And id like to begin by asking you what comes to mind when you think of that word . College. Fraternities. Initiation. Okay. All right. So it didnt take long for some images to pop into your head. And, thank you. And youre like many others who think about some common images as they relate to hazing. And one is young men in college fraternities, beating each other, passing out or even dying tragically from alcohol poisoning because of hazing. Also people think about professional athletes like last years headlines of the rookie Jonathan Martin of the Miami Dolphins and more recently people think sometimes about marching bands with the tragic death of drum major robert champion down at florida a m university. And now more recently over the past month weve heard news of a sexually harassing culture and hazing in the ohio state universitys marching band prompting them to fire the band director. While these images and headlines reflect realities of hazing, they only paint a partial picture. So what is missing . For one thing, the images rarely portray the extent and range in which hazing occurs. Now its probably difficult to see on the left hand side, ill let you know, certainly hazing does occur in varsity athletics and in greek life or fraternities and sororities as the headlines and images suggest, but according to our research of College Students and this these are results from the National Study that i was a Principal Investigator for. We surveyed more than 10,000 College Students at 53 different colleges and universities across the United States. And as you can see, the figures confirm that hazing occurs in a range of different clubs and organizations and activities including intermural sports, club sports, Service Organizations and even academic clubs and honor societies. So the predominant images of hazing and sports and fraternities and marching bands, while theyre real, they dont capture the full extent to which hazing is occurring across many kinds of groups and organizations. And the predominant images rarely reflect the realities of hazing for middle and High School Students. Where our Research Indicates that nearly half or 47 of students report experience hazing in high school. In addition to these statistics, headlines provide a glimpse of hazing in schools, hazing that includes humiliating, degrading, often dangerous and illegal activities. Just to be sure were all on the same page, lets look at the formal definition of hazing. Hazing is any activity expected of someone seeking membership in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers them regardless of a persons willingness to participate. So breaking it down, you see there are three key components to defining hazing. First, its behavior that occurs for the purpose of membership or trying to maintain ones membership in an established group, organization, or team. Second, it involves behavior that risks emotional or physical harm. And third, it can occur regardless of a persons willingness to participate. And its that third part of the definition that is often a sticking point, especially for students who assume it cant possibly be hazing if someone agreed to do it or appeared to just go along with it willingly. While it may seem counterintuitive by definition, hazing can and does occur even if a person goes along with it. So why is this clause included in statutes and policies related to hazing . Well, there are several key ingredients that explain the need for that particular clause. And those include first the strong desire to belong to a group, a human need we all have, and combined with intense peer pressure that is associated with that Group Context of hazing. And you know peer pressure can be both explicit like come on, come on, just do it, its a tradition, or it can be implicit where youth go along with something to prove themselves worthy of membership or to avoid the possibility that their peers might think less of them or consider them a weak link among the group. So taken together these dynamics can create a coercive environment, so that strong desire and need to belong, peer pressure, contributes to creating a coercive environment. And since coercion can impair judgment, it can impede a true consent. So what does hazing look like for middle and High School Students . Imagine a young person who has been playing a sport throughout childhood. Its his or her dream to make the varsity team. They give it their best effort in tryouts. They earn a place on that High School Varsity roster. They attend several practices where the rookies are asked to carry the Water Bottles and the Team Equipment and so they do because thats what its been done before and everybody sort of earned their way. And then they go on the bus to several scrimmages and the veterans tell them, well, the rookies have to sit in the front of the bus and the rookies also have to clean the bus after the veterans depart if theres litter or trash left over, et cetera. And the coach doesnt really say anything or doesnt seem to notice. And so the rookies follow suit. It just seems like the norm. So you can see how the stage begins to be set with taken for granted hierarchies and status differentials that appear to be accepted as the norm. Then a team party is planned for the weekend. When the rookies arrive, they are told its initiation night, a tradition passed down from year to year. All the veterans have gone through it and its fun. Not exactly not knowing exactly whats in store, the rookies assume the teammates you know, take the teammates word for it, its all in good fun. So what happens next . Well, the story unfolds in a number of different ways. In california and these are based on real incidents. In california, incoming freshmen were unexpectedly driven to an unknown location by seniors, covered in cat food, various sticky substances, and rolled in the sand. In mississippi, veteran members of the Cheerleading Team forced new members to wear diapers while