Within the last 15 years, there has been a marked increase in awareness about hazing in college. This year, several reprehensible hazing-related incidents at schools around the country have made national news, and many schools have made a conscientious push to eradicate such damaging behaviors in Greek-letter, athletic, and extracurricular organizations. Colgate uses an educational approach to opening up discussion about the serious problems of hazing.
On February 28, approximately 30 members from all eight of Colgate’s Greek-letter organizations gathered in Olin Hall’s Love Auditorium to participate in the New Member Education Summit. Students discussed what qualifies as hazing, and how to ensure that new members experience a healthy transition into Greek life.
The summit centered on a lecture by Timothy C. Marchell, the associate director for health promotion and director of mental health initiatives at Cornell University. Marchell shed light on the variety of reactions that a person can have to a given situation with relation to past experiences and personal traumas. He also discussed the importance of marketing events to new members as fun bonding activities, rather than mandatory events shrouded in secrecy. For example, events such as scavenger hunts and skits may seem harmless, but if framed incorrectly can leave new members feeling uncomfortable or humiliated. After the lecture, each organization broke off into small groups for open dialogue, relating the points covered to their specific members.
“Not only did we have a chance to reflect on things that can be unintentionally harmful,” said Olivia Bankuti ’16, Delta Delta Delta’s vice president for chapter development, “but also on the things that we do to positively foster relationships between members.”
The plan is to hold workshops for all student groups, said Scott Brown, dean of students. “We started with fraternities and sororities because they have done the most work; have the most defined leadership structure, new member period, and program; and also have robust support from alumni.”
The summit was part of an annual series of anti-hazing events organized by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and sponsored by the individual chapters. Additionally, Colgate has instituted mandatory Safe Zone Training and Bystander Intervention Training for all Greek-letter organizations in an effort to proactively prevent unacceptable behavior.