This policy provides information to students and staff regarding hazing, an activity prohibited by the University and by state law. This policy complies with University of Louisiana System Policy and Procedures Memorandum S-II-XXIII.-1 regarding hazing.
Hazing: Any intentional, knowing, or reckless act, occurring on or off the campus of McNeese State University by one person alone or acting with others, directed against an individual that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization whose members include students at McNeese.
Hazing includes acts in which the participating individuals knew or should have known that such acts endanger the physical health or safety of the other person or cause severe emotional distress.
Hazing includes but is not limited to any of the following acts associated with pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, participating in, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization:
It is important to note physical activity that is normal, customary, and necessary for a person’s training and participation in an athletic, physical education, military training, or similar program sanctioned by the postsecondary education institution is not considered “hazing.”
Organization: A fraternity, sorority, association, corporation, order, society, corps, cooperative, club, service group, social group, band, spirit group, athletic team, or similar group whose members are primarily students at, or former students of, a postsecondary education institution, including the national or parent organization of which any of the underlying entities provided for in this definition is a sanctioned or recognized member at the time of the hazing.
Pledging: Any action or activity related to becoming a member of an organization, including recruitment and rushing.
Appropriate Authority: Includes the following:
Reckless Behavior: An activity or behavior in which a reasonable person knew or reasonably should have known that the activity or behavior may result in injury to another, including but not limited to excessive consumption of alcohol, binge drinking, drag racing, consumption of any controlled dangerous substance, acts of hazing, or other similar activity.
Serious Bodily Injury: Bodily injury that involves unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, or protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty, death, or a substantial risk of death.
The University prohibits any form of hazing. Hazing in state colleges and universities is a violation of the law and is punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment (Louisiana Revised Statute 14:40.8) as well as by dismissal from the University. Hazing is also a violation of the University of Louisiana System’s policy and the University Code of Student Conduct Article 3.15. Violation of this policy can result in both disciplinary action imposed by the University as well as criminal charges.
It shall be the duty of all current and potential student organization members and pledges to report immediately, in writing, any violation of this policy to the appropriate institution administrator. Any violation of this policy shall be investigated and appropriate disciplinary action taken.
Violations of this policy should be reported using the online reporting form to the Office of Student Services and/or McNeese Police. Online reporting forms are available at www.www.mcneese.edu/studentservices/report. Infractions of this policy will result in disciplinary procedures according to the regulations prescribed in the University’s Code of Student Conduct, and if necessary, the Student Organizations Handbook. Violations of law will be handled in accordance with the criminal court system.
If an organization has taken disciplinary action against one of its members for hazing or has reason to believe that any member of the organization participated in an incident of hazing, the organization shall report the incident to the Office of Student Services. If an organization or any of its members has been disciplined by a parent organization for hazing, the organization shall report the hazing for which the organization was disciplined to the Office of Student Services. When the Office of Student Services receives a report of an alleged incident of hazing, McNeese is required to do both of the following:
McNeese seeks to prevent hazing and to educate the campus community about the dangers of hazing through prevention and education programs and materials, including the following programs and initiatives:
In accordance with R.S. 14:502, any person at the scene of an emergency who knows that another person has suffered bodily injury caused by an act of hazing shall, to the extent that the person can do so without danger or peril to self or others, give reasonable assistance to the injured person.
If any person serving as a representative, director, trustee, or officer of any national or parent organization is sanctioned at the time of the hazing, and this person knew and failed to report to law enforcement that one or more of the organization’s members were hazing another person, the organization may be subject to penalties under R.S. 14:40.8.
Those penalties may include:
If the hazing results in the serious bodily injury or death of the victim, or results in the victim having a blood alcohol concentration of a least 0.30% by weight based on grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood, the period of time shall be for not less than four years.
In addition to the consequences listed above, organizations are also subject to disciplinary procedures outlined in the Student Organizations Handbook.
Any student who violates this policy shall be expelled, suspended, or dismissed from the University and not permitted to return for at least one semester and may be subject to criminal charges.
Those criminal charges for violations of R.S 14:40.8 may include:
Consent is not a defense. It is not a defense to prosecution of an offense that the person against whom the hazing was directed consented to or acquiesced in the hazing activity.
Any student who fails to seek assistance as defined by the law and this policy shall be subject to penalties outlined in R.S. 14:502.
Those criminal penalties include:
The University takes the enforcement and dissemination of this policy very seriously. Each calendar year during student organization registration, all organizations are required to acknowledge they have received and read the Anti-Hazing Policy and the penalties associated with its violation. This policy is discussed at the beginning of each year with student organization officers during new student organization registration and at each annual Greek retreat. The policy is also distributed via the Hazing Education and University Policies webpages.