From last Wednesday through Saturday, I attended the third annual Novak Institute for Hazing Prevention. The institute is an interdisciplinary meeting of professionals and students and is put on through HazingPrevention.org. Florida State has been lucky enough to have one of our Associate Dean of Students as one of the faculty of the institute. We were also privileged to have been awarded the first Zeta Tau Alpha Award for Innovation in Hazing Prevention and Education, which allowed us to help ease some of the cost for myself, one graduate assistant, and five students from various organizations to attend this year's institute.
My original goal was to blog at the end of each day (like I did for the Women's Leadership Institute last December but failed to do for ACPA). However, the length and intensity of the days coupled with my poorly functioning laptop kept me from doing that. So here, I just wanted to get out a few thoughts about this experience because it was truly a meaningful one.
Without getting into the details of the curriculum, I will just say we spent half of the time learning about a new way to think about hazing and grasping a new framework by which to approach this difficult topic. The other half of the time we were able to talk about how to apply the ideas we were learning to our specific areas and campuses. Again, FSU is somewhat ahead of the curve as we have modeled this approach by implementing our online presence for hazing prevention (although we are now talking about what our next steps may be). These conversations and sessions were so interesting because they were truly interdisciplinary. We had students and professionals from Greek Life, Student Affairs, Campus Recreation/Athletics, Marching Bands, ROTC, Housing, and even some police officers.
What was truly inspiring about the experience was being in such an intensive environment with a group of people who were all truly interested in the topic. The power of dialogue can be so amazing. I also have been able to think about what I learned and how it applies not only to hazing prevention, but it will also shape how I approach a number of things I do in my current position. So much of the curriculum was focused on how we need to move beyond just doing programs to truly implementing a process of preventing hazing behaviors. I realized on Thursday after hearing from a psychologist and his views on what hazing means to people why I was interested in this topic to begin with: I love thinking about what makes people who they are and why they behave the way they do.
Watching our students was also a rewarding experience. Although some of them struggled with the concepts, I was encouraged by watching them process the information and what it meant to them and their respective organizations. I also loved meeting so many amazing professionals not only from Higher Education but also from national organizations.
Although it felt like summer camp at times since we were staying in a residence hall and eating in the dining hall, I had a great time. I roomed with Panhellinc women who all worked for their sororities' national offices, which anyone who know me was a new experience in itself. But really it was about becoming part of a larger movement. All the work being done with hazing prevention is very young, but I can feel it moving like a steamroller as we get others on board. The work also draws from other areas of prevention (sexual violence, alcohol and other drugs). This is not about policy, but about true change. How can we best increase desirable behaviors in our students?
As you can tell, I am still processing all of this. I could also keep writing much more, but I will not do that to anyone who is actually still reading. I will likely become part of reigniting this movement here at FSU, which is pretty exciting. I am certainly grateful for this experience, and I hope I can pay it forward.
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