Five months after the death of drum major Robert Champion after an incident of hazing, the trustees of Florida A&M University have adopted a new rule requiring all members of the university community to report incidents of hazing to the administration within 24 hours. The rules require students, faculty, administrators, employees, and even vendors who do business with the university to report hazing incidents. The new rules also prohibit retaliation against individuals who come forward to report hazing.
In a related development, Barbara K. Barnes, a former dean at the School of General Studies at Florida A&M, has established ANTIHAZE, a telephone hotline where students, parents, and employees of colleges and universities across the nation can anonymously report incidents of hazing to law enforcement authorities. The hotline will also provide access to counseling services.
The hotline telephone number is 1-855-NoHazin. More information on the hotline is available here.
I commend Barbara K. Barnes, the former dean at the School of General Studies at Florida A&M for her leadership courage to enact this policy and the counseling hotline service.
Hopefully this is the beginning of a new era of redefining the criteria for what it takes to join and to become a member of a social group on a college campus.
As a graduate of a HBCU this policy is long over due! Let me know if I can be a referral point of contact for the hotline counseling service.
What happens if hazing is not reported? This is a rule and not a law. However, the measure is still a step forward. I applaud it, too.
Is “pledging” or the process in becoming Greek more important than a life? What about a rule that ends the processs as we know it—a process that has ended lives.
Just a thought!