Each year, National Hazing Prevention Week (NHPW) takes place across campuses nationwide during the last week of September.
This week of awareness, started by the Association of Fraternity Advisors in 2003, was created to empower and educate students with the resources to stop hazing before it starts.
“Although hazing isn’t a problem on Bradley’s campus, [Panhellenic Council (PHC)] still wanted to take the opportunity to prevent hazing practices and promote a safe greek environment,” said Panhellenic Director of Risk Management and Social Programming Samantha Zurawski.
Some actions are already being taken on the Hilltop in the prevention of hazing to students.
“Members of Greek organizations and some business and service fraternities have been signing an anti-hazing pledge to keep the campus free of hazing,” Zurawski, a senior advertising major, said.
All week long, Zurawski manned a table on Olin Quad where students signed the anti-hazing pledge and then added their thumbprint in paint to a banner. Zurawski said more than 100 students have already pledged.
With the recent incident on the University of Alabama’s campus, where alumnae of several chapters participating in formal sorority recruitment told their active members not to extend bids to two black students, this week has taken on an even greater importance for college communities.
According to HazingPrevention.Org, hazing is not something that simply applies to the common stereotype of greek life or even college students. Statistics show that “47 percent of students came to college already having experienced hazing,” measuring out to approximately 1.5 million high school students.
In an effort to continue Bradley’s success, PHC co-sponsored a speaker accompanied by Bradley HEAT and BUPD Chief Brian Joschko Wednesday night, Zurawski said.
Beyond the speaker and NHPW, Bradley promotes year-round awareness and encourages all students to report any incident of hazing as soon as possible.
Hazing, as defined by HazingPrevention.Org, is “any action taken or situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule; risks emotional and/or physical harm; to members of a group or team; whether new or not; regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.”
For more information on Bradley University’s hazing policy, visit http://www.bradley.edu/dotAsset/186169.pdf.