Hazing is not always easy to recognize, especially for new students. During Hazing Prevention Week, students were encouraged to learn about hazing and understand what it looks like. Hazing Prevention Network is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering people to prevent hazing by working with institutions and individuals to share information about the dangers of hazing. This year, Hazing Prevention Week took place from Sept. 21-25. The 2026 theme was “Be the leader. Prevent hazing.”
Throughout the week, students had the opportunity to participate in community events. On Monday, students stopped by the Information Desk in Perry Campus Center to sign the Hazing Prevention Pledge with Student Congress. On Wednesday, students participated in a decision-making activity where they reviewed scenarios and determined whether hazing was involved. On Friday, students received purple items in honor of Hazing Prevention.
Nebraska law defines hazing as “any activity by which a person intentionally or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health or safety of an individual for initiation into, admission into, affiliation with, or continued membership with any organization.” Examples include beating, caressing the body of another person, forced and prolonged calisthenics, prolonged exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage, drug or prolonged sleep deprivation. (Nebraska. Rev. Stat. § 28-311.06)
Doane hazing policy also shows behaviors that may be hazing, like excessive physical training, any physical action or restraint that may reasonably inflict harm or pain on an individual(s) or place them in a position; forcing, requiring, recommending and/or coercing consumption of substances or dangerous scavenger hunts that involve theft or kidnapping.
Brian Pauwels, Associate Professor of Psychology, discussed how group dynamics can make hazing happen: “Hazing is not always clear at the time to the person who’s being initiated,” Pauwels said. The desire to join a group heavily influences how they respond to initiation events.
The effort required to join a group can strengthen a person’s commitment. “What makes people so eager to stick in a group is the cost…That’s what can help build commitment, if someone has to put in the effort to join, while effort and psychological costs come in a lot of different forms,” Pauwels said.
That sense of commitment can make it harder for individuals to tell if an activity will cause harm. “It’s important for people who are in charge of the organization to be very cognizant of what those limits are, because the new initiates may not realize… and so that puts responsibility on leadership,” Pauwels said.
The consequences of hazing also extend beyond the individuals who were involved. “One thing I would emphasize to students is that one of the reasons that the broader college or university is concerned about it, and rightfully so, is that although the actions involved in initiations are hazing, maybe conducted and experienced by the students involved, the broader legal responsibility goes well beyond those individuals… Those legal consequences are really not confined to just the students involved; the broader university or college can be held legally responsible in some cases depending upon exactly what happened. That very real concern, you’re going to have a lot of attempts at regulating initiation on college campuses,” Pauwels said.
Junior Thure Johnson (T.J.), member of Alpha Pi Epsilon (APE), explained that the APEs ensure that hazing doesn’t happen. Johnson described mandatory education and other activities as a way of safely growing with his fraternity brothers.
“You don’t need to haze to be initiated into a group or to create a bond with your fellow pledge class,” Johnson said.
“Using hazing as an excuse to build a relationship with your new member is not ,” Johnson said.
Education is the first step for hazing prevention. To help prevent hazing, Director of Health and Wellness Andreea Baker shares that a hazing course will be launched to help students. “The hazing course will be going live in the next couple of weeks, and the course is for all students. Each course includes different information based on the student’s year here at Doane…This training will become a yearly training with updated information each year,” Baker said. Students can complete this course by January 2027. If a student is concerned about a hazing incident, they are encouraged to report the incident to Eden Diehl, Director of Greek Life or they can submit a report in the Student Success Hub under “Report an Incident.”
