Florida A&M University (FAMU), stepping up its efforts to demonstrate its seriousness about quelling hazing on campus over the long term, has established a $50,000 research fund for FAMU faculty to “study the nature and extent of hazing behaviors among campus organizations and groups.”
Hazing is a form of initiation, historically associated with fraternal and sorority groups, that can range from alcohol consumption, humiliation, isolation, sleep deprivation, physical abuse and sex acts, according to people who have participated in hazing activities and the National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention.
For sure hazing may be a widespread practice and problem, says FAMU President James Ammons, who announced the two-year research initiative.
“Yet, it presents a serious challenge to uncover and address as a hidden culture,” Ammons says. “I want our faculty members to be leaders in finding solutions and creating a body of work as FAMU becomes a part of this national discussion on hazing.”
FAMU’s decision to take a higher profile in the anti-hazing movement comes after it was thrust into the national spotlight last fall when a member of its internationally famous marching bad died of physical blows to his body received from several fellow band members during his participation in a hazing event after a football game. The death of 26-year-old Robert Champion was the first time a member of the school’s band had died from hazing injuries.
Tracy Maxwell, founder and executive director of Denver-based Hazing Prevention.org, welcomed the FAMU move. She says hazing is a dangerous practice that has spanned the globe for years, yet there has been little serious research into it until the past decade and most of that has focused on incidents of hazing.
Maxwell says such work as that envisioned by Ammons would be of value far beyond the grounds of FAMU as schools at all levels of education and even the Russian military are trying to find ways to root out hazing.
