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The data derive from surveys of students and interviews
with students, staff, faculty, and administrators at four postsecondary institutions
in the northeast region of the United States. This investigation represents the
pilot study (Phase I) of the national study designed to examine hazing in colleges
and universities throughout the United States.
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The North American Interfraternal Foundation (NIF) and the NASPA Foundation
provided start-up funding for the pilot phase of the national study on hazing in
postsecondary education. As of May 2006, the following groups have joined this
collaborative effort:
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Alpha Phi Omega: a national, co-ed, service fraternity focused on college
campus-based volunteerism for over 75 years.
American College Personnel Association: ACPA fosters college student
learning through the generation and dissemination of knowledge, which
informs policies, practices and programs for the higher education
community.
Association of Fraternity Advisors: AFA is an international organization
providing resources, recognition and support for campus fraternity/sorority
advising professionals.
Association for Student Judicial Affairs: ASJA facilitates the integration of
student development concepts with principles of judicial practice in a postsecondary educational setting, and promotes, encourages and supports
student development professionals who have responsibility for student
judicial affairs.
Center for the Study of the College Fraternity: The CSCF was formed in
1979 to encourage and support research of the highest quality and
educational significance on the role of the fraternity and sorority in higher
education.
Fraternity Executives Association: FEA operates to further the common
interests of member organizations by promoting, supporting, and
encouraging the free discussion and exchange of ideas relating to college
fraternal organizations.
Kappa Alpha Order: National fraternity with 134 chapters at colleges and
universities throughout the U.S.
Kappa Delta: National sorority with 128 active collegiate chapters.
National Association for Campus Activities: NACA links the higher
education and entertainment communities in a business and learning
partnership.
National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics: The largest
association of collegiate athletics administrators with representatives from
more than 1,600 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and
Mexico. Members include athletics directors, associate and assistant
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athletics directors, conference commissioners and affiliate individuals or
corporations.
National Association of Student Personnel Administrators: NASPA
provides professional development, promotes exemplary practices, and is
a leader in policy development in student personnel administration.
National Collegiate Athletic Association: NCAA is a voluntary association
of about 1,200 colleges and universities, athletic conferences and sports
organizations devoted to the sound administration of intercollegiate
athletics.
National Consortium for Academics and Sports: The mission of the NCAS
is to create a better society by focusing on educational attainment and
using the power and appeal of sport to positively affect social change.
National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association: Resource for
professional and student development, education, and research in
collegiate recreational sports.
National Orientation Directors Association: NODA provides education and
leadership in the fields of college student orientation, transition and
retention.
National Panhellenic Conference: An umbrella organization for 26
inter/national women's fraternities and sororities. Each member group is
autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and
alumnae. Members are represented on over 620 college and university
campuses in the United States and Canada and in over 4,600 alumnae
associations, making up over 3.6 million sorority women in the world.
North American Intrafraternity Conference: advocate the needs of its 64
member fraternities through enrichment of the fraternity experience;
advancement and growth of the fraternity community; and enhancement of
the educational mission of the host institutions.
Professional Fraternity Executives Association: The Professional
Fraternity Executives Association (PFEA), is an organization that supports
and enhances the development and professionalism of Professional
Fraternity executives. Membership is open to full-time, paid chief staff
executives of a professional Fraternity.
Pi Beta Phi Fraternity: The mission of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women is
to promote friendship, develop women of intellect and integrity, cultivate
leadership potential and enrich the lives of members and their
communities.
Professional Fraternity Association: The Professional Fraternity
Association, Inc. supports professional fraternities and sororities, to
preserve high standards on campus and in professional practice.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation: The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation is
the tax-exempt fundraising arm of the SAE Fraternity with the motto
“prepare, provide, preserve.”
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Sigma Nu Fraternity: National fraternity with chapters at colleges and
universities throughout the U.S.
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A Research Advisory Group was established to inform and guide project design
and assist with project funding. Members currently include (in alphabetical order):
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Ms. Jessica Bartter, Communications Coordinator, Representing
National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS).
Dr. Ron Binder, Associate Director of Residence Life for Greek Affairs,
Bowling Green State University. Representing the Association of
Fraternity Advisors (AFA).
