COLLEGE HAZING HAS A NEW ENEMY

Daniel McCarthy, Manley Burke

As part of the ongoing attempt to end hazing on college campuses and particularly in Greek organizations, 19 international fraternities and sororities have joined together to establish a national Anti-Hazing Hotline.  The toll-free number is 1-888-NOT-HAZE (1-888-668-4293).  The line is available to those who think they, or students they know, have been or may be made victims of hazing.  Callers may remain anonymous or they can provide personal information so that their concerns can be responded to directly.

The Hotline connects to a dedicated voicemail box at the Cincinnati law firm of Manley Burke, the publisher of Fraternal Law.  Manley Burke will monitor the Hotline on a daily basis and will forward copies of all messages by email to the appropriate national organization, along with the hazing laws from the relevant jurisdictions.

Tim Burke, the President of Manley Burke, said, “National fraternities and sororities take hazing very seriously and have worked hard to see that hazing is eliminated.  They recognize that too many people have been hurt or died as a result of hazing incidents and that today more than 45 states make hazing a crime.  National officers are consistently teaching their members that hazing is antithetical to the high ideals of brotherhood and sisterhood embodied in the fraternity movement.”

Norval Stephens, the Chairman of the Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation and former International President of the fraternity led efforts in establishing the Hotline.  Mr. Stephens worked to grow the Hotline from the time it was first mentioned as an idea in January 2007, through recruitment of sponsors and participating organizations and, finally, to its implementation.  Mr. Stephens explained the goal: “Our experience in the Greek world on hazing and alcohol abuse is that behavior is not changed by research.  Only programming and action change behavior.  Research illuminates the problem but does not solve it.  We hope the Hotline helps to eliminate hazing.”

The Hotline is a crucial new tool for Greek organizations to use to fight hazing.  The 19 founding sponsors invite other fraternities and sororities to join as official sponsors of the National Anti-Hazing Hotline.  For more information, please contact Dan McCarthy at Manley Burke at (513) 721-5525.