The Stop Campus Hazing Act: A Milestone in Hazing Prevention
In recent years, the issue of hazing on college campuses has gained increasing attention due to its harmful and sometimes fatal consequences. Hazing, the practice of subjecting new members of a group to humiliating or dangerous rituals, has plagued educational institutions for far too long. In response to this pressing concern, after years of advocacy by Clery Center, StopHazing, and parent groups, our 118th Congress has taken a significant step towards curbing hazing by designating September 25 – 29 National Hazing Awareness Week (S.Res.360, H.Res.717) and introducing the Stop Campus Hazing Act (S.2901, H.R. 5646). This groundbreaking legislation will require colleges and universities to teach students about the dangers of hazing and hold organizations that engage in this harmful behavior accountable.
Staff from Clery Center and StopHazing, and parents of children who were killed or seriously injured in hazing incidents meeting with Senator Amy Klobuchar, co-lead sponsor of the Stop Campus Hazing Act in Washington DC, September 2023.
The Problem of Campus Hazing
Hazing is a deeply entrenched issue, usually disguised as “tradition”, that has affected students for generations. Fraternities, sororities, sports teams, and other campus organizations have often been associated with hazing rituals that range from humiliation to life-threatening activities, sometimes resulting in severe injuries and even fatalities. Over 200 university hazing deaths have occurred since 1838, and since just 2000 there have been more than 50 hazing-related deaths.
 The tragic story of Gary DeVercelly, Jr., a Rider University student who lost his life due to hazing in 2007, is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of these “traditions”. After their loss, Gary’s parents became tireless advocates for change. They joined Clery Center’s board in 2009 and have since partnered with Clery Center and StopHazing to film an award-winning documentary (We Don’t Haze), create several free resources on hazing awareness and prevention, and advocate for state and federal legislation to end hazing, including the Report and Educate About Campus Hazing (REACH) Act in 2017, which received bipartisan support and was reintroduced in 2019 and 2021. The Stop Campus Hazing Act is a consensus bill that incorporates provisions from the REACH Act (H.R. 2525, S.744) and the END ALL Hazing Act (H.R.1933, S.775). Their dedication to ensuring that no other family has to endure such heartbreak has been instrumental.
The DeVercellys are not alone in their efforts. Many other families who have been affected by hazing incidents have joined the campaign for change over the years, and several of them are with the DeVercellys, Clery Center and StopHazing in Washington, DC, again this week, meeting with legislators to urge them to support the Stop Campus Hazing Act. Their stories serve as a sobering reminder of the urgent need to address this issue comprehensively and effectively.
Clery Center board chair Sheilah Vance (far right) and parents of children who were killed or seriously injured by hazing with U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (center), September 2023.
The Stop Campus Hazing Act: Bipartisan & Evidence-informed
The Stop Campus Hazing Act (Senate Co-Leads: Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) & Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA); House Co-Leads: Representatives Jeff Duncan (R-SC) & Lucy McBath (D-GA)) is a clear, concise, and evidence-informed bill that will amend the Clery Act to require higher education institutions to prevent and respond to hazing. Introduced with bipartisan support, this act includes several key provisions designed to curb hazing and protect students. The Stop Campus Hazing Act will:
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Improve hazing reporting by requiring colleges to include hazing incidents in their Annual Security Report (“Clery Report”);
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Prevent hazing by establishing campus-wide, research-based hazing education and prevention programs; and
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Help students and their parents make informed decisions about joining organizations on campus by requiring colleges to publish on their websites the institution’s hazing prevention policies and the organizations that have violated them.
Staff from Clery Center, StopHazing, and Safe Campuses LLC, and parents of children who were killed or seriously injured by hazing with U.S. Representative Lucy McBath, July 2022.
Harm from hazing is well documented and includes physical injuries, psychological trauma, and even death. Abuse from hazing undercuts positive learning environments and the process of joining a club, team, or organization should not involve abusive situations or traditions, yet hazing continues to occur. The Stop Campus Hazing Act will shift societal norms and structures that enable hazing and encourage institutions to invest resources to address and prevent it.
Currently there is no standardized definition of hazing at institutions of higher education and no universal process to track and document hazing incidents. The Stop Campus Hazing Act will provide consumers with current, standardized, and clear information about hazing at any college or university in the United States.
A Call for Action
The Stop Campus Hazing Act is a crucial step towards eradicating hazing on college campuses and ensuring the safety and well-being of students. It empowers students to speak out against hazing, ensures that incidents are properly investigated, and holds individuals and organizations accountable for their actions.
In the coming years, it will be essential for colleges, universities, and students alike to work together to implement the provisions of this act effectively. But today, we urge you to please reach out to your legislators to ask them to support this lifesaving bill. StopHazing has created an easy form that takes only minutes to fill out and automatically sends a letter to your local representatives. If you represent an organization, you can complete this form to add your endorsement to the dozens of others who support the Stop Campus Hazing Act.
