Drexel is serious about hazing prevention | The Triangle

Drexel is serious about hazing prevention

If you attended Activities Unlimited Sept. 27, you know that Drexel offers its students a wide array of extracurricular activities. Students join performing arts ensembles, sports teams, Greek life and countless other organizations to share a common passion with new people and spend time doing something other than studying. Unfortunately, a negative externality of extra-curriculars is hazing, an issue far too prominent in the college community.

Drexel hosted its fourth annual National Hazing Prevention Awareness Week Oct. 1-6 to inform students of the effects of hazing and encourages them to fight it on campus.

According to the Drexel University Student Life website, the definition of hazing is “any group or individual action/activity that inflicts or intends to inflict physical or mental harm that interferes with a student’s academic performance, or which may embarrass or demean any person.” Hazing encompasses physical and emotional abuse of any sort.

It is a common misconception that university hazing is exclusive to fraternities and sororities. To be fair to Greek life, students involved in fraternities and sororities are not the only ones guilty of hazing newcomers. We at The Triangle are pleased that Drexel implements strict anti-hazing regulations that all student organizations must follow. Drexel’s Hazing Statement says that organizations are required to provide new members with a pleasant and beneficial experience and must follow federal, state and local laws.

Luckily for all of us, Drexel has a wealth of resources and training programs to help us eliminate hazing and keep it from coming back. The University has invested a great deal of time and money over the last few years on research to develop an exemplary hazing prevention program.

These efforts paid off this year when Drexel received the Zeta Tau Alpha Award for Innovation in Campus Hazing Prevention & Education, which includes a $10,000 prize. According to the application Drexel submitted for the award, the prize money will be used to fund a student leadership retreat for members of all student organizations and teams.

National Hazing Prevention Awareness Week is only a small part of Drexel’s year-round programming to educate the entire University community about causes of hazing, ways to prevent it, and alternative team-building strategies. No matter what you’re involved with on campus, the skills taught through this programming are an important part of leadership in general. As such, they can come in handy in just about any walk of life one might take after college. We encourage everyone on campus to take advantage of these activities.