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 physically harm the lives of students, but it can take a great toll on the overall mental health of our 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 – students, faculty, staff, and family members 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 your student discusses an incident with you that seems like hazing, or contributes to an environment conducive to hazing, please encourage them to report it for the safety and well-being of the Missouri State community. Our campus community is made up of many wonderful young adults, but as they are navigating college life, it’s never a bad idea to have discussions with them about how to say no to peer pressure, what to do when they feel uncomfortable, and what healthy friendships look like. 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 your student has experienced hazing, please remind them that the following resources are available for support:
- Campus Safety at (417) 836-5509
- Counseling Center at (417) 836-5116
- 911 if there is a life-threatening emergency
There are a variety of resources you can explore to learn more about hazing, including:
- HazingPrevention.org
- StopHazing.org
- College Hazing: What it is and how to stop it
- Office of Student Engagement
- Office of Student Conduct
In the spirit of creating a community free from hazing, Missouri State University Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) and Fraternity and Sorority Leaders for Social Awareness (FSLSA) will be hosting a variety of events and programs this week, seeking to raise awareness and educate students about hazing. Those events include:
- September 25th- Kick off & Mocktails with PHA, NPHC, and IFC
- September 27th- Alpha Sigma Alpha, Alpha Omicron Pi, and Sigma Phi Epsilon will be hosting a Hazing Prevention week speaker.
- September 29th- Wear Purple for Hazing Prevention Awareness and join us for safety keychain making! (Including CPR masks and personal safety tools to stay safe on campus.)
References
Allan, E. J. & Madden, M. (2008). Hazing in View: College Students at Risk. (http://www.hazingstudy.org/publications/hazing_in_view_web.pdf), University of Maine, College of Education and Human Development.