Overview

No student should ever be harmed or degraded while seeking membership in any student organization at the University of Rochester. When choosing to join an organization, individuals should be treated according to the Meliora Values of Equity, Leadership, Integrity, Openness, Respect, and Accountability.

University of Rochester Anti-Hazing Policy

The University’s Hazing Policy can be found in the Standards for Student Conduct.

In general, hazing describes actions or activities that do not contribute to a new member’s positive development. Common examples of hazing that violate the Meliora Values include:

• Withholding information from new members (Integrity)
• Making new members subservient to others and interfering with their pursuit of ordinary activities (Openness and Respect)
• Putting new members in harmful situations, including activities that cause excessive fatigue or force consumption of any kind (Accountability)
• Asking new members to meet higher standards than other members (Equity)

Community members who are concerned that a student is being hazed can provide support by telling the student of the concern, describe to them observations leading to that concern (e.g., lack of sleep, changes in mood), and ask that person how to be helpful while reinforcing that hazing is against the values of the community.

Individuals can consult an advisor or professional staff member for clarification about the hazing policy. The CARE Network and harassment/bias-related incident form are resources for supporting individuals who are hazed as well as addressing the activities that cause concern.