UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State's Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research has issued a new policy and practice report, titled the "Charge for Change: Building Safer Campuses Now with Research-Informed Hazing Prevention.”
The report provides high-impact, data-informed policies and evidence-based prevention strategies in response to the Stop All Campus Hazing Act — federal legislation passed in December 2024 that requires all colleges to create “research-informed” hazing prevention programs. The effort was co-led by Stevan Veldkamp, executive director of the Piazza Center; Patrick Biddix, professor of higher education and associate vice provost at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and Jason Kilmer, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
“Hazing is a public health challenge that overlaps with other behaviors, including high-risk alcohol use and other substance use,” said Kilmer, who is also an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Washington. “We are enthusiastic about the advancements in prevention science and the potential we have to significantly improve campus safety by addressing crucial issues such as hazing, high-risk drinking, and violence.”
The “Charge for Change” draws on more than two decades of scholarship and recent multi-campus studies from across the country to provide a clear directive for action, according to Veldkamp.
“This report compiles what we know about hazing, including why prevention efforts typically fail, and provides a roadmap for future campus prevention practices,” said Veldkamp, coordinating author on the report.
The report aims to provide key stakeholders, including college administrators, policymakers and organizational leaders, with the necessary tools to effectively combat high-risk hazing practices within campus communities and fraternities, sororities, student organizations and athletic teams. Modeled after a report issued in 2002 by National Institute on Alcohol and Abuse and Alcoholism’s Task Force on College Drinking, the publication focuses on clarifying what research-informed hazing prevention entails and how campuses can more effectively implement and sustain prevention strategies.
“’Charge for Change’ brings needed clarity to what research-informed hazing prevention looks like in practice,” said Biddix, who is also Piazza Center Research Fellow. “The document outlines a framework campuses and organizations can use to strengthen prevention capacity and move toward more coordinated, sustained approaches to student safety and well-being.”
The framework was informed by the What Works for Fraternity, Sorority & Student Organizations Success and Safety Study, also known as the "What Works Study," among other studies. Led by the Piazza Center and in collaboration with the Gordie Center at the University of Virginia and the With Us Center for Bystander Intervention at the California Polytechnic State University, the What Works Study assists participating campuses — currently 14 nationwide, including Penn State — with implementing comprehensive hazing prevention programs designed by top prevention experts in behavioral health, psychology and higher education. The participating institutions work with the Piazza Center and partners to test and validate effective methods of hazing prevention over a three-year assessment cycle.
“Our goal is to solve the hazing puzzle and build campuses capacity to effectively prevent harm and hazing,” said Kimberly Davis, data analyst with the Piazza Center and editor on the report.
The Piazza Center will host webinars and in-person programs in the coming months to amplify the report and provide opportunities for stakeholders to connect. The first will take place on April 21. Registration is required.
Funding for the policy and practice document was provided, in part, by the Piazza Center endowment, Hazing Prevention Network, PreventZone, AliveTek, North American Interfraternity Conference, Max Gruver Foundation, and Real Response.
About the Piazza Center
The Piazza Center, a unit in the division of Student Affairs, is a national research hub that is committed to preventing hazing, reducing substance misuse and enhancing students’ well-being in fraternity and sorority communities and all campus student groups. The Piazza Center equips professional staff and volunteers with research, tools and best practices to foster safer environments for students.
Support for the Piazza Center advances the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.