Hazing continues to be a problem on college campuses. Accurate statistics on hazing are difficult to obtain because many colleges do not publicly report hazing incidents, even though state laws require them to report, and because most students who are hazed do not report being hazed. In this context, Stop Hazing at the University of Maine reports, based on a national survey, 55 percent of college students involved in clubs, teams, and organizations experience hazing.

Phi Sigma Kappa, one of many Cornell fraternities sanctioned for hazing

Cornell University has reported hazing incidents on its website since 2005. During the Spring 2024 semester, six student organizations were found to have hazed new members and were disciplined for their behavior. In 2011 and 2019, two Cornell University students tragically died because of hazing. George Desdunes died in a so-called reverse hazing incident, in which junior members haze senior members. Antonio Tsialas died in a fraternity rush organized by Phi Kappa Psi. The fraternity was permanently banned from campus as a result.

Cornell is planning a new hazing prevention program to educate the entire community—all students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents—about what hazing is, their role in preventing it, and how to report hazing violations. In addition, under the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, colleges are now required to include hazing incidents as part of their annual reporting on campus crimes required by the federal Clery Act.

From September 22-26 Cornell honored National Hazing Prevention Week, with school leaders urging student organizations, athletic teams, fraternities and sororities to affirm a shared responsibility to create spaces of connection, pride, and belonging that are free from harm. In November, Sorority and Fraternity Life hosts its annual Antonio Tsialis ’23 Hazing Prevention Week.  

No one wants to be hazed because these actions are physically and psychologically harmful and do not build group loyalty. For example, according to a survey 93 percent of Cornell students believe “it’s never okay to humiliate or intimidate new members.” Welcoming new members by including them in celebratory activities such as a special dinner or group trip is a better way of developing members’ loyalty and preventing hazing from occurring.

Everyone believes that he or she knows what hazing is. We read about hazing in the news and see it in the movies. It is an initiation process, where new members join an organization, too much alcohol is consumed, and someone dies because of alcohol poisoning or a dangerous action such as falling downstairs or being punched.

State hazing laws generally reflect this understanding. However, building on research conducted by the University of Maine, colleges generally define hazing more comprehensively as any initiation or recruitment activity that could reasonably be perceived as likely to create a risk of mental, physical, or emotional distress or harm. Such activities lie along a continuum with those creating relatively minor psychological distress such as wearing a beanie or performing a silly skit to the extremely dangerous such as consuming a fifth of vodka or running a gauntlet of members armed with paddles.

Recruitment and initiation activities are rites of passage, rituals intended to confer a new identity upon individuals. By going through the ritual one becomes an insider, someone who understands the group’s values, norms, and beliefs and is expected to enact them when interacting with other members and outsiders. Through rites of passage, students become members of the football team, a fraternity or a sorority, the marching band, orchestra, or an acapella group.

When considering hazing, it is useful to understand two rites of passage: rites of enhancement and rites of degradation. Rites of enhancement are rituals that welcome the newcomer as a valued member, integrate them into the group, and focus on building up one’s identity and loyalty with the group. Hazing is a rite of degradation, which seeks to devalue new members, highlighting how little they know and that they cannot become a full member in the group unless they are willing to be humiliated by engaging in a degrading activity such as wearing a beanie or chugging a quart of vodka.

Groups that engage in hazing mistakenly believe that it builds loyalty and commitment to the group, but this is a myth. For instance, Van Raalte and her colleagues collected data from athletes on their experiences with hazing and team building experiences and examined the relationship between those experiences and team cohesion. They found that the more team building behaviors that athletes were involved in, the more socially cohesive they perceived their team to be and that the more hazing activities they reported doing or seeing, the less cohesive they perceived their team to be in sports-related tasks.

Welcoming or Hazing New Members?

Student groups can prevent hazing by welcoming new members, by using group-building activities to encourage commitment and loyalty, by disavowing hazing, and by teaching members to intervene and stop hazing before it begins. Hazing does not occur in a vacuum; members are always present when it is first discussed and when it occurs. Members can shut down talk about hazing when it starts and when they see others initiating unacceptable behavior.

Ways to be a welcoming, no-hazing organization:

• Formally commit to being a welcoming, no-hazing organization. While colleges have hazing policies, student organizations should embrace them as their own and affirm their commitment to welcoming new members. Individuals in organizations with a written policy are more likely to enact the expected behaviors than individuals in organizations without a written one. Having a written policy means taking ownership of the problem and teaching members how to prevent it.

• Review recruitment and initiation rituals to ensure that they are welcoming. All organizations have rituals for initiating new members. If current practices might make new members feel humiliated or threatened, revise them or get rid of them. Create new rituals that make new members feel valued. Among the most valuable activities for building group loyalty and cohesion are special dinners that highlight the organization’s values and special trips that include new and old members in fun activities.

• Teach members to recognize hazing. Colleges define it more expansively than is commonly understood. Preventing hazing, therefore, requires educating members about what it is. Colleges have online training programs to help educate members, but these are not sufficient. Social norming research highlights the importance of group discussion to counteract misperceptions about hazing. By discussing what hazing is, members’ perceptions of hazing, and the organization’s policy about welcoming members, group leaders underscore members’ obligation to welcome new members and not haze them.

• Train members how to intervene and prevent hazing. Bystander intervention is popular on campuses because it reinforces students’ responsibility for keeping campuses safe and trains them to intervene safely to prevent problems. Intervening is scary, but one can learn to do it constructively. One key to intervening safely is to do it with others. For instance, if someone suggests hazing new members, one can remind everyone that this is not acceptable group behavior. Simply speaking up is often enough to prevent it.

• Hold members accountable. When members know what is expected of them, they will comply because they want to be seen as committed to the group. Still, some will misbehave. Members can hold one another accountable by intervening so that the misbehaving members comply with expectations. Unfortunately, even with the best efforts to prevent hazing, a few members may engage in it. In these circumstances, college administration will become involved, initiating an investigation of the hazing incident, a formal hearing for those involved, and a decision about either dismissing the charge or leveling an appropriate punishment. Initially, student leaders may want to deny and cover up the hazing; a better strategy is to engage with the administration to expedite a fair investigation and outcome. If there is a violation, accept responsibility and commit to doing better.

Creating a welcoming student organization and preventing hazing requires sustained effort. New members join and some old members leave every year, requiring the organization to renew its commitment to being a welcoming, no-hazing organization annually. Fortunately, student leaders have excellent resources to help them. For example, Cornell University’s excellent hazing website defines hazing, has valuable information on building group solidarity without hazing, bystander intervention training, and reporting and dealing with hazing when it occurs. Check it out: https://hazing.cornell.edu/

—By William J. Sonnenstuhl

William J. Sonnenstuhl is Emeritus Professor, School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR), Cornell University and a member of the university’s Fraternity and Sorority Advisory Council