and arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;”>California Lutheran University will present a series of lectures by a national hazing expert to empower people to take action to reduce the number of incidents.
Elizabeth Allan, the executive director of StopHazing, will give a free presentation on “Transforming Campus & School Hazing Culture: A Framework for Prevention” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in Samuelson Chapel.
She will present two versions of “We Don’t Haze: Bystander Intervention for Hazing and Bullying” on Saturday, Oct. 22, in Ullman Commons 100/101. A session from 8 a.m. to noon will focus on K-12 schools, and another from noon to 4 p.m. will address colleges.
Allan, who co-founded StopHazing in 1998 to eliminate hazing through education, will draw upon her research findings and her experience with hazing prevention to equip attendees with tools to disrupt and change the cultures that allow such behaviors within institutions.
Researchers have found that 47 percent of students are hazed prior to entering college and that three in five students in college are hazed. Within the past few years, news reports of hazing incidents by teams and student organizations have illuminated dangerous realities. The behaviors can result in emotional and physical harm, including serious injury and death.
While policies for combating hazing have been in place for decades, StopHazing asserts that its continued presence on campuses raises questions about the viability of current approaches to prevention. In addition to conducting research and sharing information, StopHazing is dedicated to developing data-driven strategies for hazing prevention. Educators, students, parents and community members can all play important roles in changing hazing culture.
Allan was the principal investigator for the 2008 National Study of Student Hazing and she has written many articles, essays, book chapters and encyclopedia entries on the topic. She is a professor of higher education at the University of Maine and holds a doctorate in educational policy and leadership from The Ohio State University.
The Department of Counselor Education in Cal Lutheran’s Graduate School of Education is presenting the series. The free Oct. 21 event is a Joan Blacher Memorial Lecture supported by a fund honoring the late professor emeritus and former department chair. Tickets for each Oct. 22 session, which include a meal, are $20.
Registration for all events is required. Go to CalLutheran.edu/education/events. For more information, contact Dan Tillapaugh at [email protected] or 805-493-3086.