Hazing Prevention Coalition

Leadership for Culture Change

At William & Mary, preventing hazing is a shared responsibility across our community. We empower and engage campus leaders – including faculty, staff, and students – to take ownership of hazing prevention in their areas of influence.  

• William & Mary is committed to promoting a safe and healthy living, learning, and working environment to further its educational mission. Hazing is a harmful activity that threatens the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and staff and is antithetical to the university’s values, including respect and belonging.  

• The Hazing Prevention Coalition is a multi-disciplinary, cross-functional team of faculty, staff, and students who work to empower the W&M community to prevent hazing.  The Coalition helps the community recognize hazing, understand its implications, develop intolerance for hazing activities, and act/report when hazing occurs. In addition, we provide resources to support safer, healthier means of member acclimation and integration. 

• William & Mary develops leaders who are equipped to drive culture change at multiple levels, enabling them to challenge harmful norms and promote safe, accountable communities. 

• Senior leaders of the university strongly support hazing prevention efforts, reinforcing institutional commitment and ensures these efforts are prioritized, resourced, and embedded across the campus culture. 

Outreach

Clear and consistent messaging designed to reinforce that William & Mary is to be a Home Without Hazing is important to ensuring an informed and engaged community.  The Hazing Prevention Coalition will coordinate various communication and engagement strategies including: 

• The HPC will utilize social media to share information about hazing and hazing prevention efforts with a broad range of stakeholders.  This will include relevant data and statistics, availability of campus resources, as well as opportunities for education and engagement.   

• Throughout the year, the HPC will host events/initiatives to ensure campus-wide awareness of hazing prevention efforts and resources on campus for students, as well as to elevate campus wide-support for hazing prevention efforts.  

• Parents and families are important partners in preventing hazing from persisting.  To cultivate this partnership, the HPC will provide consistent communication and engagement with families throughout the year through emails, webinars, and in-person events.  

• On an annual basis, the HPC will meet with representatives from stakeholder populations to provide general updates on hazing prevention efforts and to gather information/perspectives from the stakeholders.  These stakeholders include governing councils within the fraternity/sorority community, leaders of Sports Clubs, and student athletes.   

Education

William & Mary uses a scaffolded and multi-faceted approach to educating our community and stakeholders on hazing prevention.  Recognizing the need to tailor educational efforts to specific audiences, this comprehensive approach will incorporate multiple modalities of education and training throughout the year.  

• All new members of the William & Mary community will receive introductory education focused on fundamental hazing knowledge and reporting information. 

• Members of our community who hold roles focused on helping students will receive expanded training and education that includes recognizing signs/indicators of hazing and reporting requirements, if applicable.  

• Members of the community interested in joining organizations, particularly groups-at-risk, will receive education which includes additional information on identifying hazing behaviors, bystander intervention, and medical amnesty policies/laws. 

• We will provide group education for members of groups-at-risk designed to engage members in conversations about group purpose/goals, cultivating positive and healthy group culture, and re-envisioning traditions with alternative activities/practices. 

• We will provide education for leaders of groups-at-risk, including advisors/coaches, focused on ethical leadership and change management.   

Data

William & Mary uses data to inform our strategic hazing prevention plan by continuously monitoring trends in student organization activity, incident reports, climate surveys, and self-assessments. These data points help tailor hazing education to address the specific risks, misconceptions, and campus groups at risk. 

• The university uses data to design intentional education and interventions, directing resources to organizations, teams, or student groups at risk. 

• The university uses data to track patterns over time. 

• The university uses data to optimize the modality, timing, dosage, and follow-up response of interventions, ensuring that prevention efforts are delivered when they are most impactful. 

• The university uses data from self-assessments, including the hazing prevention rubric, to evaluate its current practices and identify priority areas for improvement. 

Response

William & Mary uses its response to hazing, including timely investigation, fair adjudication, and educational outcomes, as a core prevention strategy. The university prohibits hazing as a serious violation and responds when it occurs. 

• The office of Student Accountability & Restorative Practices consistently enforces policies and holds individuals and organizations accountable in coordination with university partners including William & Mary Police Department, Student Leadership Development, Campus Recreation, and Athletics. 

• We analyze information gathered through investigations to identify patterns, strengthen prevention strategies, and provide targeted support to groups that may be at risk. 

• Transparent processes and tailored accountability measures deter future misconduct and demonstrate the university’s commitment to student safety. 

• Reports of hazing can be made at wm.edu/report 

Policy Compliance

The Hazing Prevention Coalition ensures that hazing prevention efforts are aligned with university policy as well as Commonwealth and federal laws.   

• Hazing prevention education, as outlined in the Hazing Prevention Educational Scaffold, is research informed, as the curriculum includes content grounded in research on hazing and best practices in prevention education.  

• Reports consisting of violations, investigation summaries, and corresponding sanctions are transparently displayed on the William & Mary website.  This has been a practice at William & Mary since 2018 and is aligned with requirements in Adam’s Law (2021) and the Stop Campus Hazing Act (2024).  Making this information readily available allows individuals the opportunity to research the conduct history of groups, teams, or organizations so they can make informed decisions about whether to join.  It also increases transparency around the process so that other organizations are aware of violations and potential consequences.   

• Providing medical amnesty during a hazing incident removes barriers to calling for assistance in emergency situations where there is imminent harm due to alcohol/drug use in a hazing incident.  Additionally, information about alcohol overdose is included in hazing prevention education. 

• The Hazing Prevention Coalition coordinates with the Office of Compliance & Equity and William & Mary Police Department to align hazing reporting and response with other Clery Act reportable crimes.