U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) recently introduced bipartisan legislation to protect students by combatting hazing on college campuses and ensuring any incidents are reported.
“Students should feel safe no matter what school they choose,” Sen. Cassidy said on Oct. 24. “The Stop Campus Hazing Act improves transparency and ensures hazing is never ignored,” added Cassidy, the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Sen. Cassidy signed on as the lead original cosponsor of the Stop Campus Hazing Act, S. 2901, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Other cosponsors of the bill include U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Susan Collins (R-ME), among others.
The bill would improve hazing reporting by requiring hazing incidents to be included in a college’s annual crime report and would require higher education institutions to establish a campus-wide, research-based hazing education and prevention program. The bill also helps students 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.
Sen. Cassidy’s office noted an NBC news report that stated there have been more than 50 hazing-related deaths since 2000. A National Study of Student Hazing found that more than half of college students involved in extracurricular clubs, athletic teams, and organizations experience hazing.
S. 2901 is supported by the Clery Center, StopHazing, the Anti-Hazing Coalition, College Safety Coalition, SAFE Campuses, LLC, the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, and other groups.
Recently, Sens. Cassidy and Klobuchar introduced a resolution to designate the week of Sept. 25 through Sept. 29 as “National Hazing Awareness Week. The legislation, Senate Resolution 360, passed the U.S. Senate last month.