Ms. Martha Brown, Chair, National Panhellenic Conference (NPC).
Mr. Mike Cleary, Executive Director, National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics
Dr. Gwen Dungy, Exec. Dir., National Association of Student Personnel
Administrators (NASPA).
Dr. Danell Haines, Director, National Research Institute for College
Recreational Sports & Wellness
Ms. Debbie E. Heida, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of
Students, Berry College.
Dr. Terence Hogan, Dean of Students, Ohio University, Chair of NASPA
Knowledge Community on Fraternity/Sorority Life.
Ms. Andrene Kaiwi-Lenting, Assistant Director, Student Life and
Leadership Coordinator, Orientation Programs at CalPoly. (NODA)
Mr. Bob London, Board Member, Professional Fraternity Executives
Association
Mary Beth Mackin, Representing the Association for Student Judicial
Affairs (ASJA).
Dr. Richard McKaig, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs & faculty
member in Student Affairs & Higher Education, Indiana University. North
American Interfraternal Foundation (NIF) Executive Board member.
Mr. Hank Nuwer, nationally recognized hazing expert, author of three
books on hazing, member of the advisory committee to the 1999 NCAA
hazing study, Adjunct Professor at Indiana University-Purdue University
and Faculty member at Franklin College (IN).
Mr. John Ogle, Director of Education and Research, National Association
for Campus Activities
Dr. Laura Osteen, Director of Leadership Programs, Florida State
University. Representing the American College Personnel Association
(ACPA).
Dr. Norm Pollard, Director, Counseling and Student Development Center,
Alfred University.
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Dr. Judith Ramalay, Assistant Director of the National Science
Foundation (NSF) and past-President of the University of Vermont.
Dr. John Schuh, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Educational
Leadership and Policy Studies, Iowa State University. Representating the
National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).
Dr. William Smedick, Special Assistant to the Dean of Student Life,
Johns Hopkins University, Representing the National Association of
Campus Activities (NACA).
Dr. Stephen Sweet, sociologist, statistician, and author of several articles
about hazing, Professor of Sociology, Ithaca College.
Ms. Mary Wilfert, Assistant Director of Education and Outreach, National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Ms. Louise Kier Zirretta, past President of the North American
Interfraternal Foundation (NIF) and professional researcher.
Elizabeth Allan, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Allan is an Assistant Professor of Higher Educational Leadership at the
University of Maine. She has authored a number of articles, book chapters, and
encyclopedia entries on the topic of hazing, and is the co-founder and manager
of the educational website, www.StopHazing.org. Dr. Allan has been interviewed
about hazing for a PBS documentary, for television, newspapers and radio
shows throughout the country, and for periodicals including Sports Illustrated,
TeenPeople, Glamour, Rolling Stone, British Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping
and the Congressional Quarterly. Her research related to campus culture and
climate has been published in the Harvard Educational Review (2003) the Maine
Journal of Education (2004), Innovative Higher Education (2005), and The
Journal of Higher Education (2006).
Mary Madden, Ph.D.
Project Director
Dr. Madden is an Assistant Research Professor in the College of Education and
Human Development at the University of Maine where she is a faculty member in
the Center for Research and Evaluation with subject matter expertise in human
development and gender equity issues in education. She teaches research and
evaluation courses for graduate students at the University of Maine and is an
expert in research design using both quantitative and qualitative methods and
has designed and implemented numerous evaluation studies for K-12 schools,
postsecondary institutions, and government agencies. She is currently
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evaluating a youth suicide prevention project implemented in 12 Maine High
Schools and funded by the Centers for Disease Control. Her recent research
includes a study of classroom climate for undergraduate women and a study of
social factors that contribute to and/or prevent girlfighting.
Gustavo Burkett
Project Intern
At the time of the study, Mr. Burkett was a graduate student at the University of
Maine in the Higher Educational Leadership M.Ed. program. Prior to his
graduate work, Gus served as a Regional Director for Sigma Phi Epsilon
fraternity for 30 campuses in the Midwest. Gus completed his M.Ed. in August
2005 and is now Associate Director of Student Activities and Greek Life at the
University of Maine.