By doing so, we can hope to see a significant reduction in hazing incidents and safer, more inclusive campus communities for all. The Stop Campus Hazing Act is a crucial tool in achieving this important goal, and its passage would be a significant victory for student safety and well-being.
Representatives from Clery Center, StopHazing, and parents of cchildren who were killed or seriously injured in hazing incidents in Washington DC, September 2023.
Resources
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Announcing Clery Center’s 2023 Campus Safety Impact Award Winner
Clery Center is pleased to announce that the Student Affairs Case Management Services program at the University of California, San Diego is the winner of our 2023 Campus Safety Impact Award. Key collaborators of this program include:
Director: Andrew Hua
Assistant Director: Ana Bowens
Intake and Operations Coordinator: Diana Joy Go
Case Managers: Martina Galvan, Kevin Baldueza, Jade Barrett, Annie Lin
Our National Advisory Council and selection committee considered many strong applications from colleges and universities across the country. When choosing a winner, we considered several factors, including collaboration with cross-campus and/or off-campus partners, innovation in developing new approaches to meet the evolving needs of the community, and commitment to advancing equity and inclusion. “UC San Diego’s program models the multi-disciplinary and proactive approach to campus safety that Clery Center champions, and we are glad to have the opportunity to recognize their leadership in prioritizing student health and well-being,” shared Jessica Mertz, Clery Center executive director.
Student Affairs Case Management Services (SACM) at UC San Diego was created in 2014 to establish a culture of care on campus through inclusive, comprehensive support services that empower students to address all aspects of their health and well-being. Through their non-clinical case management model, SACM employees are able to connect students in distress to appropriate resources.
 
The SACM team has created strategic partnerships across campus to make sure no student falls through the cracks. This includes working with liaisons in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Community Centers to ensure the accessibility and inclusivity of their services for students who frequent those spaces.
This cross-campus collaboration allows them to generate a holistic support system that caters to the identities of individual students and to offer several resources to enhance a feeling of safety across campus including:
- 24/7 phone line & online form for faculty and staff to report concerns regarding students
- Training offered three times a quarter and on-demand to faculty, staff, and student leaders on how to identify indicators of distress and various support resources available
- Multi-disciplinary behavioral consultation team who provides preventive and early intervention services to campus members whose behavior is highly concerning or threatening
- Togetherall – an online, 24/7 peer-to-peer mental health support community monitored by registered mental health practitioners
- A peer-to-peer support program that provides students help as they navigate seeking help for their mental health and holistic well-being
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The Compassionate Response Team – a crisis response team of mental health practitioners that provides mobile crisis response, mental health wellness checks, and telehealth assessments for mental health challenges and substance abuse
The Student Affairs Case Management has supported an average of 382 individual students per academic quarter for the 2022-2023 academic year. 90% of surveyed students shared they would reach out to a case manager again in the future and that their concerns were addressed in their meeting with their case manager.
We would also like to recognize three finalists who submitted compelling programs:
Embedded Confidential Advisors – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In 2019, the director of the Women’s Resources Center (WRC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign hired the first-ever embedded confidential advisors to specifically serve the needs of BIPOC students. In an effort to make confidential services more accessible to survivors of sexual misconduct who may not feel comfortable confiding in the historically all-white staff of the WRC, the advisors each spend part of their time on-site at the campus’s Latinx cultural center (La Casa Cultural Latina) or the Bruce D. Nesbitt African American Cultural Center, respectively. This has increased access to support services for BIPOC campus community members who might otherwise be underserved.
Green Dot and Violence Prevention Program – University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming leaders decided they needed to dedicate resources to violence prevention after a 2018 campus climate survey indicated higher than average rates of sexual assault on their campus. They instituted the Green Dot and Violence Prevention Program, a bystander intervention program that equips all campus community members with the skills to recognize sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking; provides ways to safely intervene; and encourages cultural buy-in through extensive marketing and branding of the Green Dot logo. The program has proven successful – even accounting for the effects of the pandemic, the campus has seen a 10-20% reduction in sexual assaults and similar or greater reductions for stalking, intimate partner violence, and sexual harassment.
Student Engagement Advisory Team / Protest Response Team – Rowan University
Formed in 2019, the Student Engagement Advisory Team & the Protest Response Team at Rowan University in New Jersey work in tandem to support the community’s right to free speech. The Student Engagement Advisory Team proactively supports students wishing to hold a protest or march on campus, equipping them with the knowledge and tools needed to have a successful and peaceful event, even if they are protesting the university’s official positions. The Protest Response Team is composed of faculty, staff, and students who are trained in First Amendment and University policies, de-escalation and conflict resolution skills, and social justice advocacy. They offer a safe alternative to engaging with controversial protest groups that may induce feelings of fear, sadness, or anger.
We are incredibly grateful to each institution who took the time to submit their program for consideration and applaud the impactful way campuses are improving the overall well-being of their communities. Please be sure to check back next spring when we reopen the application for 2024 submissions!
Learn more about UC San Diego's Student Affairs Case Management program in their session during our virtual campus safety summit on Thursday, September 14, 2023. The summit is completely free; registration is required. Register here. |
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April 10, 2019
Clery Center Announces New Executive Director
 Clery Center is pleased to welcome Jessica A. Mertz as its next executive director.
