Anti-Hazing Policy

Policy Summary

The George Washington University (“GW” or “university”) is committed to promoting an educational and workplace environment where community members may participate in activities and organizations without compromising their health, safety, or welfare. The impact of hazing activities (defined below) can result in irrevocable harm to their victims, victims' families, and the university community, and is therefore prohibited.

Related Laws and Regulations

Stop Campus Hazing Act 

Maryland Anti-Hazing Law

Virginia Anti-Hazing Law

Adam’s Law

Who is Governed by this Policy 

• This policy applies to all university faculty, staff, students, postdocs, and student organizations and other individuals and entities including, but not limited to affiliates and visitors (collectively, “GW Community Members”). 

Policy

Hazing of individuals, including those wishing to be members of, or existing members of, community groups, organizations, or units can cause mental, physical, and psychological harm. As such, actual, planned, or attempted acts of hazing are prohibited. The appropriate unit responsible for investigation will review allegations of hazing based on the role of the respondent described below.

The university seeks to promote the reporting of actual, planned, or attempted hazing, particularly before the conduct occurs. In many cases, preventative reporting allows intervention to stop the behavior from occurring. This could potentially save a life. GW Community Members who engage in, or attempt, hazing conduct but then self-report to the university and/or cooperate with investigations may be subject to lesser discipline for hazing policy violations as a result of their self-disclosure and cooperation. Lesser discipline may also be considered in instances where a GW Community Member who engaged in hazing then takes initiative to notify appropriate authorities in an emergency as a result of hazing (e.g., calling 911 or GWPD and EMERG). These individuals will also typically not be subject to lower-level policy violations¹ (e.g., personal alcohol or drug use) in recognition of their decision to help someone in need as a result of hazing.

The following are reporting mechanisms for actual, planned, or attempted hazing, depending on the role of the respondent (individual alleged to have engaged in the conduct):

• Student respondent(s) should be reported to Conflict Education & Student Accountability. 
• Staff respondent(s) should be reported to Human Resource Management and Development. 
• Faculty respondent(s) should be reported to the Office of the Provost, Faculty Affairs. 
• EthicsPoint, the university’s anonymous hotline, can be utilized as an anonymous reporting avenue regardless of the role of the respondent.

Allegations of hazing that involve suspected or alleged sexual harassment should be reported to the Title IX Office regardless of the role of the respondent. Designated reporters must report this information to the Title IX Office pursuant to their responsibilities under the Title IX Sexual Harassment and Related Conduct Policy.

Enforcement

All substantiated violations of hazing are subject to sanction up to and including suspension or expulsion (students/student organizations) or termination (employees).

¹ Lower-level policy violations are those that objectively do not cause significant harm or risk to an individual or community.

Definitions

Hazing is any actual, planned, or attempted act, whether or not the reported victims voluntarily participated in the act, if the act: 

• is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, an organization or group, and
• creates more risk of physical or psychological injury than an individual would typically/reasonably encounter while participating in an organization or group.

Examples include but are not limited to the following:

• Humiliation like name-calling, requiring attire, hairstyles, or make-up that the individual would not routinely choose to wear, and that are reasonably likely to cause ridicule.
• Requiring someone to carry or have in their possession objects they would not routinely choose to carry.
• Depriving someone of regular and routine access to sleep, social connections, academic schedules, food, exercise, etc.
• Directly or indirectly requiring someone to complete a task that is not inherent in the goals of the organization and shared among all members of the organization. For example, if everyone contributes equally to cleaning a space ahead of an event, that is not inherently hazing. Requiring members to do so because of their status, seniority, or positionality with the organization will often be hazing.
• Whipping, beating, striking, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on someone's body, or similar activity.                  
• Directly or indirectly causing sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, extreme calisthenics, or other similar activity.
• Directly or indirectly causing or inducing another person to consume food, liquid, alcohol, drugs, or other substances. 
• Directly or indirectly causing or coercing another person to perform sexual acts, and/or remove clothing to be partially or completely nude.
• Directly or indirectly causing or coercing another person to view, create, or access sexual content (such as pornography).
• Threatening words or conduct that places another person in reasonable fear of bodily harm.
• Any activity against another person that includes a criminal violation of local, state, tribal, or federal law.
• Any activity that directly or indirectly causes another person to perform a duty or task that involves a criminal violation of local, State, Tribal, or Federal law. 

For the purposes of adjudicating violations of this policy, an organization at an institution of higher education includes, but is not limited to, a club, society, association, varsity or junior varsity athletic team, club sports team, fraternity, sorority, band or performance group, or student government organization, in which two or more of the individuals are GW Community Members, whether or not the organization is established or recognized by the university.

Related Information 

Contacts

Contact	Phone Number	Email Address
Conflict Education & Student Accountability	202-994-6757	cesagwu [dot] edu
Human Resource Management and Development	202-994-8500	askhrmdgwu [dot] edu
Office of the Provost, Faculty Affairs	202-994-6783	facultyaffairsgwu [dot] edu
Office of Ethics, Compliance, and Risk	202-994-3386	complygwu [dot] edu