Lamar University is following federal law and implementing the new Stop Campus Hazing Act. The law was passed in December 2024 and aims to prevent hazing on college campuses.
A campus release states the goal is to educate students about the dangers of hazing.
Dean of Students Elizabeth De La Rosa describes hazing as someone being forced or pressured to do something they may not want to do.
“It’s under the guise or the idea that, ‘Oh, you do it to be one of the team or you do it to be one of the group, or to fit in,’” De La Rosa said.
There are different levels and severities of hazing.
“Some things are more severe than others and could cause physical or bodily harm,” De La Rosa said. “The idea is the act of making someone do something that they’re not willing to do.”
The severity of the situation plays a factor in determining penalties, De La Rosa said. Penalties can range from warning to expulsion.
“When a hazing incident is reported, we do a full thorough investigation,” De La Rosa said. “You have to identify the people involved, the knowledge, who had knowledge of it and those types of things.”
If a student suspects there is a hazing incident that needs to be reported, there are several different ways to file a report, De La Rosa said.
“There is an incident report form on the website that a student can fill out,” she said. “It’s on the main page. If you go to the very bottom in the quick links, you can find an incident report or concern report. You can go through our student Code of Conduct website and do it there. If you’re not sure how to find that, you could come directly to our office, here at the (Setzer Student Center) and talk to us.”
While students may fear that reporting their friends for hazing will destroy the friendship, it is important that any concern is reported, De La Rosa said. Reports are kept confidential as much as possible.
“It’s more important to us to make sure that we’re keeping people safe,” De La Rosa said. “That’s the conversation I like to have with students. Your friends might be mad at you for turning them in, but they’re going to be glad you did if you saved their life, right? That’s really extreme — sometimes we have to think like that.”
Hazing victims do not have to deal with the situation alone, De La Rosa said.
“We do have a variety of resources available, depending on the situation and what came to be,” she said. “We have our health center; we have our counseling center — we have those resources. We have support systems in place, with academic coaching if it affects their schooling and their classwork.”
The Stop Campus Hazing Act is new, and students may not be aware of its existence. De La Rosa said Lamar has come up with ways to educate students regarding the act.
“You probably saw that we had sent out a campus announcement with the Stop Hazing Act,” De La Rosa said. “We also have to provide training throughout the year.”
Additionally, all student organizations are required to go through training during the fall semester where they are informed about the risks of hazing, De La Rosa said.
Every student should understand that hazing is dangerous to prevent serious situations, De La Rosa said, adding she would rather have a false report and investigate it than have an issue that results in a student suffering.
The effort to reach students on campus will continue, De La Rosa said. Social media and LU Hub will be utilized to share information and events that focus on hazing.
“Whenever we have things happening on campus, we probably will do some tabling events and whatnot to educate our students on the expectations, and how to exist on a campus that’s safe and inviting for everyone,” she said. “So that we can hold ourselves and each other accountable.”
For more information, visit lamar.edu/students/student-affairs/conduct-and-care- services/policies/hazing.