PARTICIPANT
WORKBOOK
Let’s Not Beat The Life
Out of a Beautiful Legacy
PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY’S
ANTI-HAZING WORKSHOP
2012
CONVERGE & ASSOCIATES © 2012
Slide 2: Workshop Goals
In cooperation with the
Workshop Goals
National Action
Network, Phi Beta
Sigma fraternity is
 Define Hazing
leading an aggressive
 Explore the impact of culture on hazing
anti-hazing campaign
intended to eradicate
 Understand the implications of hazing
the culture of hazing
from Black Greek-letter
organizations and the
 Understand responsibilities at every level
 Begin the process of eliminating hazing
broader community.
Phi
Beta
Sigma
is
spearheading this campaign to eliminate hazing culture in an effort to end the pain and
suffering of victims and their families and to stop the investigations, lawsuits and expensive
legal costs that threaten the existence of black Greek-letter organizations. Each incidence of
hazing damages the reputations of black Greek-letter fraternities and sororities and erodes the
proud legacy of leadership and commitment to service that these organizations have cultivated
over the years. Phi Beta Sigma’s history is rich with examples of outstanding achievement of its
members, many of whom have become leaders in their communities. Reverend Al Sharpton,
founder and president of the National Action Network and an honorary member of Phi Beta
Sigma, is a partner in this effort.
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What is Hazing?
Hazing is any action taken or situation created
intentionally that, causes embarrassment,
harassment or ridicule or risks emotional and/or
physical harm to members of a group or team,
irrespective of the person's willingness to participate.
Hazing is about POWER
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Slide 3: What is Hazing?
Legally, “Hazing” is defined as an abusive, often humiliating, form of initiation into or affiliation with a
group. It can include any willful action taken or situation created which recklessly or intentionally
endangers the mental or physical health of another. Hazing has been linked to fraternities and sororities,
but it is also practiced by the military, sports teams, bands, and social clubs.
Slide 4: Defining Greek
Culture
Fraternity
literally
means
Culture frames our view
of the world….
“brotherhood”. Students join
fraternities for the advantages
that
the
brotherhood
can
Defining Greek Culture
afford them. There can be
scholarships to win, networks
to build and most especially,
the brotherhood to enjoy. It is
“Culture for Service and Service for Humanity”
Phi Beta Sigma
very difficult to understand
why an organization where the
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love for a brother, or a sister, is of utmost importance would haze.
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Slide 5: Defining Personal Culture
Prospective members are
Defining Personal Culture
often judged by cultural
differences such as:
Genealogy
• Education
• Socio-Economic Status
• Politics
• Geography/Address
• Size – Height and Weight
• Physical Disability
• Sexual Orientation
•
GENEALOGY – Questions
like “Who are your
people?” often are asked to
determine acceptability.
EDUCATION – Public,
Private, Prep School?
SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS
– Scholarship vs. parents
paying vs. working through
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college.
POLITICS – As Black people we are not all members of the same party; yet we are not always tolerant of
opposing party members.
GEOGRAPHY/ADDRESS – Judgments are often based on rural vs. urban, northern vs. southern, or what
city/community people come from.
NATIONAL ORIGIN – African/American, Caribbean, American or Foreign born, Accent.
SIZE – Height and Weight are often sources of teasing and bullying.
PHYSICAL DISABILITY – Many people are unforgiving and unwilling to accept people with physical
disabilities.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION – Some brothers make disparaging comments about gay men and having joined
the frat to be around “Real Men.”
A second tier of diversity exists within and among Black Greek-letter organizations.
•
•
•
•
Colors
Insignias
Are you a ‘legacy’ prospective member?
Only (fill in the blank) people join that
fraternity or sorority!
•
•
•
Did you pledge Undergrad or Grad?
Where did you pledge?
