In accordance with the Stop Campus Hazing Act, the School strongly opposes hazing in all forms and it prohibits all hazing activities as defined below. If a student or group of students is found to be in violation of the Anti-Hazing policy, they may face disciplinary action up to and including termination from the program.
Prohibited Behavior
Hazing is Prohibited.
Hazing is defined as: is any intentional, reckless, or knowing act committed by a person (whether individually or together with other persons) against another person or persons, regardless of the willingness of the other person(s) to participate that:
Is an explicit or implicit condition of recruitment, admission, or initiation into, affiliation with, or new or continued membership status within a group, organization, or academic group or cohort. Hazing may take many forms, but may be one of the following or similar behavior
- Causes, encourages, or compels another person to engage in any activity that could reasonably be perceived as likely to create a risk of mental, physical, or emotional distress or harm; examples include but are not limited to:
- Undertake acts of servitude or menial tasks;
- Undergo undue financial expenditures;
- Engage in acts relevant to those of the group (for example practice or training activities), but in a manner that a reasonable person would consider excessive or dangerous;
- Abuse, humiliate, degrade, or taunt another person or persons.
- Whipping, beating, striking, electronic shocking, placing a harmful substance on someone’s body with the intent to cause harm;
- Causing, coercing, or inducing sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement to a small space, extreme calisthenics;
- Causing, coercing, or inducing another person to engage or perform sexual acts (note: in certain circumstances the Nondiscrimination Policy prohibiting sex based harassment, including sexual assault, fondling and more, may be implicated by this type of hazing activity);
- Any activity against another person that includes a criminal violation of local, State, Federal, or Tribal law, or requires, induces, or causes another person to perform a duty or task that involves a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law;
- Involves any of the following:
- Consumption of alcohol or drugs;
- Consumption of unpalatable substances, or palatable substances to excess;
- Damage to or theft of property, or any other illegal act;
- Violation of any University policy.
- Subjects any other person (including an existing member or cohort of existing members of the group) to any of the above activities.
Hazing can occur on or off campus, in person or in virtual settings. The individual subjected to hazing does not need to regard or identify the act as hazing. The fact that an individual does not object to and/or appears willing to participate in the activity, does not signify the conduct is not hazing.
How to Report Hazing
If you know of or suspect hazing, all reports of known or suspected hazing are to be made to the Director.
Investigation Process and Procedures for Hazing
The School will use the published Grievance Procedure and may independently investigate reports of hazing under that policy. Please note that the Amicable Conclusion option under the published Grievance Procedure may not be available depending on the facts and circumstances surrounding the reported behavior, in the sole discretion of the Director or designee.
General Information on Hazing
Examples of Hazing
Joining a group should never involve:
- sleep deprivation
- eating gross stuff
- acts of exertion
- isolation from the group
- acts of servitude
- alcohol
Context matters
Note: while some behaviors constitute hazing regardless of context (e.g., paddling, use of alcohol), others depend on the circumstances. For example, participating in a color service as part of the educational program would not be hazing, but requiring new members of a student club to receive a specific haircut/style that is unwanted could constitute hazing.
Hazing can result in a range of sanctions against organizations and individuals that range from educational interventions to suspension or expulsion.
School Reporting
In the event that a School finds that hazing has occurred, it will be reported in the Hazing Transparency Report, as required by law.