UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Scholars from the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform at Penn State will present three webinars during Hazing Prevention Network's National Hazing Prevention Week, Sept. 25-29. The sessions will look at key research findings from the Piazza Center, focused on supporting students and professionals to make fraternities and sororities safer and stronger.
Registration for each webinar is open to anyone interested in attending:
- "Quality Hazing Prevention: A Panel of Experts Provide Insights""
Sept. 25 at 2 p.m.
Authors and experts will join each other on a panel to discuss the concept of hazing as a phenomenon and share strategies for effective prevention. Registration is open for the Sept. 25 webinar here. - "Understanding and Impacting Athletic Team Culture as it Relates to Hazing"
Sept. 26 at 4:30 p.m.
Christopher Zacharda, Piazza Center Scholar, explores how team culture impacts hazing through a peer leadership lens. Registration is open for the Sept. 26 webinar here. - "A Framework for Practice: Using Situational Strength to Challenge the Hazing Cultures"
Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.
Emily Perlow, associate dean of students at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, will share a framework to disrupt hazing for campus and organizational professionals. Registration is open for the Sept. 27 webinar here.
Each webinar will feature key Piazza Center findings surrounding the prevention of hazing amongst the most susceptible populations: first-year students, student-athletes, and the fraternity and sorority communities related to high-risk drinking and hazing.
David Anderson, professor emeritus of education and human development at George Mason University, said he hopes that those attending the webinars understand the challenge and call for change. He previously served as the director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Health and lead author of the College Alcohol Survey from 1979 to 2021.
“Fraternity and sorority members are at risk and have a high vulnerability; they also have a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to address these issues,” Anderson said.
The Piazza Center is a multidisciplinary research center that produces best practices to increase student well-being, prevent hazing and alcohol misuse, and improve experiential learning in fraternity and sorority communities across the country.
“The center has a novel approach to prevention by supporting professionals to build the capacity to greatly reduce hazing in fraternities and sororities,” said Robert Turrisi, professor of biobehavioral health and a faculty member in the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State. “Additionally, the center has produced a thorough review of prevention studies, numerous prevention guides, and is actively working with campuses to implement quality hazing-prevention programs.”
More than a dozen scholars from a variety of universities and institutions collaborate with the Piazza Center on research projects, in addition to partnerships with the Hazing Prevention Network and the Holmes Murphy Fraternity Practice.
“Research suggests that hazing-related behaviors start as early as middle school and that high school bullying and hazing play a significant role in students' susceptibility to college hazing,” said J. Patrick Biddix, professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville and Piazza Center research fellow.
Key research findings have led to the creation of the first explanatory hazing model and the publication of the first hazing prevention playbook to help higher education institutions and organizations identify early warning signs of hazing.
The center conducts several surveys, including the Fraternity and Sorority Experience Survey, and created the National Fraternity and Sorority Scorecard that measures and sets benchmarks for all aspects of Greek organizations.
Learn more about the center and its research efforts at the Piazza Center website.