BOULDER, Colo. — The Stop Campus Hazing Act passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, one day before a dedicated day that honors a University of Colorado Boulder student who died after a fraternity hazing event.
The federal legislation would require colleges and universities that receive federal student aid to implement anti-hazing programs and report incidents of hazing to campus security or local police.
On September 17, 2004, Lynn Gordon Bailey Jr. — known as Gordie — died inside of the Chi Psi fraternity house at CU Boulder. According to The Gordie Center, "Gordie and twenty-six other pledges, dressed in coats and ties for "bid night," were blindfolded and taken to the Arapaho Roosevelt National Forest, where they were "encouraged" to drink four handles (1.75 liter bottles) of whiskey and six (1.5 liter) bottles of wine around a bonfire in 30 minutes."
The Gordie Center reports the 18-year-old was left to "sleep it off" on a couch inside the fraternity house. He was found dead the next morning.
To honor Gordie's memory and prevent future hazing incidents, his family founded The Gordie Center and created National Gordie Day, which is held annually on the Thursday of National Hazing Prevention Week (the last week of September).
“The way I think about National Gordie Day is a day to really reflect on the work that we've done to create a culture, an anti-hazing culture, on our campus. You know, we don't tolerate hazing on campus, and we've worked really hard to establish a culture that is safe for our students," said Devin Cramer, dean of students and associate vice chancellor in student affairs.
Cramer said in 2015, the university worked to create an Interfraternity Council (IFC) that embraced a culture of anti-hazing. The school has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to hazing.
The school received three reports of hazing last year, and as a result, one organization is currently suspended.
“We have not tolerated hazing for as long as I have been here. I started in 2010, and so that's been clearly outlined in our Student Code of Conduct. Our shift over time has really been to focus on building an affiliated community that embraces anti-hazing and can embed that into their culture," said Cramer. “Hazing encompasses a lot of behaviors. You know, when people think of hazing, they often think of forced alcohol consumption, isolation. But hazing can also include things like forcing a student to wear specific shoes for a few weeks, and then making them do something silly if they're caught without those shoes. And so in our training, I mentioned earlier that we focus on, you know, developing positive culture, but we also focus on helping under students understand the spectrum of what hazing behaviors could be and how to report that if they see it or experience it.”
Cramer encouraged CU Boulder students to report hazing through the online Don't Ignore It tool.
He said the federal legislation would help elevate their educational messaging and the importance of preventative measures surrounding hazing.
“As an institution, we're excited that this bill was passed. As I read the bill and as I've looked at it, it focuses on effective education and transparency, and those are two really important components for students to be able to make an informed decision," Cramer said. “We already are focusing on that education, and we're focusing on building an anti-hazing culture. And that's really the spirit of this bill is to create that anti-hazing culture. And I see that as a good thing for all institutions of higher education.”
The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate.
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