University officials from around Ohio spoke with Gov. Mike DeWine Tuesday in support of hazing reform, as lawmakers in Columbus consider drafting a proposal to create legal penalties for hazing on college campuses.
DeWine included a plea to eliminate hazing in a regular coronavirus update Monday, following the who died during a hazing incident. The governor said he supports proposed changes to legislation from Sen. Stephanie Kunze (R-Hilliard).
鈥淭his tragic and senseless death should remind us all the moral imperative for us to drive hazing out of the state of Ohio,鈥� DeWine said. 鈥淚t is a moral imperative that we do this, that we not tolerate it.鈥�
Kunze will hold a press conference Wednesday morning to discuss the specifics of the hazing reform proposal. A similar effort stalled out last year after failing to garner enough support.
But now presidents from public universities around Ohio want to see change, said Kent State President Todd Diacon.
鈥淗azing is a practice that we all condemn, and it is something that worries all university leaders,鈥� Diacon said. 鈥淗onestly, it worries us both as leaders of universities but as parents as well. None of us want to receive a phone call at 3 a.m. informing us of trauma or death of a loved one.鈥�
He says the university works to address hazing through education.
"We do so in our first year experience course for our freshmen. We do so at our summer orientation, and we particularly do so with our sorority and fraternity leaders who embrace that message as well. And so it's really about education," Diacon said.
Kent State has had no reported incidents of significant hazing in the last four or five years, Diacon said. But it still poses a risk for students. He said university officials regularly speak with students to educate them on the risks, and information is included in orientation and other first-year programming.
鈥淚t鈥檚 behavioral that鈥檚 based on culture and history. The way that we address that is with education,鈥� Diacon said. 鈥淥ur vice president for student affairs and our dean of students, in particular, meet consistently with our student leaders, including fraternity and sorority leaders. Hazing is always part of that conversation.鈥�
Creating legal penalties for hazing in Ohio, including felony charges, might help diminish the activity, Diacon said. But universities need to do additional work to make a difference, he said.
鈥淭his proposed legislation facilitates prosecuting in these cases in a way that鈥檚 not facilitated under current legislation,鈥� Diacon said. 鈥淐riminalization alone isn鈥檛 going to stamp out any behavior, and it鈥檚 not going to eradicate this behavior. And that鈥檚 why we have to commit to consistent and powerful messaging.鈥�
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