Online photos put hazing in the spotlight again

That has to go hand in hand with asking, "What's going on in the pictures and what can we do to prevent it? Those are the more difficult questions," says Don McPherson, executive director of the Sports Leadership Institute at Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. This fall his institute is sponsoring what he says is the first national conference on high school hazing prevention.

At the University of Iowa, a photo of freshmen baseball players surfaced on Facebook, showing them singing at a party in the nude, with baseball caps for fig leaves.

The university concluded that hazing had not taken place. But the photo sparked intense discussions among players, coaches, and faculty. "I can envision scenarios where it could have been hazing, which is why we took it so seriously," says Prof. Elizabeth Altmaier, one of the investigators and a faculty representative to the NCAA.

In separate meetings with freshmen and upperclassmen on the team, they probed to find out whether there was any implication that freshmen were expected to do this to be socially accepted. A group of freshmen chose to do this while others sat out, and several left the party to go to church, with no repercussions, Ms. Altmaier says. She adds that officials clearly conveyed to students that the behavior, including some underage drinking at the party, was unacceptable.

"We're not happy about it, but it could become one of the best educational things for all the student athletes," says the baseball coach, Jack Dahm. Participants felt remorse for making bad choices and attracting negative publicity, he adds. (The photo wasn't posted by a team member.)

Even though this instance wasn't judged to be hazing, Altmaier says, "we have a deep commitment to push back on this topic.... There probably are [hazing] rituals that coaches are unaware of."

Lipkins was disappointed with Iowa's ruling. Even "mild" traditions involving voluntary activities that could be deemed embarrassing fit the school's own definition of hazing, she says. The ruling suggests college officials "don't understand the nature of hazing," she says.

Not cracking down can perpetuate a pattern that becomes more severe, but many people don't take the issue seriously until a hazing victim is seriously harmed or dies, antihazing advocates say.

In California, several former fraternity members who served jail time for their role in the death of a pledge, Matthew Carrington, have cooperated in the antihazing work of his mother, Debbie Smith.

"Some of us will go out together and speak – there isn't anything more powerful than that," Ms. Smith says. The young men talk about how close one of them came to calling 911 when it was clear Matt was endangered by being forced to exercise excessively and drink gallons of water. He didn't call because he was discouraged by another fraternity member, Smith says. An hour later when they finally did call, it was too late. "It's like they're brainwashed, and until people understand that's what's happening to our children, it's just going to keep happening," Smith says.

A bill known as "Matt's Law" passed the California Senate and is now moving through the Assembly. It would make hazing a felony if it results in death or serious physical or psychological injury.

www.StopHazing.org was formed by concerned students and college administrators. With the goal of stopping hazing through education, it provides a wide range of information as well as a discussion forum.

www.InsideHazing.com focuses on the psychological aspects of hazing. It is run by psychologist and author Susan Lipkins.

http://hazing.hanknuwer.com is a blog that tracks hazing news and statistics. It's run by Hank Nuwer, a journalist and author.

www.hazing.Cornell.edu is run by Cornell University faculty, staff, and student leaders to "examine [hazing] practices explicitly in an attempt to overcome the secrecy that perpetuates them."

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