Anti-Hazing Policy

Effective Date: June 23, 2025

 

Rationale:  Albion College encourages student participation in student organizations, athletics, and music groups. These involvements enrich the college experience and contribute to students’ social and leadership development. Hazing is entirely contrary to the purpose and values of student organizations, teams, music groups, and the College community.  

 

Purpose: Albion College is a residential liberal arts institution committed to fostering a developmental environment that supports the academic, social, and personal growth of its individual students, student organizations, athletics, and music groups. Albion College does not tolerate any forms of hazing on or off campus. We must report, investigate, adjudicate, track, and educate students, faculty, and staff as required by local, state and federal law, all hazing activity that happens to individuals and groups in our community.

 

This policy outlines the College’s position on hazing. Furthermore, in this policy hazing is defined for our community, how our community will be educated, and the process for reporting, investigating, tracking, and adjudicating hazing incidents as required by federal law.

 

Albion College Anti-Hazing Policy 

All forms of hazing, on or off campus, by any individual student, faculty or staff member or Albion College registered or unregistered student club or organization or athletics team are prohibited and is a criminal offense under Michigan law when it causes mental or physical harm to another person, or creates a substantial risk of such harm. Students are entitled to be treated with consideration and respect, and no individual may perform an act that is likely to cause physical or psychological harm or social ostracism to any other person within the Albion College community. The College will investigate and respond to all resorts of hazing as outlined in this policy.  

The potential for hazing typically arises as part of a student’s recruitment, orientation, or initiation to an organization (such as a fraternity, sorority, athletics team, campus organization, or other student group) in which there is often a power differential between established members of the organization and those being recruited or newly joining. Albion’s anti-hazing policy broadly covers organizations of Albion students, including but not limited to Greek organizations, athletic teams, band and all other student organizations, both registered and unregistered.  

 

Hazing Defined

The Michigan Penal Code Act 328 of 1931 defines hazing as an intentional, knowing, or reckless act by a person acting alone or acting with others that is directed against an individual and that the person knew or should have known endangers the physical health or safety of the individual, and that is done for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, participating in, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization.

Albion College defines hazing as any action or situation, regardless of intention, whether on or off Albion College premises, which results in or has the potential of resulting in physical, mental, or emotional harm; discomfort, distress, or embarrassment to a group’s member(s) or prospective member(s). This includes, but is not limited to recruitment, pledging, orientation, initiation, affiliating with, participating in, holding office in, maintaining membership in or required for continued acceptance into a group, team or student organization. 

This hazing policy applies to any conduct between two or more people who are affiliated with the College, regardless of whether the conduct occurs on-campus or off-campus. This policy applies whether or not the individual voluntarily allowed themselves to be hazed. The College may treat the hazing action of even one member of a group as constituting hazing by the group.   

This Policy applies to the activities of registered student organizations and unregistered organizations, regardless of whether or not such activity is College-sponsored. This policy applies to all locations where College-sponsored or College-organized activities are taking place, including distance education, study abroad, service trips, experiential learning opportunities, athletic, club sport or other group travel. This policy may also be applied to behavior conducted online, via e-mail, or through electronic media.   

 

Identifying Acts of Hazing

Hazing incidents often involve:

• Planners or Organizers – those who have planned or organized the event, action or situation 
• Members – those who have willingly participated in the event, action, or situation 
• Bystanders – those who have observed or have knowledge about the hazing, regardless of membership status
• Victims – those who experience hazing

To help individuals identify whether something is hazing or not, ask yourself the following questions:

• Would active, current members of the group, refuse to take part in this activity alongside  the new members?
• Does the activity risk emotional, mental or physical harm/abuse?
• Would I object to this activity being photographed for the school newspaper or filmed by a TV news crew?
• Would I feel comfortable participating in this activity if my parents, professor, coach or College official were watching?
• Would we get in trouble if the Director of Campus Safety walked by?
• Am I being asked to keep these activities a secret?
• Am I doing anything illegal?
• Does participation violate my values or those of my organization, group or athletic team?
• Is this activity causing emotional distress or stress of any kind to myself or others?
• If someone were injured, would I feel comfortable being investigated by the police or insurance carrier?

 

Examples of Hazing

Though not intended as an exhaustive list, the following actions, activities or situations constitute as hazing, if they are undertaken for or in connection with the above-noted reasons and purposes. 