Jessica joins Clery Center from University of Pennsylvania where she was the inaugural director of its Penn Violence Prevention department. While there she created programs focused on preventing and educating the entire campus community about sexual violence, dating and domestic violence, and stalking. “What will always stand out as my most meaningful experience at Penn is the time I spent learning from, and supporting, our students. Seeing how incidents of violence and harm can deeply impact a student’s life motivates me as an educator and an advocate,” said Jessica.
“The staff and board are thrilled that Jessica will be leading Clery Center in its future endeavors,” shared Roger Carolin, chairperson of the Clery Center board of directors. “As Clery Center continues to grow, Jessica’s comprehensive understanding of the needs of colleges and universities regarding campus safety will be invaluable, particularly at such an important moment of national dialogue around issues such as sexual assault and hazing.”
Prior to her current role, Jessica was the associate director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Women’s Center, where she spearheaded initiatives that addressed gender equity and interpersonal violence. She also currently serves on the board of Directors for Women Organized Against Rape and is a part of Philadelphia’s Sexual Assault Advisory Council. Prior to joining Penn, she worked as a domestic violence project coordinator at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, as a domestic violence counselor at Women in Transition, and as a Victim Advocate for the Victim Services Center of Montgomery County, PA. She earned a BA in English at Saint Joseph’s University, an MA in Women’s and Gender Studies from Rutgers, and received her Certificate in Nonprofit Administration from Penn’s Fels Institute of Government.
“It’s an honor to join an organization that has established itself as a thoughtful and innovative leader in higher education. I am excited to build on the collaborative work of Clery Center and to look to the future of creating safe campus communities,” said Jessica.
Jessica succeeds Abigail Boyer, who led Clery Center as interim executive director during its search for an ED and returns to her previous position as associate executive director, continuing her work managing its comprehensive array of services and programs. “Our team collaborates with campus professionals to help them understand and implement the Clery Act,” said Abigail. “We work closely with institutions to find solutions that work for them. Jessica’s leadership experience in higher education —where she worked closely with critical campus partners such as public safety, student affairs, residence life, student conduct, and counseling — models Clery Center’s philosophy regarding a multidisciplinary approach to the prevention of and response to campus crime.”
Jessica will begin her new position at Clery Center on May 13, 2019.
About Clery Center
Clery Center is a national nonprofit organization founded in 1987 that empowers colleges and universities to create safer campuses. They connect campus safety professionals with 30 years of experience, unparalleled expertise, and in-depth training, resources, and strategies to understand and implement the Clery Act. Clery Center prides itself on guiding institutions to exemplify the spirit of the law with a proactive commitment to campus safety and educating campus communities to know how the law protects them.
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Introducing Clery Center’s National Advisory Council
Clery Center is pleased to announce our inaugural National Advisory Council (NAC). In a decade that has been shaped by a global pandemic and a resurgent civil rights movement, Clery Center sought to bring together a collaborative group of thought leaders in higher education to support our mission of making campuses safer for all. “The NAC is an exciting opportunity for Clery Center to strengthen our connection to the higher education community. It is an honor to have such dedicated and esteemed campus professionals from across the country work alongside us with a shared commitment to ending crime and violence on campus,” said Clery Center Executive Director Jessica Mertz.
The National Advisory Council models the multidisciplinary approach to campus safety that leads to the most meaningful and sustainable change, and its members are actively serving in various critical roles at institutions. Clery Center directors Sheilah D. Vance and Maureen Rush will serve as board liaisons, sharing the Center’s strategic vision with the NAC and bringing NAC initiatives to the board for support. This inaugural group brings their unique identities, expertise, and lived experiences to help Clery Center identify opportunities for and challenges to institutionalizing a culture of commitment to safety on college campuses. "I am honored and excited to join the Clery Center National Advisory Council. Such a diverse group of distinguished individuals from various fields will give me the opportunity to learn and grow while looking at safety issues from different perspectives," said Joycelyn M. Johnson, Chief of Police for Southern University and A&M College.
Meet the NAC's Inaugural Members:
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Dr. Haley Baum
Assistant Vice President
for Student Advocacy,
Belonging & Campus
Standards and
Dean of Students,
Stockton University
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Kayla DeCant
Project Director for
Prevention & Outreach,
Lewis University
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John Fry
President, Drexel University
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Dr. Sylvia Gray
Senior Director of Equity, Equal
Opportunity, & Title IX,
Sewanee | The University
of the South
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Joycelyn M. Johnson
Chief of Police,
Southern University
and A&M College
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Hikaru Kozuma
Vice Provost for
University Life,
University of Pennsylvania
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Lorena Peñaloza
Chief Campus Counsel,
University of California,
Riverside
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Eric Sullivan
Director of Campus Safety,
Williams College
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Clery Center announces the resignation of Executive Director, Alison Kiss, and the appointment of Abigail Boyer as Interim Executive Director.