“Who took you over?”
“The founders of Phi Beta Sigma deeply wished to create an organization that viewed itself as “a part
of” the general community rather that “apart from” the general community. They believed that each
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potential member should be judged by his own merits, rather than his family background or
affluence…without regard to race, nationality, skin tone or texture of hair. They desired for their
fraternity to exist as part of an even greater brotherhood which would be devoted to the ‘inclusive we’
rather than the ‘exclusive we.’” From www.pbs1914.org
Slide 6: The Roots of
Hazing
In
black
The Roots of Hazing
Greek-letter
Organizations, the practice
of hazing is harmful to
members
and
potential
members;
the
individual
organizations and all African
Americans in a way that
should
never
happen
between
“brothers”
and
“sisters”.
“We can't continue to have a broken intake system in terms of bringing in new members and think that
it's going to be safe. And so at some point in time, you're going to need to stop, analyze what you're
doing, and then create something that is completely different than what we've been doing in the
past…you know, in all honesty, it has always been broken. We've had a myriad of different pledge
processes over, let's say, the last 80 years, and most of them have been predicated upon a dynamic
between the members, the big brothers or big sisters, and the pledges, you know, who are in a
subservient role, and the power construct basically creates an atmosphere where abuses are going to
almost always occur. Typically with men, it's physical abuse - wood, you know, throwing wood and
things like that. Or for women, it tends to be humiliation, although there are a lot more physical hazing
incidents with women over the last 10 years, too.” Lawrence Ross Jr - Author of "The Divine Nine: The
History of African-American Fraternities and Sororities in America”
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Slide 7: Why Hazing?
Dr. John A. Williams Executive
Why Hazing?
Director,
Center for the Study of
Pan-Hellenic
Issues
–
writes, “If you wanted to
make a case for hazing
in Black fraternities, you
have lots of buttons you
can push to make a new
member accept being
“Research indicates hazing continues for a variety of
reasons including for social reasons.”
(McGlone, 2005)
Student Responses
 52%
indicated they felt closer to their organization/team
 35% felt more accepted by the organization/team
Students report that as a result of hazing they feel
stronger and have a sense of accomplishment.
"made right" as the
phrase goes. You can
appeal to his manhood,
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by reminding him that
"only the strong survive". You can appeal to his sense of racial pride by reminding him that the pressures
he is expected to endure from "the brothers" is nothing compared to what the "real world" will put on
him. These lines are designed to convince a pledge to accept what they are being asked to endure before
"crossing the sands" to come into the frat.”
“It's hard to tackle because it's ingrained in the culture. The idea of pledging is ingrained in the culture,
and particularly among men. One of the issues is that pledging tends to validate the people who actually
go through it. There's a sense within African-American men that once you've actually gone through a
pledge process, you've achieved something, and you've also validated your manhood. That's why if you
look at some undergraduate chapters in particular, you'll see things as basic as the frightening chapter
nicknames like Terrible Tau or the Bloody Beta. It's to give the general public an idea that the men who
belong to this particular chapter are tough. And oftentimes, you have African-American men and women
who are coming to college campuses looking for some sense of achievement, and when you do that and
build it up over years and add oral tradition, it's really difficult to actually get people to actually change.”
Lawrence C. Ross Jr., author of "The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities
and Sororities."
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Slide 8: Methods of Hazing
Methods of Hazing
SUBTLE OR MENTAL HAZING:
While hazing typically includes
all behaviors that emphasize a
power
imbalance
between
potential new members and

