Stop Campus Hazing
Learn what hazing is and how to prevent it, support others, and report it.
What is Hazing?
Hazing is any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.
The Three Components That Define Hazing:- It occurs in a group context
- It includes humiliating, degrading, and endangering behaviors
- It happens regardless of an individual’s willingness to participate (regardless of consent)
Spectrum of Hazing™
The Spectrum of Hazing™ helps us recognize the full range of hazing behaviors. Through this spectrum, we can hope to increase recognition of the types of hazing that happen with the highest frequency – those which tend to be minimized as a normal part of some group culture – and we can increase opportunities for intervention and prevention of hazing.
The Spectrum of Hazing™ text version
Intimidation
Recognition: Low
Frequency: High
Includes behaviors like deception, assignment of demerits, silence periods with implied threats of violation, social isolation of new members, use of demeaning names, and expecting certain items to always be in one's possession.
Harassment
Recognition: Medium
Frequency: Medium
Includes behaviors like verbal abuse, threats or implied threats, asking new members to wear embarrassing attire, skit knights with degrading or humiliating acts, sleep deprivation, and sexual simulations.
Violence
Recognition: Low
Frequency: High
Includes behaviors like forced alcohol or drug consumption, beating, padding, or other forms of physical assault, branding, forced ingestion of vile substances, water intoxication, abduction/kidnapping, and sexual assault.
Take Action Against Hazing
Every member of the SUU community has a responsibility to take action against hazing.
Bystander Intervention Training
Bystander Intervention is defined as any steps taken to support and/or prevent harm to those involved in a potentially harmful situation or to themselves. An active bystander is a disrupter of a pattern or situation that may lead to harm or violence. From this training, trainees will learn about the types of violence intervention and prevention, ways to take action and how to be an effective bystander.
Five Steps for Safe and Effective Bystander Intervention
STEP 1: NOTICE HAZING
Hazing can occur in a range of groups, clubs, or teams. Many warning signs and instances of hazing are overlooked by those who have the potential to intervene and prevent harm.
STEP 2: RECOGNIZE THE HARM
Hazing causes death, physical injury, and emotional harm. There are many impacts of hazing, some also leave long-term or hidden scars.
STEP 3: ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY
Everyone has a responsibility to prevent hazing. You can and should take action to help keep your community safe.
STEP 4: DEVELOP SKILLS
Shifting the focus. Safely confronting. Shifting attitudes. These are types of interventions that can prevent hazing, and promote safe and inclusive groups.
STEP 5: TAKE ACTION
Take action! Don’t wait until it’s too late. Intervene early on, directly or indirectly, to prevent hazing from happening and cultivate healthy group spaces.
To request a Bystander Intervention Training, visit Request Health & Wellness Training.
Hazing Prevention Week
Each semester, the SUU Health and Wellness Center will host a Hazing Prevention and Awareness Week that will include events like awareness tabling, Bystander Intervention trainings, film viewings and more. Check the SUU Calendar and @suu.healthandwellness on Instagram for information on those events.
SUU Stop Campus Hazing Training
This training course covers the Stop Campus Hazing Act and Southern Utah University’s commitment to hazing prevention and hazing prevention resources. This training is optional, but available for anyone in the SUU community.
Hazing is a Violation of Federal and Utah Law
Committing an act of hazing is illegal under Federal Law (see the Stop Campus Hazing Act), Utah Law, and is in violation of SUU Policies for all students, faculty, and staff at SUU. UCA § 76-5-107.5 outlines the potential criminal consequences for hazing in the state of Utah.
Hazing is a Violation of SUU Policy
SUU takes hazing very seriously, and we have clear policies about consequences and how we investigate incidents. It's important to know which policy applies to whom:
- For students, all hazing incidents, investigations, and consequences are covered under SUU Policy 11.2.
- For employees (both faculty and staff), hazing is considered employee misconduct. SUU Policy 5.67 indicates these incidents may be referred to Human Resources for disciplinary action.
- Specifically, faculty hazing incidents and their related investigations and consequences fall under SUU Policy 6.28.
- For staff involved in hazing, these matters are addressed through SUU Policy 8.3.5.
- Further, conduct used or taken during hazing incidents could also be in violation of other SUU policies, including SUU Policy 5.60, Sexual Misconduct, and SUU Policy 5.27, Anti-Discrimination/Non-Harassment. In circumstances where SUU Policy 5.60 or 5.27 may be violated, these policies will control.
Campus Hazing Transparency Report
The Campus Hazing Transparency Report is a bi-annual report required by the Stop Campus Hazing Act that reports hazing incidents as described in SUU Policy 11.2. The University shall produce and update the Campus Hazing Transparency Report at least twice a year in accordance with federal law.
As of 12/22/2025, Southern Utah University has no reportable incidents for the Campus Hazing Transparency report as outlined in SUU Policy 5.67
Furthermore, each year, SUU publishes an Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (ASR/AFSR) with updated crime statistics, fire statistics, and information intended to inform the SUU community about the institution’s fire safety, general safety, and security-related policies, procedures, and programs.