Anti-Hazing
WPI takes hazing prevention seriously—for individuals and organizations, hazing has no place at the university. The Student Activities Office has compiled several resources to help you as an individual or as an organization to prevent hazing from occurring.
What is Hazing?
Hazing is defined as any act that compromises the dignity of or causes embarrassment or shame to another. Examples of hazing include:
- Line-ups
- Sleep deprivation
- Call downs
- Interviews
- Calisthenics
- Manual servitude
- Degrading names
- Blindfolding
- Limiting access to a new member's friends
- Taking away student IDs, watches, wallets, or cell phones
- Wake ups using loud sounds or music
- Forcing new members to wear the same attire all week long
- Exposure to the elements; asking new members to steal, destroy, or vandalize property
- Forcing new members to sleep in the basement or on the floor for a week
- Limiting contact with people outside of the organization
- Kidnapping new members
- Treating individuals as lesser
What To Do if You Witness or Experience Hazing
- Refuse to participate. Don't allow hazing to go on.
- Expect respectful treatment. Stand up to anyone who tries to haze you.
- Make a change in your organization's new member program.
- Report it. Contact Christine (Girouard) Sharry, Director of Student Activities at 508-831-5658 or crsharry@wpi.edu.
- Call the Hazing Hotline anonymously at 1-888- NOT-HAZE
Hazing Policies and Guidelines
HAZING EDUCATION
In a national study, 7 out of 10 students reported that they experienced at least one hazing behavior to join or maintain membership on the team or in a social Greek-letter organization.