Preventing Hazing at Harvard crimson shield

 

What Organizations or Teams Can Do

For Organizations and Athletic Teams

Because it is impossible to create a comprehensive list of potentially harmful activities, it is important for each student organization and athletic team to consistently evaluate how it recruits and welcomes new members to ensure that the organization is not participating in or supporting hazing practices. Student organizations (both recognized and unrecognized) and sports teams should select one member or officer to complete this anonymous online questionnaire to have a better understanding of whether the group’s activities might be construed as hazing.

After completing the questionnaire, each group should think about what it is seeking to accomplish through its new member and recruiting activities. There are two ways to frame this discussion. One is to focus on the negative - on avoiding activities that can actually harm the other students you hope to call “teammates” or “colleagues” and that may get you and your group or team in trouble. The other way is to focus on what you want to accomplish with your activities – whether recruiting, initiating, or teambuilding. If you are focused on your positive objectives, most hazing activities will not make sense.

Ask yourself or other officers:

What does your group want to accomplish through its recruitment and new member activities?

Recruit and retain quality members

  • Promote unity and loyalty
  • Provide familiarization with the group
  • Develop friendships through shared experiences
  • Encourage personal growth through challenging activities
  • Pass on organizational knowledge and history
  • Help new members or teammates feel welcome at Harvard

What are some safe, productive activities that will accomplish these goals?

According to Harvard’s former Director of Freshman Outdoor Programs, Brent Bell, outdoor education programs, in particular, can provide students with “a sense of accomplishment, and a strong connection to other students and the institution. In short, wilderness orientation programs provide the beneficial elements of hazing—those qualities that perpetuate its practice despite ongoing efforts to eradicate it—without hazing’s abusive and often dangerous side effects. (Bell, p.2, 2004)”

Outdoor education programs provide participants with challenging, meaningful, and ethical activities that do not involve the same kinds of harms to participants that arise from hazing. Moreover, an extensive analysis of prior research on outdoor adventure programs suggests that participation in adventure programs can increase participants’ sense of leadership, self-confidence, independence, assertiveness, and friendliness, in addition to participants’ interpersonal communication skills and abilities to cooperate with a group (Hattie et al., 1997).

For viable alternatives to hazing that CAN help your group to attain these goals, check out the list of alternatives to hazing.

Retreats

Consider hosting a retreat, at which your group reflects on past activities and decides in which direction to head. A retreat can provide an ideal setting for ensuring that all members of your organization or team can express their opinions, beliefs, and concerns. Retreats also provide excellent opportunities to conduct teambuilding and leadership development activities.

For advice and to answer your questions related to retreat planning, you can contact Harvard staff identified on the Harvard resources page.

Some other things to consider:

  1. Take a step back and think about your group’s mission or purpose. Whether it’s to produce a journal or have a winning season, think about how hazing can detract from your goals. If your team or organization is caught hazing, there may be repercussions that could jeopardize the status of your organization or the future of your athletic season. You wouldn’t want hazing to prohibit you from participating in an activity or playing a sport that you love. Someday, as an alumnus, you may want to return to Harvard to visit your group’s headquarters or reunite with former colleagues – which would not be possible if your group or team were disbanded because of hazing activities.
     
  2. Some alumni may put pressure on your organization to use hazing practices if they themselves were hazed. But, it is fine for your group to challenge these alumni. Communicate to them that there are provisions in the Handbook for Students prohibiting hazing that did not exist while they were at the College. Also, make it known that your organization is headed in a new direction and wants to conduct itself through ethical practices that do not pose harm to its members.
     
  3. To keep your organizing thriving, focus on safe and ethical recruiting practices. There may be many more individuals interested in joining your organization or trying out for your team than you are aware, but who are intimidated by a new member process due to anecdotal reports of hazing. Why weed out potential members or athletes from your group or team even before they have the chance to demonstrate their interests/talents?

Harvard College Hazing Prevention Workshops

Beginning this year, the College will offer workshops for groups and athletic teams their officers. These workshops will help you tailor your recruitment and initiation activities to comply with the law and Harvard policies and make a positive impact on new members.

Additionally, workshops will be available to bring together officers from different student groups and teams for discussion and debate – to hammer out just what students feel is appropriate conduct in the Harvard community. Workshops will also provide students with opportunities to further evaluate their recruitment, new member, and officer transition programs and receive consultation on how to minimize any risks to individuals due to unsafe activities.

More information on these workshops to come soon.

Ways to Reduce Harm to Your Members

College is short and should ideally be a memorable and fun experience. Your group is encouraged to have fun and enjoy their time at Harvard. But, certain activities that seem fun may come with costs. Thus, your group may want to determine ways to reduce any risks that may arise from unsafe new or potential member activities. Three possible ways to do this include:

  1. Develop a risk management protocol
    If your group does in fact engage in any kind of hazardous activities, make sure that there is at least one individual who is sober and can act responsibly should any kind of situation arise where someone requires medical attention. Everyone in your group or team should know who to call and where to go if someone needs help. If everyone in your group is intoxicated at an activity, no one will be prepared to support a severely intoxicated or impaired member should he or she need help.

    Make a written checklist of procedures for your group to follow so that it can minimize the chance of someone getting sick or injured from any activity and to know what to do should an emergency happen. For more ways to reduce harm to your members that can arise during social events, please refer to the Managing Events with Alcohol handbook.
     
  2. Establish a standards board
    Your organization or team may want to create a standards board consisting of a group of at least three non-officers. This board could decide whether certain activities in which your group engages are acceptable or unacceptable. This board should be well-versed with the hazing laws and policies. It might also meet with individuals who have allegedly engaged in questionable or unacceptable hazing activities, regardless of whether these activities were sanctioned by the group’s officers. By setting up a standards board, an organization or team can keep its members in check and establish its own internal process that does not depend upon the leadership of the group’s officers, who may be leading or condoning hazing activities.
     
  3. Develop an officer transition program
    When new officers or team captains are elected or appointed, your group may want to train them through an officer transition program. The purpose of this program is to pass down knowledge from outgoing officers to the incoming slate of leaders. Now, recognizing that hazing can often be a cyclical process—with hazing activities passed down from year to year—your group may want to train new officers to lower the bar and make new member and recruitment activities less likely to cause harm.

    Through a sound officer transition program, incoming officers can shadow their incumbents and meet with them periodically to discuss their new position and anticipate challenges that lie ahead. With this knowledge, incoming officers will feel prepared to lead their organizations or teams and show respect for their colleagues.

Additional Resources for Your Organization or Team

Remember that your group is not alone at Harvard. There are many resources at Harvard and across the nation to support you in developing new non-hazing activities. Also, remember that there is a large network of Harvard alumni, including former members of your group or sports team, who may be available to support you in your non-hazing endeavors. Some of these alumni may have ideas for you regarding safe recruitment or membership orientation activities that you have yet to consider.

Anti-Hazing Form

If your group has not done so already, you are required to complete and submit a hazing non-attestation form to the Dean of Student Activities Office by December 15, 2007, in addition to submitting a list of officers of your organization (for both recognized and unrecognized groups). You and members of your group should strive to comply with Harvard policies on hazing and create meaningful, non-hazing activities for all members.

Note: The Department of Athletics will collect this information for members of athletic teams and club sport teams, and will provide it to the Office of the Dean of Harvard College.

Sources:

Bell B. (2004). Wildnerness orientation programs provide an ethical alternative to hazing. E-Source for College Transitions. 2, 1.

Hattie J., Marsh H. W., Neill J. T., & Richards G. E. (1997). Adventure education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference. Review of Educational Research, 67, 43-87.