other members of the group,


“subtle hazing” often is taken

for granted or accepted as

Subtle Hazing or Mental Hazing
Physical or Violent Hazing
Cyberbullying
Generational Celebrations of Hazing
Alcohol and Hazing
“harmless” or meaningless.
Subtle
hazing
typically
involves activities or attitudes
that
breach
reasonable
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standards of mutual respect and place potential new members on the receiving end of ridicule,
embarrassment, and/or humiliation tactics. Potential new members often feel the need to endure
subtle hazing to feel like part of the group or team.
Mental Hazing can be brutal and leave lasting psychological scars. Some hazing victims report that the
mental hazing they endured was worse than being physically abused.










Assigning demerits
Silence periods with implied threats for violation
Deprivation of privileges granted to other members
Requiring prospective members to perform duties not assigned to other members
Socially isolating new pledges
Line-ups and drills/Tests on meaningless information
Name calling
Being yelled at or cursed at by other members of the team or group
Requiring prospective members to refer to other members with titles (e.g., Mr., Miss) while
they are identified with demeaning terms
Personal servitude
PHYSICAL OR VIOLENT HAZING:
Behaviors that have the potential to cause physical, emotional, and/or psychological harm.
 Branding
 Paddling
 Repeatedly punching a member in the chest, using a knuckle to harden the blow until the pain
becomes excruciating.
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
“Bringing the knowledge" – the pledge bows his head while either standing or kneeling, and a
fraternity member jumps down off of a chair or bed slamming a dictionary or other large book
onto the pledge's head.
"This is what slave masters did to slaves, and my only true reward was that I have an opportunity to be
a slave master as many times as I want when it's all over"…………. Kappa Alpha Psi member, Tennessee
State.
CYBER-BULLYING
Cyber-bullying is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people.
As it has
become more common in society, particularly among young people, legislation and awareness
campaigns have arisen to combat it.
Examples of cyber-bullying include communications that seek to intimidate, control, manipulate, put
down, falsely discredit, or humiliate the recipient. The actions are deliberate, repeated, and hostile
behavior intended to harm another. Cyber-bullying as defined by The National Crime Prevention Council
is when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to
hurt or embarrass another person.
GENERATIONAL CELEBRATION OF HAZING
Stories about hazing are passed down through the generations. When someone talks about how
great/valuable/funny hazing is, challenge that position. Do not shrug and laugh at a “back in the day”
story. Seize the opportunity to educate and to remind current chapter members that we are not back in
that day. The “good old days” probably were not that good to the person who was enduring hazing at
the time. Time softens and distorts that type of bonding experience. The “I did it and it didn’t kill me”
theory must be put to rest.
“Old-school” brothers or sorors who crossed in the past often tell wives' tales about what they did “on
line” to black Greeks who currently are on campus. And those current black Greeks use the “old school”
stories to convince unsuspecting college students that the only way they’ll get respect is by pledging
underground. Hundreds of aspirants will succumb to underground hazing, hoping that by “pledging”
they will earn the respect they crave.
From an alumni brother…."One of the things that brothers do is, we sit around and tell pledge stories,
It's almost a comparison of who got beat the worst, as if it's some type of honor how badly you were
beaten."
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Stories about hazing are passed down through the generations. When someone talks about how
great/valuable/funny hazing is, challenge that position. Do not shrug and laugh at a “back in the day”
story. Seize the opportunity to educate and to remind current chapter members that we are not back in
that day. The “good old days” probably were not that good to the person who was enduring hazing at
the time. Time softens and distorts that type of bonding experience. The “I did it and it didn’t kill me”
theory must be put to rest.
“Old-school” brothers or sorors who crossed in the past often tell wives' tales about what they did “on
line” to black Greeks who currently are on campus. And those current black Greeks use the “old school”
stories to convince unsuspecting college students that the only way they’ll get respect is by pledging
underground. Hundreds of aspirants will succumb to underground hazing, hoping that by “pledging”
they will earn the respect they crave.
From an alumni brother…."One of the things that brothers do is, we sit around and tell pledge stories,
It's almost a comparison of who got beat the worst, as if it's some type of honor how badly you were
beaten."
ALCOHOL AND HAZING
While hazing does not necessarily involve alcohol use by either current or new members, alcohol
consumption often is either a central or contributing element. Under most codes of conduct, any
consumption of alcohol, other drugs, or other substances that is "an explicit or implicit condition for
initiation to, admission into, affiliation with, or continued membership in a group or organization" is
hazing. This definition is applied regardless of the level of pressure to drink.
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Slide 9: Is it Hazing?
Is it Hazing?
Ask yourself these questions:
 Would I feel comfortable participating in this activity if my parents
were watching?
 Would we get in trouble if the Dean of Students walked by?
 Am I being asked to keep these activities a secret?
 Am I doing anything illegal?
 Am I risking arrest by participating in this activity?
 Do I want the burden of having a criminal arrest on my record when
I apply for jobs?
 Does participation violate my values or those of my organization?
 Is it causing emotional distress or stress of any kind to me or
others?
 If someone were injured, would I feel comfortable being
investigated by my school’s administration or an insurance carrier?
Copyright Converge & Associates (2012)
Ask yourself these questions:
•
Would I feel comfortable participating in this activity if my parents were watching?
•
Would we get in trouble if the Dean of Students walked by?
•
Am I being asked to keep these activities a secret?
•
Am I doing anything illegal?
•
Am I risking arrest by participating in this activity?
•
Do I want the burden of having a criminal arrest record when I apply for jobs?
•
Does participation violate my values or those of my organization?
•
Is it causing emotional distress or stress of any kind to me or others?
•
If someone were injured, would I feel comfortable being investigated by my school’s administration
