Picture this: A student is carefully carrying an egg across campus. Another is lugging a backpack stuffed full of bricks into the classroom. Off campus, a group of students is forced to perform an embarrassing song to the surprise of an unsuspecting audience.
These are all potential forms of hazing that Colorado State University leaders say appear harmless but could escalate if not reported.
As part of National Hazing Prevention Week — Sept. 25-29 — CSU’s End Hazing Workgroup is aiming to spread awareness that hazing comes in all shapes and forms. As such, members of the workgroup explained that some students may not be aware that the behavior they are experiencing is hazing, or that they can choose not to participate, because hazing can have lasting, negative impacts.
“If they’re carrying an egg out in public, you’re wondering what’s going on behind the scenes,” said Jody Donovan, associate vice president for student affairs at CSU. “We need to intervene in the subtle but more frequent types of intimidation hazing behaviors that people dismiss because it can build to the more violent types of hazing. Many people may dismiss or label the subtle hazing as harmless traditions, initiations, jokes or pranks. However, all hazing can be mentally, emotionally and physically harmful because we don’t know students’ personal histories.”
Donovan explained that student hazing is not isolated to the fraternity and sorority news headlines. Student organizations — ranging from the athletics to the performing arts — can commit hazing, she said. Donovan pointed to the 2011 Florida A&M marching band incident in which a band member was killed during a hazing ritual aboard a school bus.
“Hazing is created in this idea that it’s going to make you a better member,” Donovan said. “But what the research says is that it actually makes you resent the organization and its leaders. It forms a trauma bond among the people that have been hazed. So, it divides your organization rather than builds unity.”
In 2015, Vice President of Student Affairs Blanche Hughes charged Donovan and others across the university to establish a workgroup to address the issue of hazing. There wasn’t an incident on campus that spurred the charge. Rather, the proactive idea stemmed from collaborative discussions with Donovan and others.
During the group’s early years, the charge was not to create new policies, but rather change culture.
“When I charged the hazing workgroup, I knew this work wouldn’t be easy or fast,” said Hughes. “The long-term goal is to change the culture, so students don’t see hazing as a necessary rite of passage and members of the campus community who witness hazing or are asked to participate feel empowered to intervene and stop it.”
A national leader
Since that initial charge, the workgroup became among the first campuswide groups in the nation to address hazing. It regularly meets with student organizations, advisors, teams and coaches to conduct training sessions on how to identify signs of hazing as well as establish protocols for responding to hazing incidents.
Tyler Kieffer, assistant director for student conduct services at CSU, was hired in January to help continue this important initiative. In his role, he oversees student conduct and behavioral concerns relating to student organizations on campus such as fraternities and sororities, sport clubs and all other registered student organizations. Kieffer has been transitioning to help take over the reins of the End Hazing Workgroup from Donovan.
“All hazing can be mentally, emotionally and physically harmful because we don’t know students’ personal histories.”
— Jody Donovan, associate vice president for student affairs
“The Hazing Prevention Workgroup is a tangible reflection of CSU’s stance on hazing,” he said. “Several campuses denounce hazing and have anti-hazing polices, but few take that commitment to the next level by asking staff and faculty to participate in campus-wide hazing prevention efforts. I believe the workgroup is critical because it lets students, faculty and staff know that not only do we condemn hazing, but we are also actively making efforts to educate those across campus on what hazing is, how to identify it, and how they can intervene and ultimately help prevent hazing on campus in their roles.”
As a national leader, Donovan explained that the End Hazing Workgroup has been contacted by other universities to glean best practices and get advice for establishing similar workgroups.
Both Donovan and Kieffer cited the strong campus support for the group’s success. Most recently, members of StopHazing — a national organization dedicated to promoting safe and inclusive campus environments — visited CSU for two days of training and consultation in August. Donovan said that she was amazed by the support of university leadership during the group’s visit.
For Donovan, she explained that the issue of hazing hits close to home, as a family member was part of systematic hazing during their college years. She said that she hopes more faculty, staff and students will learn to detect the early warning signs of hazing before it’s too late.
“When hazing starts small, like with being assigned a demeaning name or being forced to eat disgusting things, you have resentment,” Donovan said. “But then, you have pride that you did it. So, you want to turn around and increase the intensity on the next group. And that’s why we want to catch it at the lower level before it gets out of hand and potentially life-threatening.”
CSU End Hazing website
Get important resources on the End Hazing website by visiting endhazing.colostate.edu.
