Ohio Administrative Code › Title 3337 - Ohio University › Chapter 3337-23 - Policy on Hazing and Chalking › Section 3337-23-10 - Hazing

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A)
								Overview
Ohio university prohibits hazing as
				defined in this policy. The university will respond to all reports of hazing as
				outlined in this policy.
(B)
								Philosophy
Ohio university is committed to a safe
				and respectful campus environment that aligns with our institutional values of
				citizenship, civility, character, community, and commitment. It is the
				university's belief that true human development will best occur in an
				atmosphere that promotes social and ethical responsibility.
Ohio university acknowledges the vast
				array of groups and organizations with different purposes and processes for
				affiliation. The university supports traditions within organizations that match
				Ohio's core values. Hazing is anti ethical to our institutional mission and has
				no place at Ohio university.
The university recognizes that a
				student organization or group may belong to a national oversight organization
				that also holds students accountable to expectations and standards (e.g. the
				national organization for a local fraternity chapter). Ohio university is
				committed to partnering with these outside affiliates to address hazing
				allegations and will continue to communicate with them as
				appropriate.
To help all community members make
				informed choices when selecting organizations and groups to get connected to,
				Ohio university maintains a summary of all student organization misconduct.
				This resource is updated on a regular basis and includes the previous seven
				years of misconduct history for our groups and organizations. This report can
				be found here.
(C)
								Definitions
(1)
									Hazing- As defined in section
			 2903.31 of the Revised
			 Code, hazing is defined as:
(a)
										"Doing any act or coercing another, including the
			 victim, to do any act of initiation into any student or other organization or
			 any act to continue or reinstate membership or affiliation with any student or
			 other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental
			 or physical harm to any person, including coercing another to consume alcohol
			 or a drug of abuse, as defined in section
			 3719.011
			 of the Revised Code.
(b)
										Hazing is a form of power-based violence. Hazing can
			 occur with power differentials in all types of relationships regardless of
			 membership status, including an initiate, an individual seeking reinstatement,
			 a current member, or a current student with inactive status. In part, hazing is
			 an attempt to exert control or influence from one person to another. What
			 constitutes hazing is a dynamic and changing set of circumstances that requires
			 a situational response.
Therefore, Ohio university further
				defines hazing to include:
(i)
											Any action or situation which recklessly or
			 intentionally endangers the mental, emotional, or physical health or safety of
			 a student for the purpose of initiation or admission into, or affiliation with,
			 any student organization or group regardless of the person's consent to
			 participate.
(ii)
											Brutality of a physical nature including but not
			 limited to paddling, whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, or
			 exposure to the elements.
(iii)
											Coerced
			 consumption, including but not limited to any food, alcoholic beverage, liquid,
			 drug, or any other substance that subjects the student to an unreasonable risk
			 of harm.
(iv)
											Acts intended to cause mental stress, including but not
			 limited to sleep deprivation, transportation or abandonment, confinement to a
			 small space, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct which could
			 result in embarrassment, any forced activity that is deigned to shame or
			 humiliate, or any action of harassment (as defined in the "student code of
			 conduct").
(v)
											Coerced activities including but not limited to
			 violation of local, state, or federal laws, violation of university policies,
			 rules, regulations, and personal servitude.
(vi)
											Acts of sexual
			 harassment and other sexual misconduct as defined by Ohio university policy
			 03.004.