or an insurance carrier?
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Slide 10: Hidden Harm:
Hidden Harm
The concept of Hidden Harm
relates to the fact that we
don't know everything about
the newest members of our
Hazing can be physically or psychologically harmful
to even perfectly healthy individuals, but mix hazing
with any one of numerous issues individuals may be
dealing with, and the damage can increase
exponentially.
organizations. We don't even
know EVERYTHING about our
best friends. Someone who
has
just
joined
an
organization or team could
have an unknown health
condition that would make
him or her highly susceptible
to serious repercussions from hazing.
Slide 11: What is
Bystander Behavior?
“Hazing isn’t something that
What is “Bystander Behavior?”
you just happen to run into
or just happen to do. No,
hazing is a very deliberate
and specific process. It’s a
conspiracy
who
all
of
individuals
pledge
to
Bystander behavior is what people demonstrate
when they watch hazing occur without intervening.
Every year students watch while other students are
hazed.
themselves a code of silence
in
order
to
protect
themselves. If you’re going
to haze pledges, you have to
set
up
an
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things
that matter.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
illegal
underground pledge program, identify the members of your chapter or organization who aren’t
trustworthy, exclude them from knowledge of the illegal pledging, and then figure out when and where
to haze your pledges. The idea that you’re in the room where hazing is going on, but you didn’t
participate, is as absurd as saying that you were in the pool, but you didn’t expect to get wet. You’re
there, you’re guilty, whether you throw a stroke of wood or not.” (Ross)
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Leadership can be guilty of behaving like bystanders by:
•
•
•
Not reacting until something happens
Allowing hazing to remain secretive
Having it be someone else’s problem
Slide 12: Your Charge
In
2008,
the
NPHC
Council
of
Presidents
issued
this
statement
about
hazing:
organizations
National
of
"The
the
Pan-Hellenic
Council, Inc. (NPHC) are
committed to nurturing
the ideals of sisterhood
and fraternalism in an
atmosphere
responsibility
Your charge…………
of
and
Avoid clinging to the comforts of
bystander behavior and begin a new
standard of behavior.
There will always be men struggling to change, and there will always
be those who are controlled by the past.
Ernest J. Gaines, African American Author
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respect. We are also
committed to upholding the dignity and self-respect of all persons seeking membership therein. Hazing is
antithetical to this commitment and is prohibited by the rules of each NPHC organization. In 1990, the
member organizations of the NPHC jointly agreed to disband pledging as a form of admission. At the
dawn of a new millennium, we the members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council do hereby reaffirm our
unequivocal opposition to hazing and those who seek to perpetuate it."
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Slide 13: Hazing Myths
Hazing Myths
“Time and effort spent hazing
is not time and effort spent
creating great athletes or
Is it Myth or Reality?
superior leaders, or providing
music
to
our
campuses.
 Hazing only exists in fraternities and sororities.
Instead, time and effort spent
 New members want to be hazed.
hazing only destroys the lives
 Hazing is okay as long as it is not physically
of the hazed, the hazers, and
the
community
around
them.”
(Malinda
Matney,
PhD,
Immediate
dangerous.
 If someone agrees to participate in an activity, it
can't be considered hazing.
Past
President of Kappa Kappa Psi
Honorary Band Fraternity.)
Slide 14: Hazing Ramifications
FINANCIAL RAMIFICATIONS –
Hazing Ramifications
The repercussions of past
hazing and potential for future
hazing
have
caused
risk
management costs to rise
sharply.
Increased
risk
•
Financial – There is a direct fiscal effect
•
Campus Sanctions
•
Reputation
•
Legal – It is against the law in most states
management costs are passed
on to students in the form of
higher tuition.
Hazing costs
organizations thousands of
dollars
every
year,
and
chapters which are suspended
do not contribute anything to
their communities or their campuses. Hazers cost everyone money – their organizations, their fellow
students and their educational institutions.
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CAMPUS RAMIFICATIONS - Virtually every college or university, school, national governing body,
athletic department, fraternity/sorority, and organization has an anti-hazing policy, and most have
procedures for reporting violations. If you don’t know the procedure, ask an administrator.
LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS - Become familiar with the laws in your state. Currently 44 states have antihazing laws.
FAMILY RAMIFICATIONS– No one adequately can describe how heart-shattering the experience of
losing a loved one from hazing can be. Consider the anguish of parents, who might not even have known
that their child was joining a fraternity until they are informed that he is lying in the morgue, all black
and blue, dead from hazing. Consider the heartbreak of a family whose college student is expelled
and/or arrested for murder as a result of a hazing incident.
Slide 15: Eliminating Hazing
Say NO to Hazing - Years
Eliminating Hazing
after hazing was banned,
the practice persists to
such a degree that it has
become a threat to the
existence of fraternities.
Develop hazing
•
•
•
•
•
Say NO to Hazing
Hazing Replacement Activities
Build Trust
Build Respect
Don’t Try to do it Alone
replacement activities Effective prevention
strategies to change
hazing behaviors among
young adults.
“Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect and make
everyone else deal with you the same way.”
Nikki Giovanni
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Build Trust – Be available to mentor new and prospective members. Develop a culture of trust that
gives them the confidence that they are entering a safe and productive environment.
Build Respect – Lead by example. It is imperative that ALL members of the organization exhibit a
cohesive front that will never allow for destructive behavior.
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Don’t try to do it alone - Become fully aware of every possible resource for hazing prevention within
your organization and your campus, and make that information widely available. Take advantage of the
resources offered by Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. Engage other Greek Organizations, Bands, Sports Teams
for a collective campus effort.
Slide 16: Common
Barriers
Common barriers to eliminating hazing include:
Bystander behavior theory
posits that the five barriers
to intervening are:
 Denial of the problem

