New Senate Committee on Hazing
Diligent readers of Senate Beat may have noticed a new committee mentioned last week, reported by Senator Karter Stanton ‘26. The Stop Hazing Act Committee was formed to comply with H.R.5646, or the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which was passed by Congress in December 2024. This act requires all institutions of higher education that participate in federal student aid programs to report hazing incidents and renames the Clery Act from the "Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act" to the more compact "Jeanne Clery Campus Safety Act." Students may be familiar with the Clery Act from Community Safety Director Gary Granger's emails requesting that students report any campus crimes for Reed's statistics. The Quest reached out to Stanton for comment on what the Stop Hazing Act Committee does.
The Stop Campus Hazing Act defines hazing as "any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons” without their consent as part of initiation or membership in a student organization that “causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the IHE (Institute of Higher Education) or the organization, of physical or psychological injury." The act also requires institutions to include their hazing policies in their annual security report and report any hazing incidents that are reported to campus security or local police.
Because Reed does not have fraternities or sororities, the committee must first define hazing in a way that includes activities that do occur at Reed, and determine what actions will be helpful to combat hazing. Stanton told the Quest that the committee is new ,and is currently working on more clearly defining hazing in Reed's campus code. They are also working to identify training that would help students and faculty address hazing at Reed, with input from J-Board, Senate, and other student groups. Stanton said, "Luckily, I don’t think that Reed is a school that deals with a lot of hazing, but the committee is looking forward to talking with students and student groups to see how we can best support them and best facilitate a healthy social environment on campus." She wants club leaders to be aware of how social events involving drinking or partying may pressure students into participating, which they may recognize as hazing later if they are pressured into drinking or doing something they are uncomfortable with.
The Quest also asked Stanton if the Stop Hazing Act Committee had heard anything about Brawl Ball or been involved with the email sent by Student Life on March 28, titled "’Brawl Ball' Concern and Instruction." The email addressed the Brawl Ball posters and stated that "Impromptu fights on campus present significant health and safety concerns, and constitute violations of college policy, as well as Oregon law," that Community Safety had been instructed to disperse students from the Great Lawn on the date of the event, and that Portland Police Bureau (PPB) could become involved if students sustain injuries requiring emergency medical attention. Stanton said that the tone of the email was "incredibly reckless," and that the email was sent by Student Life with no committee discussion or input from students. Stanton did say that, based on Senate's communications with Dean of Students Chris Toutain, the email did not intend to stifle student autonomy or threaten students. Instead, she said it was meant to "communicate the legal/campus policy issues with the event." Stanton suggested that students reach out to Toutain with any concerns about the email.
Reed's current hazing policy, which was approved in November 2019, complies with the Oregon state law ORS 350.259 prohibiting hazing at colleges and universities and applies to all student organizations and their members. It defines hazing, then notes that some conduct may not violate the hazing policy but may violate other college regulations. The policy also states that a student organization or its members have committed the offense of hazing if they haze another member or potential member as a condition of joining the organization. It also requires Reed to offer hazing policy training to students and report hazing, so it is already close to being in line with the new Stop Hazing Act based on the existing Oregon law.