veterans threw food at them. In illinois, rookies on the girls soccer teams with bound up with plastic wrap while teammates smeared their faces with makeup and whipped cream. In florida, new band members were called into a dark hallway while veteran band members threw drumsticks and mallets at them. Massachusetts, teammates were expected to drink their teammate urine. In indiana, rookies were beaten with a metal pole in the locker room. They were beaten with bats to the point of drawing blood. Massachusetts, new york, new mexico and numerous other states, rookies have been sexually assaulted with broom sticks or baseball bats or other implements. These are a myriad of recent examples. It cuts across a range of different groups not limited to just athletics but including performing arts groups, class hazing, rotc, and other kinds of clubs and organizations. Some of these examples might sound strikingly similar to bullying, which prompts the obvious question are hazing and bullying the same . Is hazing a type of group bullying . While there are a number of similarities between the two, there are some important nuances that distinguish them. One of the more obvious is that hazing occurs for the express purpose of inclusion, while children who bully are typically seeking to exclude and marginalize another child. In some cases, incidents of hazing can meet the criteria of bullying. For example, they can be explicitly aggressive. They can intend to cause harm. They can be a pattern. And for those cases, we might call them a type of group bullying. For example, in fraternity pledging, it can involve aggressive behavior like kidnapping, paddling, beatings, lineups where pledges are screamed at, cursed at, yelled at. And all these activities can occur over a period of weeks culminating in what is often referred to as a hell night prior to initiation. And in that scenario, it seems that hazing meets the criteria that commonly defines bullying. However, there are many instances of hazing that do not fit squarely within the scope of the bullying criteria. For example, sometimes it can involve a single incident. Sometimes the activities are not necessarily dont appear aggressive on the surface like Scavenger Hunts, skits, requirements to get to know older members. However, frequently they cross the line into hazing when they include expectations for sexual favors, other forms of personal servitude, the performance of sexual simulations and consumption of alcohol and other drugs. So why is it important to understand the comparison between bullying and hazing . Well, ive worked with many educators who believe the schools bullying policy will sufficiently address hazing too. But because the definition of hazing is more expansive, it causes some confusion, and because hazing tends to be associated with inclusion, it will often go unrecognized or be overlooked if the school simply relies on its bullying policy to cover hazing as well. Schools need to be aware of hazing and recognize when it occurs because it can cause physical and emotional harm and even death. Ironically, while students often precipitate in hazing to build group unity, hazing undermines those very goals, damaging relationships, breeding mistrust among group members, causing anger, resentment, and leaving lasting physical and emotional scars. And in light of the many problems associated with it, understanding it and preventing it is vital for the health and wellbeing of our youth. And its important to recognize that hazing isnt exceptional. It occurs for both boys and girls. It occurs in both public and private schools, in and all regions of the country, and it doesnt appear to be unique to particular racial identities. Research also indicates that the vast majority of students who experienced hazing do not label it as such. So of the 47 of students who experience it in high school only 8 called it hazing. Major disconnect. Curious about this discrepancy, we explored it further on hundreds of interviews with students. And based on the research so far, we believe the gap is largely due to students failure to identify hazing except in cases of extreme physical force and abuse. So when you ask students to define hazing, theyll Say Something like, well, its forcing someone to do something they dont want to do to be part of a group. When you probe further and say what do you mean forcing someone . What does that look like to you . Theyll describe tying someone to a tree or a chair or holing them down or putting them in the trunk of a car, kidnapping, those kinds of physical force. But rarely do they account for the power of coercion. The power and control that can happen and is so central to hazing. Another challenge is that many students will just uhoh. We lost it. Where did it go . Ill keep talking now. Many students will justify hazing based on the perceived positive intentions of the activity. Not there. So youll often its not uncommon to hear them rationalize by saying things like that wasnt hazing even if the behavior meets the definition of hazing, no, that wasnt hazing. That was just a tradition. That was just an initiation. That was just group bonding. No, no. It wasnt hazing. And as students often justify it based on the perceived gains, sometimes teachers, coaches, and even parents condone it, creating another major challenge to hazing prevention. Some of our Research Indicates as many as 25 of coaches and advisors knew about the hazing or even participated in it. So given the harm for hazing and the extent to which it goes unrecognized, what can be done to prevent it . What can you do to make a difference after you leave here today . First, its important to understand hazing within a larger context. And learn lessons from prevention and other arenas. Because as of yet, we dont have an Evidence Base around hazing prevention. So we are translating from other fields. But one of the lessons we know is we have to consider it within a larger context. Its