Publication Date
Spring 5-28-2025
Item Type
Text
Executive Summary
Hazing Prevention Education
Hazing in higher education is often hidden behind a culture of secrecy, tradition, or team-building. It includes any unwanted physical, emotional, or psychological activities that a person undergoes before joining a group that has clear lasting impacts on the person’s health, regardless of willingness to participate (H.R.5646 - Stop Campus Hazing Act, 2024; Boyer, A., n.d.). Seven nursing students partnered with a university’s campus security office in Seattle, Washington. This department is responsible for maintaining a safe and respectful campus environment, making it a key stakeholder in hazing prevention efforts.
Guided by the Stop Campus Hazing Act (Boyer, n.d.), which requires institutions to provide hazing education and transparency through public reporting, this project aims to develop educational resources that empower students and encourage hazing prevention. The primary goal of this project is to increase student awareness about hazing through the development of accessible educational tools. These include visually engaging posters, scannable QR codes, and brief informational booths on campus. Each resource is designed to define what hazing is, highlight the impact on victims, explain potential legal consequences, and offer guidance on how to prevent hazing on college campuses.
Background
This university serves a diverse population of students from a wide range of cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. As stated by the campus security office, no recent hazing incidents have been reported in the last four years. However, the absence of documented violations does not eliminate the risk for hazing or the need for hazing prevention education. Hazing is a pressing and often underrecognized concern, and it poses serious physical and psychological health risks. It is often associated with injuries such as head trauma, alcohol poisoning, and even death (Nguyen et al., 2023; New York Post, 2024). Hazing can also result in profound emotional consequences, including anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and emotional numbness that are often exacerbated by shame and fear of retaliation that prevent victims from seeking help (Nguyen et al., 2023; Nuwer, 2018).
Many similar universities have adopted strong, multifaceted approaches to hazing prevention by implementing zero-tolerance policies, mandatory training, and clear definitions that emphasize the harm hazing can cause—physically, mentally, and emotionally (Allan & Madden, 2008). Hazing is often addressed under broader harassment or student conduct policies, with violations resulting in serious consequences such as suspension from group activities or referral to law enforcement (Campo et al., 2005).
New student orientations, annual notifications, and campus-wide training sessions are commonly used to educate students and staff early on, while prevention committees—often including students, staff, and parents—guide long-term strategies and cultural change (Hoover, 1999). Support for victims typically includes access to reporting tools (both anonymous and direct), follow-up care, and protection from retaliation. For those who engage in hazing, disciplinary actions often aim to be both corrective and educational, with some schools emphasizing restorative practices to encourage personal accountability and growth. By combining education, policy enforcement, and community involvement, these institutions work to make safer, more respectful campus environments (Allan et al., 2019).
Nguyen et al. (2023) found that hazing erodes students' sense of identity and belonging, contributing to long-term psychological distress. In response to growing national concern, recent legislation mandates transparency of hazing reports and prevention education. This project aimed to address a clear gap in knowledge by launching an awareness campaign that provides students with critical information and tools to recognize, report, and prevent hazing.
Activities
Collaborating with campus security, this project aimed to close the student knowledge gap on hazing awareness and prevention. Our interventions to improve student knowledge of hazing included educational posters, booth sessions, and the creation of a video to be shown in multiple settings across the campus. Drawing on Fitzpatrick’s (2023) insights into the efficacy of digital communication methods and their positive impact on health literacy, the video was tailored for easy sharing by the campus security office.
We collaborated with a campus newsletter placed in all bathroom stalls that highlights upcoming campus initiatives and events. This section included a QR code link to our main poster, which was distributed in high-traffic areas of all campus buildings. This poster included the definition, prevalence, and examples of hazing, offered healthy bonding alternatives, and linked to the campus anti-hazing policy and anonymous reporting tools. Our educational booth sessions, held in two dormitories and the student union building, incorporated a trivia game and candy as prizes to enhance engagement. These trivia questions focused on facts about hazing, allowing students to reinforce their understanding of these topics. We chose to conduct tabling-style education sessions as research has shown to be an effective way to engage, educate, and empower the student audience (Carmichael, 2019).
Outcomes
Our educational initiatives successfully increased student awareness and engagement around hazing and its consequences. We hung over 50 educational posters in common areas across 15 buildings on campus, raising awareness on the subject of hazing and the importance of hazing prevention among faculty and students in every department within the school.
Through our interactive booths and trivia, we reached students directly within residential halls and the student union building. Our hope was for students to walk away from tabling events with a greater understanding of what hazing is and clarification of common misconceptions. It also provided us with an opportunity to hear students’ concerns and experiences surrounding the topic. We found that the majority of students held the belief that hazing only occurred within fraternities and sororities. This allowed us to educate students further on what hazing looks like within any kind of group, how to recognize it on our campus, and how to report it.
Our anti-hazing educational video was developed for long-term use by both students and faculty to further our educational engagement. This video will now be available for use in new student orientations, resident advisor training, and future awareness campaigns, ensuring the project’s impact will extend beyond our direct involvement.
Conclusion
Partnering with campus security, our campaign successfully engaged with students through high-visibility posters, interactive trivia booths, and a shareable short-form video. These tools clarified what hazing looks like, its legal and health consequences, and how to report concerns anonymously. By combining print media with digital resources, we used the nursing process of assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation to close key knowledge gaps and empower peers to speak up. Moving forward, updating materials, embedding anti-hazing content into orientations, and ensuring holistic anti-hazing education of faculty and staff will help maintain project momentum and foster a campus culture of respect, transparency, and mutual care.
References
Allan, E. J., Payne, J. M., & Kerschner, D. (2019). Assessing readiness for campus hazing prevention. Health Education & Behavior, 46(1), 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981221101357
Allan, E. J., & Madden, M. (2008). Hazing in view: College students at risk. StopHazing. https://stophazing.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/hazing_in_view_study.pdf
Boyer, A. (n.d.). A historic step forward: The stop campus hazing act becomes law. Clery Center. https://clery.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=270%3Ahistoric-step-scha-becomes-law&catid=24%3Ablog&Itemid=159
Campo, S., Poulos, G., & Sipple, J. W. (2005). Prevalence and profiling: Hazing among college students and points of intervention. American Journal of Health Behavior, 29(2), 137–149. https://www.northwestern.edu/hazing-prevention/images/prevalence-profiling-hazing-am
ong-college-students-points-intervention.pdf
Carmichael, A. C. (2019, November 8). Tips for increasing impact with tabling events. ESP Lambda Chapter. https://blogs.cornell.edu/esp-lambda/2019/11/08/tips-for-increasing-impact-with-tabling-events/
Fitzpatrick, P. J. (2023). Improving health literacy using the power of digital communications to achieve better health outcomes for patients and practitioners. Frontiers in Digital Health, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2023.1264780
Hoover, N. C. (1999). National survey: Initiation rites and athletics for NCAA sports teams. Alfred University.
Recommended Citation
Mielbrecht, Elianna; Agpawa, Sky; Dean, Ceirra; Arinaza, Joseph; Hart, Moses; Speakman, Lily; and Maow, Hana, "Hazing Prevention Education" (2025). Nursing Leadership in Community Engagement Projects. 64.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/shs_nlce/64
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