Andrea M. Cole
Project Associate
Ms. Cole is currently the Coordinator of Academic Advising and Student Services
in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Maine.
Previously, she held a five-year position as the Senior Associate with the
National Center for Student Aspirations at the University of Maine. She is a
former teacher at the elementary and middle school levels, as well as a coach
and official at both the middle and high school levels. Cole has written and
produced with Dr. Russell Quaglia three inspirational videos entitled Teaching
Heroes. The three segments of the video package are Coaches: Making a
Difference; Parents: Inspiring Your Child from the Sideline; and Student Athletes:
A Commitment to Citizenship. Cole has both her Bachelors degree (Elementary
Education, ’97) and Masters Degree (Student Development in Higher Education,
’04) from the University of Maine. She was awarded UMaine’s Greek Lifetime
Award in 2001 and the Outstanding Advisor Award in 2005 for her direct service
to Chi Omega Fraternity and the greater Panhellenic Community.
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Unfortunately, many students and professional staff in colleges and
universities remain uninformed about the realities of hazing. Stereotypes
shape perceptions of hazing as only a problem for Greeks and athletes and/or
simply harmless antics and pranks. These views are shortsighted and may
jeopardize the health and safety of students affected by hazing in other arenas,
and hinders the overall quality of the learning environment in schools and
postsecondary institutions.
Despite the documented problems related to hazing, scholarly attention to
the issue remains relatively scant. The most extensive empirical data
regarding hazing practices were generated from the Alfred University/NCAA
study on college athletes (1999). Other accounts of hazing have been provided
by author/journalist Hank Nuwer (1990, 1999, 2000) and a number of thesis and
dissertation studies have focused on hazing in the context of Greek life (Holmes,
1999; Lowery, 1998; Shaw, 1992) and athletics (Johnson, 2000). The
StopHazing.org website receives daily email queries from students who have
been involved in hazing activities. Many of these include accounts of hazing
among marching bands, theatre groups, ski clubs, church groups, club sports,
freshman camp, orientation groups, residence living units and other social and
academic clubs. Such reports range in nature and severity, but commonly
include forced and/or coerced consumption of alcohol, sexual simulations,
ingestion of vile substances, personal servitude, public humiliation, sexual
assault, and participation in theft and other illegal activities.
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The study will provide foundational data from which to assess campus climates
and inform best practices for hazing intervention and prevention. It also aims to
generate breadth of knowledge and promote more in-depth understanding about
hazing with possible applications to other populations. More specifically, the
goals of this research are to:
Investigate the prevalence and nature of hazing behaviors among
students in U.S. colleges and universities.
Offer research-based strategies for responding to and preventing the
problem of hazing among college students with transferability to middle
and secondary schools.
In 2005, the North American Interfraternal Foundation (NIF), with support from
the NASPA Foundation and other collaborating partners, provided funding for the
development and implementation of Phase I—a Pilot Study for this
investigation. The pilot study exceeded expectations and yielded numerous
gains including the development of reliable data collection instruments and
analysis procedures, testing sampling strategies, and generating data from both
surveys and interviews.
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Data for the pilot study data collection were collected from March – May, 2005
with students and staff at four post-secondary institutions in the Northeastern
United States. Data collection consisted of a web-based survey for students and
interviews with students, staff, and administrators at each campus. Participating
institutions included a small private college as well as larger public universities.
Full-time undergraduate students under the age of 25 were the target of the
web-based survey. Each institution generated the student sample for the study.
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An invitation to participate in the survey was sent to
students via email which provided a code and
hyperlink to access the web-based survey.
Students who completed the survey were entered
into a drawing for one of fifty $10 iTunes gift
certificates. The survey consisted of 70 questions
and was designed so participants could respond to
70 questions
99% completion rate
1,789 total respondents
66% female
86% white
69% on-campus residents
these questions relative to three distinct
membership groups. For example, a student
belonging to a varsity team, a fraternity, and an academic club would respond to
the set of questions for each of these activities separately.
Ninety-percent of the students who accessed the web-based survey completed it.
In all, 1789 full-time undergraduate students under the age of 25 who
belonged to a student activity responded to the survey. Two-thirds of the
respondents were female and one-third male. Eighty-six percent of the
respondents identified their race/ethnicity as White. Sixty-nine percent of the
students lived on-campus.