Social Influence – There
 Dismissing hazing as harmless
seems to be a problem
 Silence
but no one is doing
 Fear
anything so it must not
 Insufficient support for victims of hazing
be that big of a deal.
Here, you are actually
seeing no one do
anything, so you don’t
intervene.

Fear of Embarrassment – Concern for how others will respond to you intervening, and involves a
fear of embarrassing yourself or others. This is based on the reactions you believe you will get from
intervening.

Diffusion of Responsibility - You assume someone else will do something. This alleviates the need for
you to intervene because someone else will.

Fear of Retaliation - This is fear of physical or emotional harm. This also includes the fear of lack of
support from superiors.

Pluralistic Ignorance - Where social influence is based on actual actions of others, this barrier is
based on your own perceptions and assumptions that ‘you are the only one who thinks this way,’
and that you are in the minority. This also allows the offenders to believe that ‘everyone does it’ or
feels the same as they do.”
Allan, E. J. & Madden, M. Hazing In View: Initial Findings from the National Study of Student
Hazing (2008).
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Slide 17: Don’t be a Part of The Problem
Don’t Be a Part of the Problem,
Be a Part of the Solution !!
Have the COURAGE to
Do The Right Thing.
REPORT HAZING
Students are most inclined to talk with peers (48%) or family
(26%) about their hazing experiences.
Elizabeth J. Allan and Mary Madden
Hazing in View – College Students at Risk – (2008)
Copyright Converge & Associates (2012)

Become a “Hazer Snitch.” Take pride in exposing hazing, when it occurs.

Examine, broaden, and re-define your personal relationship to “being responsible” and for what you
are responsible. Take responsibility when you see hazing occurring or when it happens to you by
reporting it immediately.

Be certain that you understand the complaint process.

Seek help from advisors, faculty, and administration
Slide 18: Discussion

What steps can
student leaders,
faculty advisors,
•
teachers and/or
•
administrators take to
promote shared
•
What steps can student leaders, faculty advisors, teachers
and/or administrators take to promote shared responsibility
on campus?
Discuss some of the challenges you might face when taking
action against hazing.
Why is this work important? Or is it simply “political
correctness”?
responsibility on
campus?
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
Discuss some of the challenges you might face when taking action against hazing.

