How do Mizzou and KU define hazing? And when does it become a crime?
Two former members of the University of Missouri-Columbia’s Phi Delta Gamma fraternity are now facing felony charges for their alleged roles in a hazing incident that left one student with significant brain damage.
A Boone County grand jury on June 17 indicted Ryan Patrick Delanty, of Ballwin, Missouri, and Thomas Andrew Shultz, of Chesterfield, Missouri, on one count each felony hazing and misdemeanor supplying alcohol to a minor or intoxicated person, according to court documents.
The students allegedly pressured a 19-year-old to drink an entire bottle of vodka.
Hazing remains an issue on college campuses, and it can land someone in serious trouble. Here’s how two big schools near Kansas City define hazing, and how someone can report it.
WHAT IS HAZING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS?
Hazing at KU includes, but isn’t limited to, the following:
Any action, activity or situation that recklessly, negligently or intentionally endangers the mental or physical safety of a person in order for that person to gain membership in an organization
An act that creates excessive fatigue, sleep deprivation or mental or physical discomfort for the prospective member
An act that exposes a prospective member to extreme embarrassment
An act that involves personal servitude, which is holding an item from a prospective member in exchange for favors
An act that results in a prospective member destroying public or private property as a part of their initiation
An act that interferes with a prospective member’s academic requirements and responsibilities. It could be explicit, like forcing someone to skip class to participate in another activity that’ll earn them membership, or less direct.
KU presumes that hazing is a forced activity, even if all parties agreed to participate in the act. If you know that hazing is happening, and you don’t say or do something to prevent it, you’re also in violation of KU’s anti-hazing policy.
“Apathy or acquiescence in the presence of hazing is not neutral; both are violations of this rule,” their website states.
According to KU’s website, 73% of students involved in fraternities or sororities experience hazing before joining their group. That number is 74% for student-athletes looking to join their teams.
WHAT IS HAZING AT MIZZOU?
Hazing at Missouri is defined as a willful act — happening on or off-campus — that’s directed against a student seeking membership in an on-campus organization.
The act puts the student’s physical or mental health in danger to admit them into the organization or keep their membership intact.
Some examples of hazing include:
Subtle Hazing - These acts emphasize a power imbalance between new and active or existing members. They can involve silent periods with implied repercussions, socially isolating new members, making new members refer to other members with titles or name-calling.
Harassment Hazing – These acts confuse, frustrate or cause stress to prospective members. They can be verbal abuse, threatening members, asking the prospective member to wear humiliating attire or performing in skits with humiliating acts.
Violent Hazing – These acts have the potential to cause physical or emotional damage. If someone forces a prospective member to drink alcohol or eat expired food, kidnaps or performs other physical acts with the intent to cause harm, it’s hazing. That’s not all that falls under this category, but if it’ll hurt someone, it counts.
Mizzou has a zero-tolerance policy regarding hazing that is consistent with Missouri anti-hazing legislation. According to the Mizzou student-athlete handbook, “Mizzou takes incidents of hazing with the greatest of seriousness and violations of this policy will be dealt with under the Standard of Conduct.”
The same rules apply to UMKC, since they’re under the University of Missouri System.
All Missouri colleges and universities must have a written policy prohibiting hazing with the school’s association.
WHEN DOES HAZING BECOME A CRIME?
Mizzou
Christian Basi, director of media relations with University of Missouri System, said that the campus police force reviews each report and makes decisions based on the severity of an incident.
“It’s a situation-by-situation basis,” Basi said. “(Campus police) are brought in and made aware of any time there’s concern for a student’s safety,” Basi said.
Campus police also collect information and evidence and provide it to the prosecutor’s office, which makes the final decisions on any charges being filed. Consent isn’t a defense to hazing in Missouri, so it’s a crime for everyone involved, except for the person who was hazed.
Kansas
Kansas law makes it a misdemeanor to commit any act that “could reasonably be expected to result in great bodily harm, disfigurement or death,” as part of an initiation or condition to be included in an organization.
Like Mizzou, KU handles hazing on a case-by-case with Lawrence police officers.
HOW CAN YOU REPORT IT?
If you’re a student at Mizzou and you’ve been hazed or know someone who has, you can report it on the Student Accountability & Support website by filling out this form. If it’s an emergency, call 911 or 573-882-7201.
For Kansas students, go to your school’s Student Conduct & Community Standards website and fill out this form.
This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
