How many states ban hazing

Most students who suffer hazing aren't even aware that it's happening. However, this bill limits hazing reporting to incidents committed due to initiation in or affiliation with an organization connected with the university—essentially, any fraternity or campus club.

For the purpose of the reporting bill, that's important. However, the Chad Meredith Act and likely the federal statute too makes it clear that it is not a valid defense to claim that the "hazing" took place apart from any organization or official organization event. Our law also made it clear that it wouldn't matter if the hazing took place in connection to initiation or affiliation with a club—any kind of coercion would be a criminal offense. The bipartisan bill is currently in committee before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Our firm is wholly committed to stopping the fatal or harmful coercion of individuals. Lives are being cut short due to harmful, meaningless risk-taking in the name of "brotherhood," and it enrages us. It should enrage universities and leaders around the nation as well. We look forward to the day that students will be able to enjoy campus life without harassment, fear, or bullying. Until that day, we'll continue faithfully securing justice for the victims of hazing nationwide.

Call to learn if you have a case or use our online form to schedule a free consultation. We are here to provide a voice to victims and fight for justice. Limited Caseloads Equals Unlimited Focus. Is Hazing Illegal in the United States?

The following states have zero laws prohibiting or defining hazing: Alaska Hawaii New Mexico Wyoming South Dakota Montana Only 13 states have laws that make hazing a felony when resulting in death or serious injury: Florida Texas California Utah Wisconsin Michigan Indiana Illinois Missouri West Virginia Pennsylvania Louisiana New Jersey Causing the death, injury, or mental anguish of another human being needs to be taken more seriously by the courts, and that begins with laws that take the hazing seriously.

Pressures or coerces students into violating the law, committing or being subject to violence, exposing themselves to the elements, or consuming any food, drug, liquor, or other substance.

In March, 11 members of the Psi Epsilon Chi fraternity at Plattsburgh State University in New York were charged in connection with the death of a pledge, Walter Dean Jennings, whose brain swelled after he was forced to consume large amounts of water.

In February, the Zeta Phi Beta sorority at Virginia Union University was suspended and four members charged with misdemeanor hazing for allegedly causing severe injuries to a pledge, Kimberly Daniels, who was paddled 35 times. The women, blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs, had been forced to run through strong currents at a Los Angeles beach at night. Though California has an anti-hazing law, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and the Los Angeles Police Department have declined to file charges against the sorority, said Angela Reddock, a Los Angeles lawyer who is representing High's family in a civil suit against nine sorority sisters.

In March, six months after High and Saafir died, Rep. Diane Watson D-Calif. The bill would amend the federal Higher Education Act of , requiring schools to withhold for one year federal loan and grant money from students who haze others.

In a resolution, the North-American Interfraternity Conference, which represents 66 fraternities, asserted its "continuing repudiation of hazing. The National Pan-Hellenic Council, which represents nine largely black fraternities and sororities, adopted a similar policy.

By By V. Dion Haynes and Tribune national correspondent. You can stop hazing on college campuses by taking the following actions:.

Regardless of the justification, those who undergo hazing often view the event as a demonstration of their high tolerance for psychological and physical pain. A Alfred University study found that over , college students experienced hazing when trying to join a campus sports team. Among hazed students, over half agreed it was "important to tolerate psychological stress," while one-third believed it was "important to tolerate physical pain. Hazing's original goal was to humiliate new members of organizations as a means of testing their devotion and helping them bond through a shared experience.

But hazing changed at the turn of the century, when violence emerged as a central part of initiation. Young men started using military hazing tactics in colleges following the Civil War. On his way, he fell off of a cliff and died. Not all frats partake in hazing, of course. But in recent years, the rise of hazing-related deaths, whether due to alcohol or physical abuse, has caused public outcry over the ways the U.

While the media often portrays hazing as specific to college fraternities, many other campus groups also partake in initiation rituals. Below are some of the most well-known hazing scandals in recent years. Drum major Robert Champion died after members of the school's marching band repeatedly beat him in a hazing ritual known as "Crossing Bus C," an ordeal meant to garner respect from upper-level students.

Particularly notable about Champion's death was the fall of FAMU's previously esteemed marching band, which was suspended for ; the resignation of the university president and band director; and the legal conviction of several band members for felony hazing.

While Champion's death showed the dark side of hazing, it also drew the public's attention to intense hazing rituals and ultimately put the perpetrators in prison. Perhaps more than any other incident, the death of Timothy Piazza redefined the national conversation on hazing. A Penn State student and Beta Theta Pi fraternity pledge, Piazza had taken part in a ceremony known as "the gauntlet," in which he consumed a high volume of alcohol.

In the half century after , 25 states passed anti-hazing laws. In Chun Deng, a freshman at Baruch College in Manhattan, died at a retreat in Pennsylvania during what authorities said was a hazing ritual of Phi Delta Psi fraternity. Deng died after running across a frozen yard blindfolded and wearing a backpack laden with pounds of sand, all while being beaten repeatedly by members of the fraternity, according to prosecutors. All five pleaded not guilty. Chamberlin acknowledged that hazing was widespread and has been so for centuries, citing cases in Europe and the United States.

He also acknowledged that hazing was unlikely to disappear, because it is perpetually attractive as a secret ritual ordeal intended to bind initiates to the common values of an organization in which membership, as they see it, enhances their self-worth. But because many hazing laws did little more than duplicate existing misdemeanor or felony statutes, Chamberlin called for a new approach, one that would establish criminal liability for members of a group who did nothing to help assure the welfare of an initiate who might be seriously hurt or put in danger by hazing rites.

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