Preventing Hazing at Harvard crimson shield

 

What Individuals Can Do About Hazing

For Current or Prespective Members

If you are ever in immediate danger and/or require urgent care, call 911, HUPD (617-495-1212), or the HUHS After Hours Urgent Care Clinic (617-495-5711) immediately.
  1. Remember that you are not alone at Harvard and do not have to tolerate hazing. There are many resources available to support you if you are being hazed or want to stop hazing within your organization or team. From mental health clinicians to peer counselors to proctors and tutors, there is support available at the College 24/7/365. And remember that your friends and block-mates, particularly colleagues outside of your group1, are there to help, too.
     
  2. Recognize that you have not signed on for hazing when you join a student group or athletic team. If you are an athlete, the place to prove yourself to your teammates is on the field, in the gym, on the court, or in the pool – not on the receiving end of hazing.
     
  3. You are not limited to black and white choices. When confronted with hazing activities your options go beyond enduring, quitting, or calling the police. Feel empowered to ask questions, raise objections, and, if necessary, tell someone.
     
  4. Recognize that most group members and teammates want you to feel welcomed and to contribute to the success of your organization. If an activity is troubling you, let someone in the group know, particularly a leader of the group or someone else whom you trust. If group members or teammates show respect for you, they will honor your wishes and do whatever it takes to keep you involved with the group.
     
  5. Remember that Massachusetts law prohibits hazing. Victims of hazing may report what they experienced to the police or to any office of the College.

For Current and Prospective Officers

For students who are current or potential group officers or team captains, the College has three related expectations: respect your peers, be a leader, and educate yourself and your colleagues.

  1. Treat your colleagues and teammates with RESPECT. Taken seriously, this would preclude any activity that involves shaming or humiliating other students or causes any form of physical or psychological pain. If your group previously conducted an activity that upset you, why make someone else go through the same negative experience?
     
  2. Demonstrate basic LEADERSHIP traits. Leaders are responsible for the safety and well-being of individuals in their organization or team and for the security of the organization itself. Hazing is not compatible with either. Hazing puts members at risk for various unintended consequences. Also, leaders should motivate others to engage in meaningful activities out of respect for the group and not due to fear of repercussions. Hazing can stir up unnecessary feelings of fear among new or potential members.

    Read how some of the leaders of Harvard sports’ teams have already taken a stand against hazing.
     
  3. Make sure to EDUCATE yourself, as well as your teammates or fellow group members, by reading the hazing laws and Harvard policies and understanding which activities are acceptable and which are not. Even if some hazing activities seem harmless to you, hazing can bring your organization or team into disrepute, not to mention put you at risk for civil or criminal. In addition, new provisions in the Harvard College Handbook for Students make clear that the College may hold you responsible for hazing activities as an officer, even if you were not directly involved.

If all Harvard organizations and teams live up to these standards, hazing will not be an issue on this campus.

For Witnesses

Witnesses to hazing—friends, block-mates, housemates, and teammates—should step up when they suspect that another student is being hazed.

Though you may feel conflicted about standing up to a hazing incident, there are reasons why it is in your interest to do something when you know about hazing.

  1. If your friends or peers are hazed, they may feel as though they have no choice but to continue enduring the hazing activities. You can assist them by being an ally and helping to free them from the hazing cycle.2-3 If you have concerns about how to approach a friend or want to direct him or her to a professional who can provide support, check out the many resources available at Harvard.
     
  2. Even though you are not the one being hazed, there are no guarantees that you will be free from hazing throughout the rest of your time at Harvard. Taking a stand against hazing now may help prevent future incidents that could affect you.

How to Recognize Hazing

Some hazing incidents take place in the middle of Harvard Yard and are obvious. Students dressed in bathing suits in the middle of winter is just one blatant example.

But most hazing is likely to happen behind closed doors1. Even if you yourself do not witness hazing, there may be some signs that someone you know is being hazed. The following observations should be cause for concern and may indicate that a friend, classmate, or neighbor is the victim of hazing2,4:

  • Intoxication or other impairment (especially at odd hours of the day)
  • Unexplained disappearances in the middle of the night
  • Obvious fatigue (e.g. falling asleep in section)
  • Bruises or other injuries
  • Inappropriate or unusual dress
  • New tattoos, other marks, or shaved heads
  • Reduced contact with friends or block-mates
  • Sudden loss of enthusiasm for school, a sport, or other activities
  • Unexcused absences from class
  • Late or missing coursework

If you think someone you know may be hazed, you may consider talking with your proctor or tutor about it. You may also consider contacting someone at Harvard to discuss what to do about these alleged hazing practices.

For Alumni

Alumni can have tremendous influence with current members of student organizations or teams they participated in or led as undergraduates. Alumni are often the authority when it comes to an organization or team’s history and traditions. The College expects its graduates to display exemplary leadership – to encourage their old organizations or teams to plan positive activities and treat members with respect. Traditional activities should be adapted if possible to avoid harms associated with hazing. If hazing is a part of a group’s history, alumni have a responsibility to make sure that history does not continue into the future.

Further, even though it may seem like tradition for current students to visit your residence and participate in unsafe drinking or other hazing activities, remember that you open yourself up to criminal and civil liability for supplying alcohol to minors or condoning any hazing activities.

Source:

1 Campo, S., Poulos, G. & Sipple, J. (2005). Prevalence and Profiling: Hazing Among College Students and Points of Intervention. American Journal of Health Behavior, 29(2), 137-149.

2 Lipkins, S. (2006). Preventing hazing: How parents, teachers, and coaches can stop the violence, harassment, and humiliation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

3 Guynn, K.L. and Aquila, F.D. (2004). Hazing in high schools: Causes and consequences. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

4 Finkel, M.A. (2002). Traumatic injuries caused by hazing practices. AJEM, 20(3), 228-233.