Florida A & M University (FAMU), stepping up its efforts to end hazing among its 13,000-student population, plans this spring to impose one of the most ambitious college anti-hazing policies in the nation.
The university says that, effective with the Spring 2013 semester, it will require all students seeking to register for classes to sign an anti-hazing pledge. Students who do not sign the pledge will not be allowed to register for classes.
Hazing is a crime in Florida, despite being widespread at colleges in that state and others.
In the written pledge, students will “attest” they will not participate in any form of hazing, a university statement said.
In recent years, some institutions, including FAMU, have required some type of student anti-hazing pledge as part of registration to participate in specific student activities.
FAMU’s decision to make signing the pledge a prerequisite to being able to register for school boosts its efforts significantly to check hazers at the door by imposing a policy that covers its entire student body in the hope that all are clear on the rules of the institution and the law.
The FAMU pledge idea emerged more than a year ago from FAMU student government leaders who envisioned focusing it on campus organizations and clubs. It was embraced and expanded by university officials, including Student Affairs Vice President Dr. William E. Hudson Jr. and general counsel Avery D. McKnight.
