FRAMING THE DIALOGUE: A NEW, COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO THE HAZING DILEMMA

Abstract

The University of Michigan’s disciplinary process requires bringing charges against individual students. An unexpected situation of nine simultaneous hazing cases during the 2004 fall term magnified the challenge of identifying responsible individuals in such cases. While the institution could have charged the leaders of the fraternities or sororities involved, instead it created and implemented the Community Education and Development Model to change the ingrained behavior and culture of the organizations. The focus was on enlivening the community building potential of fraternities and sororities. What follows is a discussion of the intervention and subsequent assessment, which illustrates potential challenges and opportunities with this approach.