Students responding to the survey reported they belonged to the following
student groups:
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24% - recreation or club sports teams
14% - academic club
15% - honor society
11% - social fraternity or sorority
10% - varsity athletes
10% - band or other performing arts organizations
05% - service fraternity or sorority
02% - ROTC or other military organization
22% - do not participate on teams or in organizations
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Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 90 individuals at the four
campuses. Participants included student leaders, student affairs and athletics
staff, and senior student affairs officers. At each campus, project staff worked
with a student affairs staff member to select interviewees and schedule the
interviews. The staff members were given a list of staff positions and student
organizations from which to recruit individuals for the interviews. Interviews were
30-60 minutes in duration and were audio-taped and later transcribed for
analysis.
This study provided the opportunity for researchers to test sampling strategies
and data collection instruments. It also provided insights into hazing that will be
further investigated in the national study. This report shares the findings of the
pilot study. The researchers wish to remind readers that the sample in this pilot
study was limited and therefore, caution is urged in generalizing finding or
drawing broad conclusions.
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As we learned during the interviews, many students associated hazing with
fraternities and sororities explaining, “My interpretation was that you have a
fraternity or sorority where you have to do rushing and things to prove you want
to be there.” Yet the survey showed that students who were members of
different types of student groups reported experiencing hazing behaviors.
Students were given a list of behaviors and asked if they had experienced any of
the behaviors in the process of joining or maintaining membership in a student
organization or team. The following is a partial list of the behaviors:
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Attend a skit night or roast where other members are humiliated
Sing or chant by yourself or with a few select team members in a
public situation that is not related to the event, game, or practice
Wear clothing that is embarrassing and not part of the uniform.
Be yelled, screamed, or cursed at by other team/organization members
Get a tattoo or pierce a body part
Act as a personal servant to other members
Associate with specific people and not others
Deprive yourself of sleep
Be awakened at night by other members
Make prank phone calls or harass others
Be tied up, taped, or confined to small spaces
Be transported to and dropped off in an unfamiliar location
Endure harsh weather without the proper clothing
Make prank phone calls or harass others
Drink large amounts of a non-alcoholic beverage such as water
Participate in a drinking game
Drink large amounts of alcohol to the point of passing out or getting
sick
Watch live sex acts
Perform sex acts with the same gender
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Perform sex acts with the opposite gender
Keep a tally of men or women with whom you have had sex
Among all respondents, the most common behaviors reported by students were
as follows:
- Participate in an alcohol-related drinking game
- Sing or chant by self or with other selected group members
- Endure harsh weather conditions without proper clothing
Deprive self of sleep
- Yelled, screamed, or cursed at by other group members
- Be awakened during night by other group members
The study also examined hazing behaviors according to membership groups.
The following graphs illustrate the behaviors, and the percent of respondents
who say they participated in the specific behaviors in order to join or maintain
membership in particular types of student groups including: varsity athletics,
social fraternities and sororities, recreation and sports clubs, and band and
performing arts groups:
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70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
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70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
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25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
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70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
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70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Some hazing behaviors were more common among certain student groups than
others. The following graphs illustrate the percentage of students from varsity
athletics, social fraternities/sororities, service fraternities/sororities, recreation
and sports clubs, and band and performing arts groups that reported
experiencing the common hazing behaviors.
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Band
Recreation Clubs
Service Fraternities/Sororities
Social Fraternties/Sororities
Varsity Athletics
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
% of Students in Activity Reporting Behavior
Band
Recreation Clubs
Service Fraternities/Sororities
Social Fraternties/Sororities
Varsity Athletics
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
% of Students in Activity Reporting Behavior
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70%
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Band
Recreation Clubs
Service Fraternities/Sororities
Social Fraternities/Sororities
Varsity Athletics
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
60%
70%
% of Students in Activity Reporting Behavior
Band
Recreation Clubs
Service Fraternities/Sororities
Social Fraternities/Sororities
Varsity Athletics
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
% of Students in Activity Reporting Behavior
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Band
Recreation Clubs
Service Fraternities/Sororities
Social Fraternities/Sororities
Varsity Athletics
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
% of Students in Activity Reporting Behavior
The following, which are examples from different students who willingly described
their hazing experiences during the interviews, provide a glimpse at the ways in
which hazing can range from degrading to physically harmful and dangerous:
…spit containers saved all semester with anything they could find to be
disgusting…we had to soak our clothes in it and wear them to class, no showers,
it was really rough…”
[We did] “very sexual things…licking a banana covered in ‘human chocolate
sauce’ and not giving people a choice of whether or not to do it.”
