Ella Mitchell, Photography Editor
It has been about three weeks since Shake Day: the Sewanee version of Bid Day where the sororities and fraternities celebrate their new members and party into the night. Many freshmen and upperclassmen have found a new home and community on the Mountain. During this time, it is important to take a look at the new Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) that passed late in 2024 and how it affects Sewanee. This act is another preventative measure mandating that student organizations (Greek Life included) prevent the hazing of their members.
The summary of the SCHA listed on Congress.gov states “This act requires institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in federal student aid programs to report hazing incidents.”
The act also requires that the Campus Hazing Transparency Report should be made public on the institution’s website “not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of the Stop Campus Hazing Act.”
The required information that must be shared publicly in the report includes the organization’s name, a summary of the violation, the date, and basic information on the grounds for investigation. The act makes it clear that it should not reveal any personal identifiers in the public release(for example, the names of individuals involved).
The act passed in the House of Representatives on Sep. 24, 2024 and passed in the Senate on Dec. 11, 2024. It will take effect in the beginning of 2025.
We spoke with Donald Abels, Director of Greek Life at Sewanee, about how this new act would impact Sewanee’s Greek Life.
Sewanee is unique because it operates like a little bubble in which students in Greek Life are desperate for that sense of belonging.
There is the common belief that members of organizations would not speak out regarding hazing for fear of a damage to their social status “While retaliation is strictly prohibited and goes against the Code of Conduct, results from a 2024 student survey show that fear of retaliation or social repercussions can be a barrier to reporting. That’s why we must continue empowering all students—not just those in Greek Life—to speak up. You can find information on reporting concerns, including anonymous options, in the University’s Hazing Prevention Policy.”
The Sewanee Purple then asked Abels about how the process of reporting hazing incidents, as required by this new act, looks for Sewanee. He explained, “The SCHA requires the annual security report to include two policy statements related to hazing. One of which must include how to report hazing. We’re in the process of creating our SCHA implementation plan.”
The new act requires reporting hazing incidents on the University’s public website. Previous instances of hazing on this campus feel somewhat ‘hush-hush’ when talked about, and many individuals were unaware of these instances before choosing to attend Sewanee.
In an article from executive staff member Katie Ray of The Purple, she addressed what she has seen in regards to hazing on our Campus. “Hazing culture at Sewanee has become more of a tradition than a scandal here,” she said. “I see girls walking through Clurg with their bright name tags on and pledge beads branding them across their necks. Guys come in with shaved heads and suit jackets. If you ask any pledge, it’s voluntary, but it becomes a psychological game.”
The article referenced is an opinion article from 2020. University policy on hazing has changed since its publication.
This behavior is something that can still be spotted across Sewanee’s campus. A recent incident revolved around Sewanee’s first established sorority, Theta Kappa Phi (TKP), in 2022. They were placed on a year-long probation for alleged hazing violations. This incident and subsequent suspension is documentation that hazing will face repercussions on Sewanee’s campus. TKP was reinstated in October 2023 and has been able to participate in the sorority recruitment process since spring of 2024.
The Purple reported on Nov. 23, 2023 about TKP hosting a hazing prevention presentation. They worked with Lorin Phillips, who formed the Tri Sigma Prevention Institute for her sorority and, according to CampusSpeak, “has collaborated with over 300 different communities and facilitated prevention education to over 90,000 students, volunteers, and professionals.” Current TKP President Katie Knight declined to respond and give a statement regarding current practices to prevent hazing within their sorority after returning from their suspension and in light of the SCHA.
We proceeded to ask Abels how this new requirement of transparency would affect our current operations and views of Greek Life on this campus. He replied: “In addition to my role as Director of Greek Life, I lead the University’s campus-wide hazing prevention efforts. Since the release of the Institutional Commitment in 2022, much of our prevention efforts have been in anticipation of a new federal law, including a plan for what this will look like at Sewanee. While I’m not involved in the conduct process, I believe this new requirement will show that hazing prevention is a shared responsibility across campus—not just within Greek Life.”
The Purple also had the opportunity to speak with the presidents of the Sorority Council and Fraternity Council, Claire Damare (C ‘25) and Hayden Verble (C ‘25) respectively.
