Stop Campus Hazing Act

The Stop Campus Hazing Act 

The Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) (S.2901, H.R.5646) passed into law on December 23, 2024. The Stop Campus Hazing Act is a crucial step towards eradicating hazing on college campuses and ensuring the safety and well-being of students. This bipartisan, evidence-informed legislation is supported by national campus safety experts, national fraternity and sorority trade associations, and the parents of hazing victims.

Saint Anselm College's Hazing Policy

The definition of hazing is to mean any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate, that (1) is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization (e.g., a club, athletic team, fraternity, or sorority); and (2) causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the IHE or the organization, of physical or psychological injury. 

Such activities include, but are not limited to, paddling in any form, physical or psychological shocks, late work sessions which interfere with scholastic activities, advocating or promoting alcohol or substance abuse, tests of endurance submission of members or prospective members to potentially dangerous or hazardous circumstances or activities which have foreseeable potential for resulting in personal injury, or any activity which by its nature that may have a potential to cause mental distress, panic, human degradation, or embarrassment. 

Spending a considerable amount of time questioning whether or not a particular activity violates the hazing policy is usually a good indication that the activity is indeed hazing. 

CONSENT MAY NOT BE USED AS A REASONABLE DEFENSE. Peer pressure is a significant part of most hazing incidents, and while a person may verbally give consent, circumstances surrounding the situation typically do not provide an opportunity for the person to choose freely. 

Saint Anselm College has a zero-tolerance policy on hazing, and the consequences can be severe. Participation in hazing activities may lead to individual disciplinary action, team disciplinary action, and/or termination of the team or student organization. 

All students are required to sign off and acknowledge receipt of the policy and those other policies outlined in the student handbook each academic year. 

Please see appendix I-G for New Hampshire’s state law on hazing (Chapter 631:7).

Stop Campus Hazing Transparency Report

In accordance with the Stop Campus Hazing Act, Saint Anselm College will release Campus Hazing Transparency Reports regularly as part of ongoing transparency and prevention efforts.