WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today led a group of Senate colleagues in urging the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to address hazing on college campuses in future legislation regarding mental and behavioral health.
“Hazing is a dangerous—and at times deadly—problem on college campuses. Not only can it be physically and emotionally damaging to students in search of a sense of belonging at school, it also undermines the mission of higher education,” wrote the senators.
“We strongly urge the Committee to consider the REACH Act and include the legislation in any future mental and behavioral health legislation or Higher Education Act reauthorization. Hazing is often overlooked and unreported, but its impact on student wellbeing and interpersonal violence is too devastating to ignore.” continued the senators.
Cassidy and Klobuchar were joined by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Angus King (I-ME), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
Background
In March of 2021, Cassidy and Klobuchar introduced the Report and Educate About Campus Hazing (REACH) Act, which would require hazing incidents to be reported as part of a college’s annual crime report and establish a definition of hazing to clarify what constitutes a reportable offense. The legislation would also require institutions to establish a campus-wide, research-based program to educate students about the dangers of hazing.
Read the full letter here or below.
Dear Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr:
Hazing is a dangerous—and at times deadly—problem on college campuses. Not only can it be physically and emotionally damaging to students in search of a sense of belonging at school, it also undermines the mission of higher education. We urge the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to consider legislation that addresses hazing at colleges and universities across the United States.
Hazing continues to be a widespread problem on college campuses, as recently documented in the November 28, 2021 CBS 60 Minutes broadcast that highlighted a deadly incident at Washington State University. Studies have shown that hazing can intersect with concerning behaviors like high-risk substance use, sexual harassment and assault, and other forms of violence. In 2021 alone, alleged hazing incidents have led to five tragic, avoidable deaths, and just last month a student at Georgia College and State University was hospitalized after an alleged hazing incident. These statistics do not account for the countless incidents that go unreported.
Education and accountability are required to end hazing. That is why we introduced bipartisan legislation—the Report and Educate About Campus Hazing (REACH) Act—that requires hazing incidents to be reported as part of a college’s annual crime report. It also establishes a definition of hazing to clarify what constitutes a reportable offense. Our legislation also requires each institution to implement a campus-wide, research-based program to educate students about the dangers of hazing. These policies have received strong support from mental health and victim advocates, educators, and fraternity and sorority advisors.
We strongly urge the Committee to consider the REACH Act and include the legislation in any future mental and behavioral health package or Higher Education Act reauthorization. Hazing is often overlooked and unreported, but its impact on student wellbeing and interpersonal violence is too devastating to ignore.
We look forward to working with you to bring an end to harmful hazing on our college campuses. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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