“Everyone hazes the hell out of you [during hell week]…I didn’t really tell anyone
the full extent…there’s a lot of things you’d just rather forget.”
“Being a freshman and totally intoxicated…I ended up in the woods and fell and
cut my leg. I had to call a friend from a gas station. I still have a scar [3years
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later]…It was supposed to build team unity…but they [teammates] were not there
for you at the end of the night.”
“I knew it was my time to get picked on and eventually it would stop and be
someone else’s time to get picked on…there were tons and tons of beat
downs…in the locker room.”
“I was hazed my first year…I said, ‘I’m not drinking anymore’ so they hit me. I
wound up taking 7 shots of 151 and had never drank hard alcohol before. It was
terrible.”
“His goal was to completely demolish and demoralize us…At one point the axe
handle slipped and it smashed someone in the skull.”
“It was really rough, I’m surprised someone didn’t die of alcohol poisoning that
night.”
“I broke my hand in two places, the pledge educator told me…to say it was
something else.”
Students were given the following definition of hazing:
“Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a
group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them regardless of
a person’s willingness to participate.”
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They were then asked if they had ever been hazed at the postsecondary
institution they currently attend. One in 20 students reported they had been
hazed.
However, when given a list of specific behaviors, which would meet the definition
of hazing, more than one in five students say they have experienced some
of these behaviors while in college.
While students reported experiencing behaviors which meet the criteria for
hazing, many do not consider themselves to have been hazed. Students
often defended their participation in the behaviors by claiming to have
participated willingly. They provided such explanations as “nothing happened to
me that I did not agree to” or “it was all in fun.”
When asked in interviews to share their definitions and understandings of hazing,
students often equated hazing with physical force and a lack of willingness. As
this student said, hazing is “a power thing … forcing people to do things they
don’t want to do.” Students most often failed to recognize the role of group
coercion and the difficulty of truly consenting when faced with powerful peer
pressure.
For those who are willing to acknowledge that their experience constitutes
hazing, they may be deterred from reporting their experience because of peer
reaction and/or retribution. As this student explains, “I don’t know anyone I could
go to [to talk about hazing]…I don’t think there is anyone you could really turn to.
If you turned to your coach and your team finds out, then good luck dealing with
your team.”
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Forty percent of the students who reported being involved in hazing behaviors
report that a coach or organization advisor was aware of the activity.
Twenty-two percent report that the coach or advisor was involved in the
hazing:
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Despite the existence of hazing at postsecondary institutions, only 28% of
respondents say they were told about anti-hazing policies when joining a
team or student organization, and only 22% say they were given a written copy of
campus policies.
For some students, warnings about hazing activities were vague. This student
described the perspective of many students we interviewed: “you are never
really taught specifically [what hazing is], but just told that you can’t do that
because it is hazing and you’ll get in trouble.”
Hazing extends beyond those who experience the actual behaviors. Two out of
every five students say they are aware of hazing behaviors occurring within
teams and student organizations on their campus. More than one in five report
that they witnessed these hazing behaviors.
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Many students come to college having experienced hazing. Given the
following definition, “Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining or
participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them
regardless of a person’s willingness to participate” 1 in 20 students say they have
been hazed in college. Twice as many, 1 in 10 students, say they were hazed
in high school.
This was a pilot study conducted in preparation for a larger national study. The
study is limited by the following factors:
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Small number of participating institutions
Lack of geographic diversity among these institutions
Lack of racial and ethnic diversity among respondents
Continue to analyze the data collected during the pilot;
Refine the survey instrument and interview protocols;
Identify and recruit post-secondary institutions to participate in the study;
Collect survey and interview data;
Analyze data; and
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Develop research-based strategies for prevention of and intervention in
hazing.
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