The Miami Herald has published an op-ed from our own David Bianchi, the leading hazing lawyer in the United States. His editorial speaks out in support of the “Stop Campus Hazing Act,” which is the new federal anti-hazing law sponsored by Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota. The law would make it mandatory for universities and colleges to publish hazing incident figures on an annual basis, as well as the steps they are taking to stop hazing on campus.
The hazing issue is particularly important in Florida, as David points out in the article:
Florida, a state with a history of hazing incidents at its 12 public universities and several large private universities and a state with thousands of students involved in fraternities and sororities every year…Since 2000, over 100 U.S. college students have died in fraternity-related hazing incidents and many others have been seriously injured and traumatized for life because of the perpetuation of senseless hazing traditions.
However, David points out that the critical missing piece in federal anti-hazing legislation is increased enforcement of the campus hazing laws that are already on the books. If fraternities, sororities, and other campus organizations are not actually afraid of the consequences of hazing, then these incidents will continue to happen. David calls on colleges and universities to become more firm in their enforcement of anti-hazing policy.
“To date, the fear factor is just not there. Enforcement of the criminal laws and university anti-hazing policies has been sporadic at best,” he writes. He calls on schools to immediately expel all students who participate in or organize the hazing of other students, which creates an actual and immediate consequence for committing these senseless and harmful traditions.
Read the whole op-ed here.