By Kelly Morgan (Staff Writer)

During the week of Sept. 21, the Inter-Greek Council sponsored National Hazing Prevention Week.

Wesley’s Greek Life set up tables in the College Center lobby to spread awareness about the hazards of hazing.

Bottles of water, peaches, candy, and pens were given out at the tables throughout the week. Some includes slogans such as, “This is our promise not to haze.”

On Wednesday, speaker Rick Barnes gave a presentation titled “Hazing: when will it end?”

With over 20 years of professional higher education under his belt, Barnes has spoken at more than 60 college campuses across the country. His seminar subjects include alcohol abuse and leadership.

During his presentation in Wells Theater, he talked about the problems associated with hazing, a topic he’s spoken out against for seven years.

This topic is not an easy one.

“Most people don’t want to touch this topic,” he said. “Most people ask me, ‘What is hazing?’ I don’t know if I know the answer. We don’t get to decide what is hazing.”

Barnes explained different hazing scenarios.

“At some high school outside of Chicago, the senior class challenged the juniors to a powder puff football game,” Barnes said. “But before the game started, the seniors brutally started beating up the juniors. Alcohol was involved and they were charged for hazing – later assault and battery.”

Barnes said that hazing consists of three main parts.

The first is to cause bodily harm or danger, or offensive punishment or pain.

The second is to compromise the dignity of a student, cause embarrassment or shame to a student in public, to cause a student to be the object of malicious amusement or ridicule, or to cause psychological harm or substantial emotional strain.

The third is to unreasonably or unusually impair a student’s academic efforts.

Barnes said that even scavenger hunts can be a form of hazing.

“Do you remember when you were in fourth grade and you had so much fun doing scavenger hunts?” he asked.

“Well, you went through a sudden transformation between high school senior graduation and becoming a freshman in college. That transformed you into an adult and now you’re not allowed to do scavenger hunts anymore.”

Barnes said that one broad hazing policy at a college includes, “Hazing is anything required of new members that is not required of current members of the organization.”

Examples include new members of a sports team setting up and putting away the equipment.

When will hazing stop and what can students do about it?

“Step up and be the leaders you say you are,” Barnes said.