Allan talks to Daily Camera about hazing trends, prevention
The Boulder (Colorado) Daily Camera interviewed Professor of Higher Education Elizabeth Allan for an article titled, “Hazing in Boulder fraternities: A look more than 20 years after Gordie Bailey’s death.” Bailey was a freshman at the University of Colorado when he died from alcohol poisoning as part of a fraternity hazing ritual in 2004. Allan noted that hazing continues to go largely unreported, making it difficult to determine whether it happens more or less often than it did during the early 2000s. “It’s really hard to tell,” Allan said. “Another thing is the more people learn about (hazing) and hopefully the more they learn about the harm that can happen, the more likely they will be to report it. We might see an increase in reporting. But, you can’t assume the increase in reporting means it’s happening more than it was.” The article notes that Allan is launching a new national hazing survey, updating the 2008 National Study of Student Hazing that she led with former UMaine colleague Mary Madden. She added that many students don’t know they’re being hazed or don’t recognize behavior as hazing. “One of the key factors is that individuals tend to identify hazing only in its most extreme forms,” Allan said. “Part of prevention is trying to expand the images people have in their heads of what constitutes hazing and that way we can have people increase the likelihood they will intervene as bystanders or for themselves if they’re in the position of being hazed.”