Culture of Care targets hazing

Don’t haze me, bro.

That’s the message Culture of Care members are promoting to commemorate National Hazing Prevention Week.

Since Monday, Culture of Care members have been standing at high-traffic spots on campus to chat with students about the effects of hazing and to hand out tank tops that read “Don’t haze me, bro!”

At each table, students are able to participate in a conversation about hazing with Culture of Care representatives, or take part in an activity such as signing a pledge against hazing.

Upon completion, some students will receive a free shirt.

Culture of Care Co-Director Rachel Martinez said the tables will be set up from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday near the Woodburn clock tower, the intersection of East 10th Street and Fee Lane and, on Thursday, near the statue of Hoagy Carmichael alongside the IU Auditorium.

A list of resources, including IU Counseling and Psychological Services, the Incident Team and the Office of Student Ethics, will also be available for students at each table.
 
Martinez said students will be invited to chat with Culture of Care members regarding the effects of hazing and make a pledge to stand up against hazing on campus.

“We want the conversation to be out there and also for people to know resources that they can turn to if this was ever a situation that they had to face themselves or that they saw others facing,” she said.

Culture of Care Co-Director Andy Braden said the effort is to correct preconceived notions that hazing does not occur within most of the groups on campus.

“A lot of students generally just assume hazing is only in the greek system,” he said. “It’s also very prevalent throughout all of IU. A lot of students might be experiencing hazing, but they don’t realize it.”

Braden said though hazing at the college level commonly takes the form of alcohol consumption or sleep deprivation challenges, hazing is a broad term and can manifest itself in a variety of ways.

“There are things that are a lot more humiliating, more intense,” he said, adding that hazing “fundamentally affects your lifestyle, and it humiliates you.”

Braden said the effort’s goal is not simply to provide students with a free shirt but to serve as a liaison between students and campus resources.

“Tanks themselves aren’t going to change people’s behavior,” Braden said. “So if you’re just hanging out for a free tank, that’s not going to do anything.”

He said the ultimate goal is to increase knowledge of hazing at IU and to spark a campus-wide change.

“We very much want students to try to have an open mind about analyzing the way things are done at IU because we feel that the culture at IU can improve,” he said. “In order for a cultural change to happen, it starts on a personal level.”

Follow IUSA reporter Holly Hays on Twitter
@hv_hays.