Students discuss hazing

By Jenny Rees | Thresher Editorial Staff

About 60 students, faculty and staff members discussed hazing and university policy at a two-hour forum held Tuesday by Dean of Undergraduates Robin Forman and the Student Association. Students questioned the panelists about the specific criteria for hazing violations and the system for investigating and sanctioning such violations.

The men’s and women’s club lacrosse teams were suspended last month for violating the Alcohol Policy and allegedly hazing new members at an off-campus party Dec. 3. At the party, known as ‘initiation,’ about 20 new members of the men’s and women’s teams were handcuffed in pairs using metal novelty handcuffs and were given a fifth of a gallon of hard liquor to drink. President David Leebron reduced the teams’ suspensions from three to two semesters on appeal.

The men’s and women’s captains were sanctioned individually for violating the Code of Student Conduct. All five of the captains were originally suspended for three semesters. On appeal, four of the suspensions were reduced to two semesters, and one was reduced to one semester. The forum’s purpose was to address the general topic of hazing rather than the specific situation of the lacrosse teams, former SA President Derrick Matthews said at the beginning of the event.

The panelists were Rice Counseling Center Assistant Director Salimah Adam, SA President James Lloyd, Assistant Dean of Student Judicial Programs Don Ostdiek and Wellness Center Director Emily Page. Forman moderated the discussion, which consisted of audience members asking questions of the panelists.

Lovett College President Lanny Bose said he recognizes the university’s policy on hazing has not changed, but students perceive that the policy’s enforcement has become stricter with the punishment of the lacrosse team. Bose asked whether student events such as Orientation Week and college government changeovers will also come under scrutiny.

Forman said he could offer no specific guidelines for determining which events might be considered hazing, but student leaders should ask Ostdiek about specific plans if they are concerned about an event.

‘I would hope this [forum] offers us a chance not just to look at traditions and ask, ‘Can we get away with this?’ but look at what value these traditions hold for us,’ Forman said.

Forman said although the Texas law that defines and prohibits hazing currently applies only to public institutions of higher education, the Texas State Legislature is considering legislation that would extend hazing statutes to private institutions. The bill is currently being considered by the House Committee of Higher Education and would take effect Sept. 1. Will Rice College junior Nathan Woodward said the hazing section of the Code of Student Conduct is too vague. The code defines hazing as ‘any act which endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student, or which destroys or removes public or private property, for the purpose of membership and/or association with a group, including a group of students pressuring another to engage in such conduct.’

Ostdiek said the section may lack detail, but its spirit is clear.

‘You need to interpret the hazing section in conjunction with the rest of the Code,’ Ostdiek said.

Adam said psychologically, hazing usually involves humiliation, public shame, vulnerability or issues of power and control.

Wiess College President Jack Hardcastle said students should feel an obligation to prevent hazing.

‘We’re approaching this with the assumption that it’s the university or some higher organization policing students,’ Hardcastle, a junior, said. ‘Why are we not approaching this from the assumption that this is like the Honor Code or [University] Court � that students are policing themselves?’

Brown College junior Jen Wessel said she worries that students hosting events will be less likely to call Rice Emergency Medical Services for alcohol-related illnesses and injuries, for fear of punishment.

‘I have a fear that … everyone is so freaked out right now that whenever someone holds a private party, or if you’re a social, people will not want to call EMS,’ Wessel said. Forman said students’ medical records are confidential, and Ostdiek does not receive records of EMS calls. Although four students were transported to the hospital after participating in the lacrosse initiation, Forman said those EMS calls were not the stimulus for the investigation.

‘The EMS calls simply did not play a role in this investigation at all,’ Forman said.
Martel College junior Aaron Sankin said several traditions at Rice seem to fit the Code of Student Conduct’s definition of hazing but have not been scrutinized by administrators in the past. As an example, Sankin described Jones College’s annual ‘freshman sacrifice,’ in which freshmen are tied to columns outside the college to witness Baker 13.

‘When you set a precedent of not enforcing a rule for a very long time, is it fair to suddenly enforce that rule without informing anyone?’ Sankin said.

Forman said enforcing a rule is always fair.

Martel freshman Sahil Gujral said administrators should outline criteria for hazing more clearly and avoid ‘scapegoating’ particular students or organizations.

Several other students also asked for more specific criteria. Forman said listing specific types of hazing in the Code of Student Conduct is infeasible.

