The fight against hazing is everyone’s responsibility, and we’ve organized some tips here for students and community members to know how to respond and proactively prevent hazing.
Speak Up
The first step to ending hazing is to identify it and make your voice heard.
Ask Questions – Be Direct
Ask specific, clarifying questions if you see something that could be considered hazing.
- “I noticed you missed last night’s meeting. You look like you’re tired and in pain, is everything ok?”
- “I saw you wearing a funny outfit in class today. Did someone force you to wear that?”
- “You haven’t turned in your homework and your grades dropped, what’s going on?”
- “Why do you have so many bruises on you? Did someone hit you?”
- “How did that symbol appear on your skin? Were you branded?”
- “We haven’t seen you in a few weeks, where have you been? Are you being forced to self-isolate?”
- “Why are people calling you that derogatory nickname?”
Remember, these conversations will always be situational and contextual. You are more likely to get an honest response if the person you’re asking trusts you. Even if they insist they are not being hazed, hazing occurs with and without the victim’s consent.
Use your voice to speak up and identify hazing when it happens.
Hazing Prevention Training
Select the button below to complete the free online Vector Solutions LMS training for hazing prevention. The full course is approximately 27 minutes long.
Bystander Intervention Training
The Women and Gender Resource Center (WGRC) offers bystander intervention trainings to classes and student organizations upon request. Bystander intervention training helps individuals and groups understand how they can intervene to help prevent a situation from becoming more severe. They also offer open sessions a few times per semester for students who want to train without an organized group. Future open sessions will be listed on MySource.
Bystander intervention trainings typically last two hours and participants will:
- Learn about interpersonal violence
- Identify bystander intervention strategies
- Talk through case scenarios as a group
- Practice interventions
The WGRC also utilizes The Bystander Moment film (film trailer available online) as an introduction and discussion starter for groups interested in exploring the topic of bystander intervention prior to, or instead of, hosting a bystander intervention training.
To speak with WGRC staff or schedule a training session for your organization, call 205-348-5040. You can also contact them through email at wgrc@ua.edu, though this email account is not consistently monitored and might prolong the process.
Alternate Activities
There are multiple ways for members of a social organization to bond with one another that don’t involve hazing or actions related to hazing. Below are a few alternative options in the Tuscaloosa area available to social organizations that allow members to grow with one another.
