September is National Hazing Prevention Month. Here at Missouri State, we are committed to creating and providing a hazing free community. Hazing is a serious issue and impacts college campuses nationwide. We know that 55% of college students involved in clubs, teams, and student organizations experience hazing (Allan and Madden, 2008). National research has shown that hazing is most likely to happen within sorority and fraternity life organizations, athletic teams, and other student organizations. Hazing not only can cause physical harm, but it can take a great toll on the overall mental health of students and impact our campus community.
Here at Missouri State, we are passionate about contributing towards the nationwide effort to end hazing, but we need involvement from every member of the community – faculty, staff, and students to make this happen. MSU’s top priority is building a healthy and happy campus community and you can help us reach this goal! If you experience hazing, or an incident that contributes to an environment conducive to hazing, please report it for the safety and well-being of the Missouri State community. Say no to peer pressure, take action if you feel uncomfortable, and remember what healthy friendships should look like. Keep these ideals in mind and choose to make a report if you are involved in or witness incidents of hazing. Making a report is a great way to protect our campus community and to help us end this nationwide issue. All reports can be made anonymously and here are some options on how to report:
–Contact the National Anti-Hazing Hotline at (888) 668-4293
–Contact the MSU Ethics Hotline at (888) 233-8988
–Complete an incident reporting form on the MSU Student Conduct website
–Contact the Office of Student Conduct at (417) 836-5527
If you have experienced hazing, please remember that the following resources are available for support:
–Campus Safety at (417) 836-5509
–Counseling Center at (417) 836-5116
–Togetherall – access this online community to share feelings anonymously and receive mental health support on the MSU Counseling Center website
–911 if there is a life-threatening emergency