Why is this work important? Or is it simply “political correctness”?
Slide 19: Honor the
Legacy
Honor The Legacy
Focus on your founders ask yourself, if they were
alive today, would they be
proud about the things
you are doing in the name
of the fraternity or
sorority?
The membership intake
processes
serve
two
purposes: to build bonds
We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the
courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their
power toward good ends.
Mary McLeod Bethune, Last Will & Testament of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune
between members so that
they can carry out the
work of the organization; and to help individuals become better, stronger, and more agile thinkers.
Hazing, on the other hand, doesn’t do anything to support those goals. Instead, it feeds a cycle of abuse.
Most black fraternity and sorority members aren’t beating people or breaking their oaths. Instead,
they’re going to chapter meetings, doing community service, in other words, living the promise they
made to their organizations. These upstanding members have a duty to put an end to the negative
traditions.
Phi Beta Sigma International President, the Honorable, Jimmy Hammock calls the need to end hazing a
Fannie Lou Hamer moment! We are “sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
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Slide 20: Prevention
Prevention……
In disease control terms includes measures
designed to prevent the introduction of a disease
into areas where it does not already exist; improve
the resistance of the population; and reduce the
chances of the infection spreading, when the
disease already exists in the population.
“Hazing is an injustice to all of us and we need to raise awareness
within organizations who may be harvesting this culture and let
them know that hazing is unacceptable.”
Rev. Al Sharpton, 2012
Copyright Converge & Associates (2012)
Slide 21: What Do They Need to Know?
What Do….
 Future Greeks – High School Students
 Pledges
 College Chapter Members & Leaders
 Grad Chapters
 Advisors/Teachers/Coaches
 Administrators/Authorities
Need to Know????
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What Do High School Students Need To Know
Accepting Hazing is self- infliction of pain. You do not have to suffer pain to be accepted. Do not allow
yourself to be harmed in any way.
More than 50% of students entering college already have been hazed.
Learn the history of the organization that you aspire to join. Research any incidents of hazing by the
organization nationally and locally.
What Individuals Going Through Intake Need To Know
You deserve to have the experience of brotherhood and sisterhood that your were promised. Make the
most of your new member experience and help others do the same.
Say something, if you see or hear something that looks or sounds questionable.
If you feel
uncomfortable, decide if that organization is the right one for you.
Identify a trusted, older member of the organization to question the reason behind a specific activity.
Even something as simple as “why in the world would we do that?” is effective in reducing so many
actions. Hazing thrives in secrecy. Talk about it! Challenge it!
Confront hazing in the chapter or have the courage to walk away.
What Chapter Members Need To Know
The real change must come from the students. They must be the force to challenge tradition.
Take a look in the mirror…you can be the change agent. Commit to the values of your organization and
help empower your chapter members to stand with you.
•
•
•
•
•
Create an action plan to make changes in your chapter. Realize that you cannot expect
hazing to slowly transition out of your organization. A stand must be taken and a line
drawn to end those behaviors.
Review and follow new member education materials provided by the international
headquarters.
Have newly initiated members evaluate the program and make changes if necessary.
Attend educational programs on hazing provided by the college.
Commit to end hazing in the fraternity.
What Chapter Leaders Need To Know
Do not put up with individuals who believe that hazing is ok. No organization’s ritual supports such
activity; therefore a hazer is not upholding his/her obligation of membership. If an individual enables
hazing, he/she will inevitably create bigger problems for you as a chapter leader.
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Build relationships to help create a trusting environment where members of your organization can open
up to you without fearing the consequences.
Enlist partners: fellow officers, chapter opinion leaders, chapter advisers, and university Greek advisors.
You’ll need all of these individuals to help make change happen and keep your chapter on track.
What Grad Chapters And Alumni Advisors Need To Know
Often alumni support and encourage hazing - “They did it to me & I survived!”
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Be prepared to mentor undergrad chapters.
Be able to facilitate the conversations about why hazing policies exist. These conversations
help members understand the how and why when it comes to hazing prevention.
Be open to conversations in which members express disagreement with policies. This opens
the door for those educational conversations.
Be involved in new member education events.
Assist the chapter in reviewing current program and eliminating hazing.
Hold chapter accountable for hazing.
Review materials from your organization’s national office and ensure that the chapter is
following them.
Educate other alumni about hazing and how they can help to eliminate it in their fraternity
or sorority.
What Advisors/Teachers/Coaches Need To Know
It is important for us to create healthy and safe campus environments for all students. As professionals
and student leaders, we must support and encourage student organizations to embrace positive group
engagement so that every member truly can benefit from belonging to the group and the organization
will be respected.
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Remember that, while students aged 18 – 22, legally might be adults, mentally and
emotionally they have not fully matured.