• Personal servitude
• Tests of physical endurance
• Kidnapping, transporting, or stranding anyone
• Private and public skits
• Exposure to the elements without appropriate protection 
• Sleep deprivation and creation of excessive fatigue
• Forced consumption of a food, liquid, alcohol, drug or other substance
• Required wearing of embarrassing clothing in public
• Physical abuse, including but not limited to extreme forms of calisthenics, paddling, slapping, kicking, choking, scratching, exposure to extreme water temperatures (i.e. cold or hot), the consumption of disgusting and/or dangerous concoctions
• Physically restraining, tying up, blind-folding, kidnapping, simulating kidnapping, or similar restrictions of an individual’s movements or senses
• Verbal abuse, including but not limited to shouting, screaming or use of derogatory,  profane, or obscene language
• Subservience, including but not limited to any activity which promotes a class system within an organization or activities which facilitate inappropriate levels or authority over students
• Forced cleaning
• Running errands/menial tasks
• Forced interviews
• Scavenger hunts
• Mental and/or psychological abuse
• Public or private displays of humiliation 
• Compelling, requiring or encouraging an individual to stand or walk in formation (i.e. line-ups)
• Compelling, requiring or encouraging public sex, public nudity or indecent exposure 
• Making anyone steal or destroy property
• Lockups or being confined to small spaces
• Being duct-taped or some other physical restraints
• Exclusion from social contact
• Activities that unreasonably require an inordinate amount of an individual’s time or impose requirements that might impair an individual’s academic efforts. 
• Activities that restrict an individual’s personal freedom or conduct, such as eating meals, using the phone, returning to or sleeping in their room, engaging in normal personal hygiene, etc.
• Compelling, requiring or encouraging participation in any activity that is illegal
• Compelling, requiring or encouraging an individual to carry heavy or awkward items such as rocks, helmets, paddles, matches, etc. 

 

Reporting Obligations and Investigation of Hazing Reports

To create a community free of hazing, it is imperative that everyone with knowledge of hazing,  report it. All College community members, students, faculty, staff and Albion College registered student clubs or organizations, athletics, music groups, etc. have a responsibility to report suspected hazing.  

To report hazing, contact Campus Safety or submit a Crime Report Form. Upon receiving a report of Hazing, the College will, under the direction of the Director for Campus Safety, initiate an investigation as described in this policy and, where appropriate, notify an organization’s leaders, directors, advisors or coaches.

The investigation process includes meeting with parties and witnesses involved in the alleged hazing incident, collecting relevant evidence and producing an investigation report that documents all findings of fact. Students, faculty and/or staff involved in the alleged hazing incident will be provided with an opportunity to share their own statements and answer the Investigator’s questions in an investigation interview. 

The College will determine whether interim measures are needed to protect the safety and/or well-being of others. Interim measures may include suspension of organizational activities until an investigation and appropriate conduct resolution have concluded. Appropriate interested parties (leaders, advisors, directors, coaches, etc.) will be notified of any interim measures. 

 

Review of Hazing Reports

Students or student groups believed to be in violation of this policy will be referred to the College Student Conduct system. Individuals who are found to be responsible for hazing face sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion from the College. Groups or organizations which are found to be responsible for violations of this policy face sanctions up to and including suspension or removal of their recognition by the College. Individual officers of a group are also subject to sanctions up to and including suspension or expulsion from the College for allowing such violations to occur.   

Violations of this policy are subject to referral to appropriate law enforcement agencies, as well as to any regional and inter/national affiliated offices of student organizations (as applicable), for further action.  

Violations of this policy by employees may result in corrective action in accordance with applicable College policies.

In addition to penalties imposed by the college, individuals may also be criminally charged under state or federal law.  

 

Community Education and Required Training 

Albion College is committed to educating all students, faculty and staff about what hazing is, how to recognize it, and steps to address it. All students and employees are required to complete hazing education as part of being a member of the Albion College community. 

This policy requires all students to complete educational training on hazing awareness, prevention, intervention, and on the elements of this policy. This training is offered during the first semester of enrollment at Albion College for students. Training is offered to all faculty and staff upon hire and then annually thereafter utilizing an online training module and/or in-person training options.

To learn more about hazing prevention, identifying hazing behaviors and activities, please check out the resources below.

• HazingPrevention.Org
• AntiHazingEducation.com
• StopHazing.Org

 

Reporting

Albion College maintains a report of all violations of this policy that are reported and result in a charge of violation of the policy. The college will update the report bi-annually on October 1 of each year and will post the updated report on April 1.