The Definition Creep of College Hazing

When everything is considered ‘hazing,’ legitimate group rituals suffer.

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University of Southern California students walk to and by the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house while making their way along USC’s fraternity row during the kick off of rush week in Los Angeles, August 19, 2022.

Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

As hundreds of thousands of students prepare to return to college campuses this fall, fraternal organizations across the country will begin welcoming new members through the kinds of structured initiation processes that have defined collegiate life for generations. And at institution after institution, administrators will be watching them.

School administrators, more abundant and challenged than ever before, will be on the lookout for hazing in an effort to safeguard students’ health and wellness while curbing university liability. This is important, but some, in an attempt to find infractions of ever-expanding university codes of conduct, end up deciding that mandatory study sessions, required professional dress, and organized Bible study should be investigated as possible violations.

DW

About the Author

Dawn Wiese

Dr. Dawn Wiese is an adjunct professor at Virginia Military Institute and fraternal industry researcher. She is the former Vice President of Student Affairs at Washington & Lee University.

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