Faculty & Staff

As part of the Lehigh campus community that has a lot of daily student interaction, we ask for your help to prevent hazing on our campus. Whether you are advising a student, teaching a class, or are walking through campus, it is important to know the warning signs of hazing and how to report a hazing incident. We invite you to explore the rest of the website to learn more about what hazing is, how it affects various groups, what research Lehigh is doing with regards to prevention efforts, and more.

At A Glance

76%

of Lehigh University students believe that hazing is not an effective way to initiate new members into an organization

93%

of Lehigh University students believe that they do not need to be hazed in order to feel like they belong to a group

75%

of students believe that hazing-related activities occur at Lehigh, and >38% of students have witnessed hazing here

Read Lehigh University’s Hazing Assessment Analysis (PDF)

What is Hazing?

Lehigh University defines hazing as:

Any action taken or situation created, whether on or off campus, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule.

Hazing: Common Factors

Power differential between those in a group and those who want to join a group, or between senior and junior members of a group
Intentional initiation rite, practice or ‘tradition’ involved
Willingness to participate does not absolve responsibility for either party

Learn more about hazing activities and their consequences >

Source: hazingprevention.org

Warning Signs

In addition to our efforts to prevent hazing on campus and in our community, we look to parents, family members, and friends to alert us of any concerns related to hazing. Some warning signs to look for in your student if they are joining a student organization, fraternity, sorority, or sports team include:

Sudden change in your student’s communication with you, including frequency, length and general tone, surrounding the time the student is joining the group
Sudden change in willingness to share the activities he/she/they is involved in with the organization
Changes in sleeping and eating patterns
Feeling anger, confusion, embarrassment, helplessness, anxiety and even depression
Sudden changes in academic performance
Complaint of new physical ailments - exhaustion, broken bones, sprains, cuts, burns, hangovers, or stomach or head aches, and reasoning of how the injuries happened that don’t quite seem to make sense
Feel a sense of loyalty to the group and avoid sharing their concerns or fears with anyone for fear the group might get in trouble
Discussion of wanting to leave the organization/team but being scared or feel there is no way out

Source: Adapted from Drexel University and Furman University.

Hazing Prevention at Lehigh University

Lehigh is a member of the Hazing Prevention Consortium, a multi-year research-to-practice initiative led by StopHazing, Inc. to build an evidence base for hazingprevention on college campuses in the U.S. and beyond.

Learn more about hazing prevention efforts at Lehigh >