Lloyd, a Brown junior, said the SA will work to further define the hazing policy and inform students about it. He said administrators at other universities, such as Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University, provide multi-page documents to educate students about hazing. The Web site http://www.stophazing.org lists questions to help students determine whether behavior is hazing, such as, ‘Do you have any reservation describing the activity to your parents, to a professor or University official?’

Martel sophomore Erin Sozanski asked whether student leaders would be punished as individuals for groups’ hazing violations.

‘There are lots of things that happen that could be considered hazing,’ Sozanski said. ‘Who will be found responsible if these things continue to happen?’

Ostdiek said no student is ever punished simply for being the leader of an organization. ‘To be sanctioned under the code has to be for behavior that you commit,’ Ostdiek said. ‘No one has been or will be sanctioned for symbolic reasons.’

Adam said she hopes the forum will raise student leaders’ consciousness about potential hazing.

Brown College junior Kyle Ragan said party hosts should not be held responsible for other students’ excessive drinking.

‘You can’t tell me that just because you host a party or you’re a social that you have direct control, or even leadership, over what someone drinks,’ Ragan said.

Forman said if an individual chooses to drink at a party, the host would not be guilty of hazing because the drinking would not be for the purpose of association with a group.

Page said common sense should guide students’ actions, both as party hosts and organization leaders.

‘You do everything in your power to ensure that students will not be put in a position where health and safety are at risk,’ Page said. ‘If your gut instinct is that [an event] may not necessarily jive with what the university deems to be acceptable, ask [Ostdiek or Forman].’ Several students asked how an organization could be found guilty of hazing if the ‘hazed’ individuals consented to participate in the activity. Forman said legally and under Rice’s policy, consent of the victim is not a defense for hazing.

Page said victims of hazing may be afraid to come forward.

‘Somebody may feel very ridiculed, but they would never share that for fear of further ridicule,’ Page said.

Sankin asked about the process for investigating cases in the Student Judicial Programs Office. Forman and Ostdiek said the judicial process is flexible.

‘We want to preserve the judicial process as a last resort and, as much as possible, reach an understanding before we get to that point,’ Forman said.

Under the Code of Student Conduct, the assistant dean of Student Judicial Programs may choose to assume authority over any case, rather than submitting the case to U. Court or the Judicial Affairs Committee.

Ostdiek said U. Court’s organization should be modified so the organization is capable of handling more serious cases while still respecting students’ confidentiality rights. However, Ostdiek said he likely would have handled a case of the magnitude of the lacrosse case under any circumstances.

Lloyd said he hopes U. Court can become better prepared to handle serious cases, and he plans to work with the organization to achieve that goal.

Ostdiek said no matrix exists for determining penalties for a hazing violation. He said he does not seek out hazing violations, but he might investigate a situation he heard about, even if no student made a formal complaint.

Page said Ostdiek’s stance is appropriate.

‘If we wait until somebody does complain or somebody does get hurt or, heaven forbid, somebody dies, have we waited too long?’ Page said.

Forman said he hopes students will examine current traditions for possible hazing implications, but most student events are safe.

‘The goal is not to start cracking down on shaving cream fights or the vast majority of things people are concerned about,’ Forman said. ‘When you really need to start worrying is when you’re planning an event where you can envision people getting hurt one way or another.’ Martel junior Jeff Senison said whether or not an event is hazing, administrators are more likely to find it unacceptable if it involves alcohol.

‘I really don’t think we’d be sitting here today if the students [at the lacrosse party] were handcuffed together and were square-dancing,’ Senison said. ‘The only reason this event has been so scrutinized is because there was alcohol involved.’

Forman said alcohol is a factor because it contributes to a physical danger. He said the risk of physical or mental harm is the most important factor in determining whether an event is acceptable.

Matthews, a Will Rice senior, said he thinks the forum was successful.

‘I think there were a few students who used the forum to keep bringing up lacrosse, but I think the overall sentiment in the room was, ‘We want to figure out what hazing is and what that means for us,” Matthews said.

Matthews said he thinks the lack of a specific definition of hazing may work to students’ advantage.

‘If we had really specific guidelines, it would most likely cause problems with events that no one has issues with,’ Matthews said.

The forum was held Tuesday from 7-8:45 p.m. in Herzstein Hall, Room 210.

Forman said he plans to hold similar events in the future to examine various issues.

March 25, 2005

The Student Newspaper of Rice University

Students discuss hazing

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