Institute Student Training - Regularly reinforce policies.
Be aware of the entire calendar of events. Hazing often occurs during “optional” events. Be
fully engaged with your program.
Do not allow the “unofficial” events to go unchallenged or feel that you will be less liable if
you do not attend. If you knew or should have known about it, you have responsibility for
the risk.
Institute Immediate Response. Take necessary interim steps when allegations of bullying or
hazing occur.
Investigate. Respond to all reports of bullying and hazing. This is a legal obligation of the
school. Conduct an investigation of the allegations, regardless of their nature, in a timely
manner.
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Anti- Hazing Tips:
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Educate chapters about the university and organizational policies regarding hazing and
provide examples of potential consequences of hazing. Focus these conversations on the
why and why nots of hazing, not on the can and cannots.
Be present. While you can’t (and shouldn’t) be there every minute of every day, you should
be an active participant in discussions of new member activities, plans for big sister/big
brother revealing, initiation preparation, and events that pose the greatest risk.
If your members realize that there are behaviors that need to change, let them lead the
effort. Support and advise, but allow the leadership to lead the change.
Review your chapter’s established goals for the year, link all your conversations back to
those goals. This gives you a stronger foundation for a conversation. Do these activities
advance the chapter towards these goals? Often, chapters will realize that hazing activities
are counter-productive and could create more problems.
What Administrators/Authorities Need To Know
Policy Development - If not already in existence, develop policies to prohibit bullying and hazing. As
necessary, the policies should set forth the general categories or types of prohibited behavior so that
students are on notice of the school’s expectations.
Immediate Response - Develop a process for students to file complaints of harassment. Be certain that
the process is communicated throughout the campus.
Corrective Measures - Take appropriate corrective measures, including disciplinary action, when
appropriate.
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Staff Training - Require staff members to intervene, as appropriate, when conduct reasonably
appears to constitute bullying or hazing. Provide appropriate training to staff so they can effectively
intervene. Require staff members to document the incident.
Staff Empowerment - Require that staff members report to an administrator any conduct which they
reasonably believe to involve bullying or hazing, and, if appropriate, to direct the student(s) to an
administrator. Require staff members to document the report.
Slide 22: 25%
In 25% of hazing experiences, students
reported that alumni were present.
In 25% of hazing experiences, students
believed coaches and/or advisors were
aware of the activities.
Hazing in View – College Students at Risk (2008)
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Copyright Converge & Associates (2012)
Slide 23: Responding To Hazing Incidents
Look for tell-tale signs
Responding to Hazing Incidents
of hazing, such as code
words, bragging, and
surface
level
hazing
activities, which usually
indicate that more is
Action Steps to better respond in the event of a hazing incident:
 Look for tell-tale signs of hazing
 Be prepared with a plan for investigating hazing before an issue
is brought up
going on behind closed
 Always defer to campus policies and state laws
doors.
 The more details you can get about alleged hazing incidents,
the better off your investigation will be and students will be
more likely to admit to them.
 Be calm and professional when confronting students about an
accusation.
Copyright Converge & Associates (2012)
Slide 24: Shifting The Paradigm
What’s Next??????
We
need
something
to
do
completely
revolutionary, we need
to do something that is
completely
different,
and
doing
we're
Shifting the Paradigm….
…..A Plan for Change
…..What’s Next?
it
because we know what
our values are. (Ross)
By bringing the forces
of
many
communities
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of
comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and
controversy.
Luther King, Jr.
different
together
to attack this problem, Phi Beta Sigma hopes to destroy the culture of hazing and replace it with a
culture of service.
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Phi Beta Sigma is advocating the eradication of hazing culture in all organizations, and if the effort is
successful, the coalition expects to see:
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A reduction in the incidences of hazing in all organizations nationwide.
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Passage of U.S. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson’s federal anti-hazing legislation.

Broad implementations of hazing awareness and education programs among faculty and
students that can help identify and eradicate hazing culture in high schools and colleges and
local communities.
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An educational campaign in the community that makes it clear that hazing is no longer prevalent
within Greek-letter organizations – that in fact, they have a rich history of providing leadership
and service to the community and membership in these organizations is valuable.
Slide 25: Sources
Sources
 Allan, Elizabeth and Madden, Mary, Hazing in View – College Students
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at Risk (2008)
Converge and Associates, Enhancing Cultural Competency (2009)
Hazing.cornell.edu
HazingPrevention.org
HazingPrevention.org 2011 National Hazing Prevention Week Guide
Ross, Lawrence C. Jr., The Divine Nine: The History of African
American Fraternities and Sororities.
Stop Hazing.org
U.S. Department of Education Office of Higher Education
Williams, Dr. John A., Hazing in Black Fraternities
Copyright Converge & Associates (2012)
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