When asked how they work with Greek organizations to discourage hazing on campus, they said, “We take the issue of hazing very seriously and are committed to fostering communities of mutual respect and accountability. In order to discourage hazing, we recognize that we must have conversations with our peers about why it is so harmful – which is why we’re proud to annually host Hazing Prevention Week, where we facilitate discussions amongst peers and raise awareness on the physical, emotional, and mental effects of hazing.
“We’re especially proud that this is an entirely student-led initiative, and although primarily hosted by the Greek Council, we have partnered with student athletes and peer health in the past. We also discourage hazing by requiring all potential new members of fraternities or sororities to attend a hazing prevention training, which includes learning how to use the anonymous reporting form and other resources on hazing.sewanee.edu.
“This year’s hazing prevention week schedule includes:tabling on Monday and Tuesday in McClurg during lunch hours; coffee and donuts in the library on Wednesday; a student panel on Hazing Prevention on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Social Lodge; and a banner competition amongst the Greek organizations (these banners will be hung up outside of Greek houses the weekend following hazing prevention week).”
Will the requirement for transparency and publication of hazing incidents change anything about Sewanee’s anti-hazing efforts? They explained: “We’re unsure how this will change Sewanee’s anti-hazing efforts. However, the Hazing Prevention Coalition will likely meet about the new legislation and what that means for the campus community. The Hazing Prevention Coalition is a group of faculty, staff, and students from diverse areas across campus that work together to have unified hazing prevention efforts on campus. Currently, we both serve on the Hazing Prevention Coalition.”
When asked how they, as members of the Sorority Council and Fraternity Council, advocated for students experiencing hazing to speak out against hazing violations, they responded: “We think that Sewanee’s anonymous reporting form is the best way to report. Because the Sewanee rumor mill can incite a lot of fear into victims’ heads, I think that they can find comfort in the fact that their report will remain anonymous if they choose confidentiality.
“Another way is disclosing to any employee of Student Life, as they are trained in handling these situations and can provide the resources necessary for your well-being. As far as our roles, we do not do much outside of the previously listed efforts; however, student life has been extremely helpful in laying out the process after receiving a report to ease students’ minds. For example, explaining the fact-finding process.”
Finally, we asked Damare and Verble how they define hazing and Sewanee’s preventative measures when speaking to members of Greek life or PNMs as representatives of Greek life on this campus. They said: “We use the University’s definition of hazing, which builds off of state law: ‘Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of their willingness to participate.’
“We also explain that there are three key components to this definition: 1) It occurs in a group context; 2) It can be humiliating, degrading, or endangering behavior; and 3) It happens regardless of an individual’s willingness to participate. The third is extremely important because of the idea of a coercive environment being created through peer pressure and the desire to belong in the group.
“This information is explained in detail at the Potential New Member (PNM) orientation for recruitment. As far as hazing prevention efforts with PNMs further, we have a healthy groups training that is a required training for all PNMs that explains the 10 signs of healthy and unhealthy groups for PNMs. This training is helpful because it speaks to the signs and situations you should look out for to make sure you are joining and maintaining a healthy group.”
This act is part of a nationwide push for anti-hazing practices on college campuses. According to a national study conducted by StopHazing.org in 2008, “73% of students involved in social fraternities or sororities experienced behaviors meeting the definition of hazing in order to join or maintain membership in their group.” Hazing can come in many forms, including (but not limited to) drinking obscene amounts of alcohol, verbal abuse, and public humiliation. The fact that these behaviors were reported on in 2008 insinuates that issues with hazing in fraternities and sororities have been a longstanding problem.
In 2017, a freshman at Louisiana State University, Max Gruver, died in a hazing incident. The Max Gruver Foundation’s website states: “he is one of seven young men to die as a direct result of fraternity hazing in 2017 alone. More than 200 university students have died due to hazing in the United States since 1838. Universities react to these dangerous and too-often deadly hazing situations with Greek life suspensions, expulsions and other punishments, but it is not enough. Hazing on college campuses must end to make sure hazing-related deaths do not continue.”
The Max Gruver Foundation is extremely active in working towards anti-hazing legislation, partnering with the international sorority Alpha Delta Pi for National Hazing Prevention Week and the #StopTheHazing movement. They endorse the SCHA on their website.
Sewanee students, we encourage you to think before you act. You should never have to subject yourself to physical harm or embarrassment just to feel like you ‘belong’ with a group of people.