BOWLING GREEN — In her 10 years as a social worker, Salena Ferguson vaguely recalls discussions held about hazing, but never delved into its prevalence or the best ways to prevent it.
That all changed Tuesday when Mrs. Ferguson and about 200 higher education professionals attended the first Ohio Anti-Hazing Summit at Bowling Green State University, which adopted a renewed focus on hazing following the March, 2021, death of 20-year-old Stone Foltz. He died after participating in a BGSU Pi Kappa Alpha tradition in which fraternity pledges were expected to drink a full bottle of liquor as part of their initiation.
The focus of Tuesday’s summit was to increase attendees’ understanding of hazing and instruct them on how to structure and implement anti-hazing programs.
Mrs. Ferguson, student assistant program coordinator for the Ottawa Hills school district, said the summit marked the first time experts broke down what exactly hazing is, how it is often overlooked, and methods to address it.
As an educator who often tackles drug and alcohol prevention topics, Mrs. Ferguson said she was shocked to learn that bullying, peer pressure, and similar behaviors can shape attitudes in youths that allows them to dismiss hazing. Some of those behaviors that seem minor can also mask signs of more serious hazing incidents that are occurring.
“My knowledge on hazing was, I guess, very general, and it's definitely got my wheels spinning on ways that we can spread knowledge about this and bring this issue to the forefront in our community,” she said.
Other topics included how to hold individuals and institutions accountable for mandatory reporting of hazing incidents, as well as initiatives that participants could take to educate their communities about the issue.
Speakers throughout the morning included BGSU President Rodney Rogers and Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor Randy Gardner. But the main event was in the afternoon when attendees heard from keynote speaker Elizabeth Allan, a professor of higher education at the University of Maine and director of the national Hazing Prevention Consortium.
On Tuesday, Mr. Rogers said hazing has been an issue not only at Bowling Green but at universities across the nation. He said Ohio lawmakers and educators are leading the way on the issue with Ohio’s new anti-hazing law, known as Collin’s Law, and in implementing strategies to combat hazing. But a lot more work still needs to be done, he said.
“We've stepped into a leadership role, I believe across the state, in terms of ensuring that our college campuses here in this state are continuing to know how important this issue is and to network and share best practices,” he said. “Specifically here at Bowling Green State University, we are doubling down in all of our efforts to ensure that the education is occurring, that the outreach is occurring, and that the reporting is occurring. Those are the three themes that certainly are in the Collin’s law, and we will continue that work each and every day.”
After Mr. Foltz’s death, Bowling Green administrators responded by expelling three students and suspending 18 others. In June, the sixth of eight defendants was sentenced by a Wood County judge. In addition, Mr. Foltz’s family filed a lawsuit in June against the university, contending administrators were negligent in overseeing the fraternity and enforcing existing anti-hazing laws.
During the summit on Tuesday, Ms. Allan said for decades hazing incidents were often dismissed as harmless antics, but that changed as cultural awareness shifted to recognizing the importance of mental health and emotional well-being. But many educators and administrators for years addressed harassment, verbal abuse, threats, humiliation, and other behaviors as singular actions and missed that they could all be indicators of hazing, she said.
Peer pressure is also an important aspect, as sometimes those investigating hazing incidents are confounded by the victim’s supposed consent to their treatment.
“It might seem logical to many that hazing could be avoided if a person is simply given a choice of whether or not to participate,” Ms. Allan said. “However, that line of thinking is shortsighted. The group context can contribute to intense peer pressure and that, along with a student's strong desire to belong, can create fertile ground for hazing.”
Workshops and training are some ways to combat the hazing, but they’re ineffective on their own, Ms. Allan said. Organizers also have to examine their institutions’ traditions, policies, communication, and transparency. For larger initiatives, she pointed to guides on the Hazing Prevention Consortium website where resources are available on how to build teams and community outreach, among other initiatives.
First Published August 3, 2022, 12:08 a.m.
