meet with the rookies/associates/new members to orchestrate answers and create a plausible story. There may be threats. Or sweet talk and promises. "If you talk, we're finished. We will make changes." The 'changes' are almost always cast in the future tense. In reality, few if any changes will be made. The hazers want to close ranks and defend the organization.
• Big tip. The captain(s), chapter president or other leader(s) of the organization will be placed in an untenable position: telling the truth means that they will be fighting a war on two fronts, as they perceive it, with you and with the hazers.
• Those who truly believe in hazing are usually not the key leaders, and do not, in the opinion of this author, compose more than fifteen percent of the membership of the team or organization. However, they are loud, vocal and usually profane. They influence the organization or team by intimidation and coercion. Many of us refer to this as the "Lord of the Flies" syndrome, reflecting the group dynamics that occurred in the novel by the same name.

By Lisa Thibault

by Ruth Goodman