On Tuesday, September 24th, 2024, a federal anti-hazing bill successfully passed the House of Representatives. The bill would require institutions of higher learning to include hazing incidents in their annual security reports, implement anti-hazing programs on campuses, and publish their hazing policies online.
Section 18.2-56 of Virginia Law defines hazing as the “reckless or intentional endangerment of the health or safety of a student or to inflict bodily injury for initiation or admission into an organization, fraternity, sorority, or student body, regardless of whether the student voluntarily participated in the relevant activity.” This new law arose from multiple instances of hazing across Virginia’s universities, which have resulted in hospitalizations and alcohol-induced comas. Additionally, 18.2-56 states that hazing is a civil and criminal liability. Any person found guilty is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and is subject to the institution’s disciplinary policies. Often, this results in the temporary suspension of a student organization while the university investigates alleged violations of its Standards of Conduct.
Many big-name colleges in Virginia, including but not limited to the University of Virginia, The College of William & Mary, and Virginia Tech, have released updated anti-hazing policies and statements following the enactment of this law. While this is a step in the right direction, the damage hazing has done is irreversible.
Hazing has been around for decades, seriously injuring hundreds of students and killing dozens. Students might force pledges to chug vodka, do chores for members of their prospective house or organization, stay up for days on end, or be “on call” twenty-four hours a day while juggling a full course load. Each year, initiated members ask themselves how they can make matters worse for the next incoming class. With these factors piling on, hazing rituals are becoming increasingly dangerous and dehumanizing. The organizations involved–primarily fraternities–brush it off as building a sense of tradition and camaraderie. But in reality, hazing rituals result in long-lasting psychological and physical damage, alienation, and resentment. Not only are these practices inhumane tests of endurance and humiliation, but they also wear down the values the organizations preach to outsiders. Still, they become an unspoken facet of student life at any given university.
The new guidelines contain the criteria for removing a student from a class, using suspension, expulsion, and exclusion as disciplinary measures, or terminating a group from Grounds, with extreme hazing being one standard. Five fraternities at the University of Virginia have been sanctioned for engaging in hazing behavior, and two have been terminated, particularly for failing to acknowledge responsibility for hazing. Although the expulsions have shed light on the consequences of hazing, the fear of retaliation often keeps individuals from reporting. Furthermore, Donovan Golich, who formerly served as the assistant director of accountability within UVA Student Affairs Policy, Accountability, and Critical Events (PACE), recently left his position amidst allegations that his anti-hazing policies made students feel less safe.
A school’s top priority should be ensuring its students’ safety, yet its handling of hazing-related cases gives students reason to feel less safe. If death won’t stop hazing, what will? More importantly, why has UVA, a university emphasizing honor and integrity, allowed hazing to reach a boiling point? Hazing is not a problem that can be resolved through student action alone. There needs to be an increased awareness of what constitutes hazing and its long-lasting implications.
Student Affairs states that all new members of UVA student organizations with a new member initiation process must attend the Hoos Against Hazing education program in compliance with the Virginia Adam’s Law. But are all students aware of their school’s amnesty policy or their active bystander policy? A mandatory anti-hazing session is an excellent first step, but it’s not enough. Hazing-induced injuries can be life-threatening if bystanders don’t call medical services. A solid multi-step education about hazing prevention, including alcohol intoxication, hazing laws, and new member hazing prevention training, must be in place for each student, regardless of affiliation with Greek life. Beyond the required lecture at Wahoo Welcome, a mandatory semester-long course or hands-on practice might be beneficial for the UVA student body.
Leaders of student groups must receive training to recognize hazing behaviors and have the proper tools for intervention. University officials must help create student-led support networks that offer an outlet for reporting hazing concerns without the fear of retaliation from their peers. Ultimately, Greek organizations and CIOs with initiation processes must prioritize alternative bonding activities emphasizing team-building and community over demeaning rituals that purport to prove allegiance and worthiness.
While UVA’s awareness efforts have a noticeable presence on Grounds, they have been unable to create substantial cultural change. By not prioritizing the safety of its students, UVA has failed to live up to its standards of honor. It is well past time for the University to take a final stance on hazing. Until it does so, hazing will continue to endanger the lives of its students.
The opinions expressed within this piece represent the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jefferson Independent.
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