Towson staff within the departments of fraternity and sorority life and athletics has updated the University’s hazing policy to make it more holistic.
The revisions to the policy began one year ago. Although the original policy is effective in defining hazing and listing specific hazing activities, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Matt Lenno said that it was missing a few important pieces. The new policy not only involves prospective students who want to join organizations, but the entire Towson University community.
“The policy now contains language that states that you cannot allow yourself to be hazed and you cannot watch hazing without reporting it to a University official,” Lenno said. “This new policy may help create an environment that is conductive to bystander intervention and individual students standing up for themselves.”
Mass Communication major Courtney Edwards said that she does not support hazing, but is afraid the policy won’t completely prevent hazing from taking place on campus.
“I disagree [with hazing] entirely,” she said. “There is no reason why a student needs to perform embarrassing or ridiculous tasks in order to be a part of an organization, but I think some organizations will still make students participate in hazing.”
Some of the actions that fall under the definition of hazing are paddling, kidnapping, scavenger hunts without prior approval of the University and any other type of physical abuse.