On Wednesday, September 25, over 200 members of Fraternities and Sororities attended the Hazing Prevention Panel in the Lory Student Center Theatre. The panel included the Dean of Students, Dr. Jody Donovan, the Assistant Dean of Students, Dr. Craig Chesson, the Director of Student Legal Services, Kathleen Harward, and the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Lindsay Sell. The panel was a segment of Hazing Prevention and Awareness Week put together by the Risk Management and Prevention Chairman’s of the Inter Fraternity Council, PanHellenic Council, and National PanHellenic Council.

The Fraternity and Sorority members in attendance had the opportunity to ask the panel questions regarding hazing at Colorado State University. The question by a sorority member that received the most applause from the audience was, “Are other student organizations on campus constantly notified of the hazing policy or only Greeks?” To this Dean of Students Dr. Jody Donovan responded, “We have work to do.”

All too often, Greek organizations are the only student organizations that get a reputation for hazing when this is simply not true. A great example is the recent news surrounding the Ivy League, where the Cornell University Men’s Lacrosse team has had their fall season suspended due to hazing of the underclassmen players. These players do not represent a Greek letter organization yet they have been hazing.

Together as students, we must come together to not end stereotypes of who does the hazing, but to end hazing all together. Do not fear the consequences of hazing for the sake of legality but for the effect it can have on an individual. The Fraternity and Sorority community at CSU is doing an outstanding job to put an end to hazing; is your student organization?