Discussion Questions and Activities for Residence Life Staff

A. Discuss Integrity: Review the definition of hazing with the group and your college or university’s hazing policy or statement.

Discussion Questions

● What are some non-hazing activities that groups can do to facilitate or foster community?

○ Community service, like volunteering at a food pantry or soup kitchen, organizing a food or clothing drive. If the group is associated with a philanthropy or works with local non-profits, plan small events to educate the campus community about that issue.

○ Organize an intramural sports team.

○ Develop peer mentoring groups

○ (See “Alternatives to Hazing” for more ideas)

● What do you know about hazing at your college or university?

● How might you know that a friend is being hazed?

● Who would you talk to if you or a friend were being hazed?

B. Forced Choice Discussion Builder: The goal of this exercise is to have members make a choice about where they stand on issues related to hazing. Make five signs labeled as follows Strongly agree, Agree, No opinion, Disagree, Strongly disagree. Hang each sign at a different section of the room. Read a scenario that describes a hazing dilemma (you will have to create these ahead of time). Make sure to include types of subtle hazing, harassment hazing, and violent hazing. For example, you might choose to describe some hazing scenarios, or myths and facts about hazing. Preface your description with a statement like “The following is NOT an example of hazing” or, “The following is a myth about hazing…” Next, the participants must respond to your statement by physically moving themselves to the section of the room near the sign that represents their opinion (i.e. they agree that it is not hazing, or they disagree and believe it is an example of hazing). Usually participants end up scattered about the room. The facilitator then asks each group to explain their thinking on the issue. Why did you agree or disagree? C. Hazing Self-Test: Another way to promote awareness and initiate discussion about hazing is to create your own hazing facts self-test. You can use information from the included bulletin board materials or StopHazing.org to create your own “quiz” which tests participants’ knowledge about hazing. Since most people are not well-informed about hazing, the laws and myths/facts, this exercise usually prompts lots of discussion.

Alternatives to Hazing

Sometimes organizations that haze new members are confused about how to change these practices. Other times, those who believe in the supposed “benefits” of hazing might resist the change. There are many creative ways to change from a hazing to a non-hazing organization and those who believe in the “benefits” of hazing may be more likely to change their opinion if they can envision and participate in some alternatives to hazing. The following are some specific examples of ways to eliminate hazing while continuing to build group unity, as presented in the infographic above. These suggestions are developed with fraternal groups in mind but can be adapted for other types of organizations.

1. FOSTER UNITY:

● Have the members of your group/organization work together on a community service project.

● Visit a ropes course to work on group cohesiveness, communication and leadership skills.

● Work together with another group to plan a social or athletic event.

2. DEVELOP PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITIES:

● Have new members discuss weaknesses/challenges that the group has, such as poor recruitment, apathy, and poor scholarship, and develop solutions to solve those problems with current group members.

3. DEVELOP LEADERSHIP SKILLS:

● Encourage participation in school/campus activities outside of the organization. ● Encourage new members to get involved in organizational committees and/or leadership roles.

● Develop a peer mentor program within your group for leadership roles.

● Invite school/community/business leaders into the organization to share their experiences.

4. INSTILL A SENSE OF MEMBERSHIP:

● Plan special events or get-togethers for all members to attend a movie, play, or church service.

● Plan a “membership circle” when actives and new members participate in a candlelight service in which each person has a chance to express what membership means to them.

5. PROMOTE SCHOLARSHIP:

● Take advantage of your school/college/university academic and tutoring services.

● Designate study hours for members of your organization.

● Invite college/university or community experts to discuss test-taking skills, study methods, time management etc.

6. BUILD AWARENESS OF HISTORY:

● Invite an older member to talk about the organization’s early days, its founding, special traditions, and prominent former members.

7. AID CAREER GOALS:

● Use college resources for seminars on resume writing, job interview skills; various careers. Hopefully these examples will help you think other ways you can eliminate hazing in your organization. Strategies to eliminate hazing work best when they are developed by the group and are related to the unique culture and personality of the organization. For each activity your organization engages, make sure you know how that activity relates to the mission and values of the organization and how the activity meets the objective of membership development.

StopHazing. Hazing Prevention Workshop Ideas. Retrieved from: http://www.stophazing.org/hazing-prevention-workshop-ideas/

Further Recommendations ● Utilize Bystander Intervention Activities and Workshops in future floor meetings. ● Have handouts available with the college or university’s hazing policy and reporting instructions. ● Work with other departments in student life to provide workshops to campus student organizations.