Posts Tagged: hazing

Hazing — Alive, Well, and Disastrous

January 15, 2014

Ryan Hamilton, PhD MSES
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
University of New Brunswick
Sport Psychology Consultant

Editors Note: This is one of two articles by Dr. Hamilton on Hazing. The next Newsletter discusses Hazing Strategies.

Hazing Defined
Hazing has been most often defined as “any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate” (Hoover, 1999). Others have added to the hazing definition by stating that hazing includes, but is not limited to, an activity, no matter how traditional or seemingly benign, that sets apart or alienates any member of the group based on class, number of years in the group, or ability” Hazing usually occurs as a part of the initiation process and is prevalent in many spheres of society, including fraternities, the military, corporations, and athletics. Read more

Hazing Prevention Strategies

January 14, 2014

Ryan Hamilton, PhD MSES
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
University of New Brunswick
Sport Psychology Consultant

Editors Note: This is the second of two articles by Dr. Hamilton on Hazing. The first article appeared in Volume 8#2.
The term hazing represents a vast number of activities that potentially degrade, embarrass, endanger or abuse incoming group members. These behaviors continue to be highly prevalent as indicated by recent empirical study – in spite of the introduction of anti-hazing policies. Indeed, more than 90% of varsity athletes report being hazed at some point in their athletic career, with 86% reporting being hazed as a part of joining their university team (Allan & Madden, 2008; Hamilton et al., 2013). The causes and supporting factors of hazing are vast and complex and thus, new rules alone are often inadequate in quelling these behaviours. This is not to say that new rules are not important, but simply that they are not sufficient to create meaningful changes in initiation practices. Educational initiatives, replacement activities, moral engagement processes, and leadership moments must all be fostered to prevent the continued and cyclical perpetration of hazing behaviours. Hazing prevention strategies are the focus of this article.
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UC San Diego Sports Clubs Hazing Policy: An Attempt to Be Pro-Active

October 12, 2011

Liz Henry
Asst. Director of Sports and Rec Clubs

Scott Berndes
Director of Sports and Rec Clubs

Hazing has always been a prominent issue on college campuses and we have seen it persist on campus for several reasons. First, many groups are sometimes oblivious to the fact that their initiation practices are actually hazing. Also, those subjected to initiation activities may not question them because they are handed down by older members who often went through similar experiences. In addition, organizations may ignore the possibilities of harm and consequences because of a belief that they are fostering loyalty and bonding. The University of California, San Diego takes the issue of hazing very seriously. The practices of hazing are a clear violation of the Student Code of Conduct and California law. Thus, it was very important for the UCSD sports clubs department to establish a clear and concise hazing policy relative to sports club activities.

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Hazing Study

April 07, 2011

Ian McGregor, Ph.D.
President, McGregor & Associates

Hazing/ initiation continues to be a serious problem on many campuses – despite numerous high profile incidents
reported recently. NIRSA recently collaborated on a special project taking place at the University of Maine.
Coordinated by the National Research Institute for College Recreational Sports & Wellness, the study involved 1,789
students answering a 70-question web-based survey. Some of the preliminary findings of Phase I of the study may
(or may not) surprise you:
– 1 in 20 students indicated they had been hazed at their current institution
– hazing was reported across many types of teams and student organizations
– 60% of varsity athletes indicated they engaged in hazing behavior
– students indicated that coaches and advisors are aware of hazing activity.

Perhaps the most significant implication for Sport Clubs was the finding that 22% of
respondents indicated that their coach or advisor actually took part in the hazing ritual.
To learn more about the study, go to the NIRSA website or see www.hazingstudy.com

Hazing in Campus Recreation: Part I

March 31, 2011

It’s Not Just a Greek Thing

Jean McClellan-Holt, Ed.D, CRSS
Assistant Director, Recreation & Wellness
Old Dominion University

What’s the big deal about hazing — it’s just kids being kids, just fun and games. In the past, many college presidents encouraged hazing – to them hazing taught precedence, built school loyalty, and assimilated students from all economic classes (Novak, 2009). Hazing builds character and shows what you’re made of. Hazing is a Greek thing — we don’t need to worry about it in Campus Recreation —right? WRONG!!

According to the National Study of Student Hazing (Allan & Madden, 2008), hazing in sport clubs ranked #3 with 64% of the respondents reporting at least one hazing incident affiliated with their efforts to join or remain on a sport club team. Intramural sports ranked # 6 with 49% of the respondents reporting at least one hazing incident affiliated with their efforts to join or remain on an intramural team. Hazing is not just a “Greek” issue, it is a societal issue. Hazing can lead to humiliation, physical and psychological injury, even DEATH. If hazing is such a bad thing WHY is it still so prevalent in our society? Before one can tackle the issue of why hazing is so prevalent in our society, it would be helpful to define hazing. This is a difficult task because hazing is such a broad term. A plethora of activities can be considered to be hazing, and in some cases an activity may be hazing to one person and may not be hazing to another person.

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Hazing in Campus Recreation: Part II

March 30, 2011

It’s Not Just a Greek Thing

Jean McClellan-Holt, Ed.D., CRSS
Assistant Director, Recreation & Wellness
Old Dominion University

Part I of this article focused on the definition of hazing, the types of hazing (Subtle, Harassment, and Violent), and delved into why hazing is so prevalent in society. Part II will focus on hazing prevention coalitions at two major universities.

In the past ten years, hazing has become more violent, more humiliating, and more sexual (InsideHazing.com, 2010). Fortunately, a lot is being done to promote the prevention of hazing. These initiatives include the formation of specialized anti-hazing organizations, the passage of anti-hazing laws on the state level, and the creation of collaborative hazing prevention programs at colleges and universities throughout the nation. Two such programs are the very successful Hazing Coalition at Florida State University, and a rather new program at Auburn University.

An email with questions on the creation of the Hazing Coalition was sent to Dr. Adam Goldstein, Associate Dean of Students at Florida State University, and Paul Kittle, Director of Greek Life at Auburn University. Below are their responses to these questions.

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