What’s your learning style? Some people love to read. Others love to listen. Me? I always joke about the book I’ll write someday even though I don’t enjoy writing – ironic, I know, as the author of this blog – but I’ve found that I learn best by talking with experts.
I recently had the opportunity to record an episode for the University Risk Management & Insurance Association (URMIA) podcast, URMIA Matters. Check it out online or your podcast app.
In this episode of URMIA Matters, I spoke with host Julie Groves, Director of Risk Services at Wake Forest University, and Stevan Veldkamp, Executive Director of the Piazza Center at Penn State, about the Stop Campus Hazing Act and what must be done before its implementation deadline. We explored the act’s impact, how hazing has evolved, and steps colleges can take to foster a culture of respect and safety. It was a powerful conversation on building comprehensive hazing prevention programs, and I hope it provides insight for university leaders dedicated to improving campus safety.
Striving for Safety
For years, courageous parents like Tim Piazza’s parents, Max Gruver’s parents, and my friend Pam Champion, mother of Robert Champion, have traveled the country, lobbying at state and federal levels, pouring their hearts out, and urging people to report hazing and recognize its harm. They have fought tirelessly for change. This law is a hard-won response to the tragic loss of too many young lives.
A law is just words on paper unless universities truly commit to their role in student safety. As institutions implement this law, my hope for university staff – and for all of us – is that they embrace these responsibilities with intention and action.
- Courage to change: Is what you are doing currently working? If not, be brave enough to challenge the status quo.
- Commitment is not compliance: Any rules and laws can become compliance checklists, but you must be intentional to commit to safety at all levels.
- Share the responsibility: Everyone plays a role, regardless of if we are talking about campus safety or a healthy work environment. If you see something that is wrong, speak up!
About the Stop Campus Hazing Act
The Stop Campus Hazing Act requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that receive federal student aid to report hazing incidents in their annual security reports. It also renames the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to the Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act. The act defines hazing as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act – whether committed individually or with others – during initiation, affiliation, or membership in a student organization that creates a greater-than-reasonable risk of physical or psychological harm, regardless of the participant’s willingness. The act does not apply to foreign IHEs.
Under this law, IHEs must disclose their hazing policies, reporting procedures, investigation processes, and applicable laws in their annual security reports. They are also required to provide information on hazing prevention and awareness programs. Additionally, if a student organization is found in violation of an IHE’s hazing policies, the institution must create a campus hazing transparency report summarizing the findings. However, IHEs are only required to develop or update this report if a hazing violation occurs.
For more information, read the bill on the Congress website.