not a few bad actors out there who are doing this hazing. Or anomalous groups. Its about something thats embedded in the culture and often goes unrecognized or normalized. And its not an isolated problem. So we need to draw on prevention science and take a comprehensive approach using the ecological model. We can think about how we might analyze the problem of hazing on multiple levels. Many of you are familiar with this. I had a slide but looking at hazing at the individual level, group level, the school level and the Larger Community level and looking at the factors that contribute to it as well as protect from it, protect, you know, the individuals and groups from participating in hazing. So, for example, at the group level, a contributing factor might be that some students are more likely to engage in hazing if they dont see alternative to promote group bonding. So a protective factor would be to engage students in developing and adults and coaches, et cetera engage in developing cool and desirable alternatives for Building Group unity and achieving something without having to participate in hazing. Working to develop and effectively communicate and enforce an antihazing policy could be a protective factor at the school or community level. Bottom line, as educator, Community Members, parents, friends, we all have a role to play. Our research has found that a good deal of hazing in high schools occurs in plain view of adults. Students talk about hazing and there are many people who know its happening and see the signs so, there are many bystanders to hazing. So the five step process of Bystander Intervention is something that were using to promote hazing prevention efforts. And thats what we can think about here. When we leave here, what are some things we can do, some concrete things to notice hazing . Step number one. Two, interpret it as a problem. To help others see the harm associated it with. Three, to recognize our responsibility to change it. Four, to acquire the skills needed to change it, and five, to take action. Toward that end we need to Work Together to reframe this issue. Its not harmless antics and pranks among willing participates. Hazing is abusive and undermines the kind of School Climate we need for our children to thrive. Its a Community Issue. Hazing has ripple effects beyond the school walls. If you think about it, these cocurricular activities where hazing is occurring, theyre the leadership laboratories for our future leaders. And so much of what theyre learning, you know, theyre learning about how to be a leader, how to be in relationships with others, how to be a member of the group. And if this is what theyre learning about Team Development and group development, then obviously it will have farreaching consequences. So ultimately, then, hazing prevention is about working toward the kind of world we want to live in. With the kind of leaders we want to help guide our future. Strong leaders who can build cohesive groups with members who feel engaged and powered and challenged to be the best they can be without having to be subjected to abuse in the name of tradition or group unity. As a Community Issue with farreaching effect, we all have a responsibility to make a difference by committing to hazing prevention. At the local level, i urge you to share information about hazing and engage family and friends and colleagues and Community Members in discussions about it. Include information in your news letters and workshops and professional development opportunities. And of course its vital to help students and the adults in their lives acquire the skills they need to identify hazing and then intervene. And you can help by practicing and engaging youth and practicing what to say and do if they encounter a hazing situation. Challenging students to build new traditions and bonding activities that dont rely on hazing is vital. We can urge policy makers to include hazing as Research Funding and programattic initiatives. Finally, if we want all of our students to thrive in safe, supportive and respectful environments, then hazing has no place in our schools or communities. It is our responsibility to stop hazing. There is so much to be done and no time to waste. I challenge you to join me in taking action to prevent hazing and in the process well develop healthy students and communities and a better world. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you, elizabeth, for your presentation. Lets give her another round of applause. [ applause ] so now id like to open it up to questions from audience members. I saw your hand go up first. You mentioned something about things to say to somebody that might be going to be hazed or Something Like that. Where do we find that . You can go to stophazing. Org. Thats my group. Yeah. There are a lot of resources. And i sent sources that should be included on your little bracelet. Yes. Elizabeth and darlenes presentations are available on the wrist bands that youre wearing and then theyre also available on the web sites where you registered for this. There is also a Research Paper that elizabeth wrote about hazing in high school as well if you guys want to take a look at that too. I got three of the five. Okay. Notice, notice the event, the issue. So in my case it was notice hazing. Then you have to interpret it as a problem. Third, recognize your responsibility to change it or intervene. Third, acquire the skills needed im sorry. Im on the fourth. Acquire the skills needed to intervene. Because you can be highly motivated and want to do something. You see something you think its wrong. And you really want to do something. If you dont have the skill, you often dont act. Then fifth to take action. Thank you. We learned this morning that transgender adults experience the most violent among groups. Do we know the statistics . Say the last piece . Do we know what the statistics are for teenagers in terms of teen dating violence, teenagers are m