As a student leader of a group, team, or organization, you have a responsibility to take proactive steps to ensure all members of your organization feel welcome and safe. This page has resources designed to help student leaders learn about hazing, positive team building activities, strategies for how to interrupt the cycle of hazing, and tools and resources to support you.

Positive Team Building Activities

Groups, teams, and organizations often have a desire to foster group cohesion, solidary, and loyalty among new and existing members. The good news is there are lots of ways to promote group bonding and enhance individual motivation to contribute to a group by building people up rather than tearing them down.

Oftentimes, groups have valid goals of:

• Instilling a strong sense of belonging and healthy relationships among members
• Understanding about how the group, team, or organization works / functions
• Learning and building awareness about the group, team, or organization’s history and how it has evolved over time
• Building trust among group members
• Personal and professional development among group members
• Promoting a strong sense of purpose

There are lots of ways to achieve these desired goals without hazing. Read the Alternatives to Promote Group Bonding Fact Sheet for ideas for non-hazing activities that are designed to help achieve the desired outcomes for welcoming new members into your group, team, or organization. Remember to consider the context of the activities and be thoughtful in how you implement the activities.

Interrupt the Cycle of Hazing

As a student leader, it is important to recognize that within any group, team, or organization, some individuals may have:

• Experienced hazing directly or indirectly
• Witnessed others being hazed
• Been involved in the hazing of others

It’s never too late to interrupt patterns of hazing. 

If you don’t like what you’re going through or what was expected of you to join your group, team, or organization, you’re probably not alone! 

• Consider talking with someone separate from the organization to get support and gain perspective. 
• Don’t wait until “the worst thing” happens before you to decide to do something about it.
• You can also consider replacing questionable and/or potentially problematic traditions with new ones that protect the health and well-being of your members. 

The Five R's exercise:  This exercise helps student leaders assess a planned activity from multiple points of view and provides an opportunity to retain health group bonding activities, reject activities that violate the University’s hazing policy, and revise activities to make them non-hazing.

Questions to Ask Yourself as You Are Planning Activities:

Because context matters, it is impossible to provide a comprehensive list of all the activities that can be considered hazing. However, answering the following questions about your activity can help you determine whether or not the behavior is problematic: 

• Are the new member onboarding or orientation processes at odds with the values reflected in its mission and values?
• Is the activity unrelated to (or at odds with) the purpose of the group?
• Is the activity relevant but excessive in nature?
• Is the activity rigged in a way that makes it impossible for participants succeed?
• Is there an explicit or implicit expectation to consume a specific substance(s) or penalty for not consuming them?
• Is there a significant risk of injury or a question of physical safety?
• Is there a significant risk of inflicting emotional distress?
• Would you have any reservations describing the activity to a family member or a university official? 
• Would you have any reservations proposing this activity as a model group cohesion / team bonding exercise in a future workplace? 
• Would you be worried photos or a video of the activity was posted on social media? 
• Do you feel like the things required of others to join or maintain membership conflict with your personal morals and values?

If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” then the activity likely meets the definition of hazing.

Cornell Offices Available to Help

The following offices are resources that can help you reflect and readjust your activity BEFORE a violation occurs. 

• Athletics & Physical Education (resource for Varsity athletic teams)
• Campus Activities Office (resource for all registered student organizations, including club sports)
• Cornell Outdoor Education (COE): The Cornell Team and Leadership Center is a nationally recognized leader in the field of experience-based learning for developing teams. They offer a range of programming from short ice-breaker style events to multi-day leadership trainings. 
• Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life (resource for all registered Greek organizations, including IFC, PH, and MGFC Greek letter organizations)
• Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (resources for all student groups, teams, and organizations)
• Skorton Center for Health Initiatives (resources for all student groups, teams, and organizations)

Additional Resources

Stop Hazing is a great resource if you want to learn more about hazing and how to prevent it. 

• Stop Hazing has compiled resources designed for student leaders to build healthy groups and teams.
• Stop Hazing also have developed the following resource for student leaders: 
  • Group Goals: List of Activities. Student leaders can review this list of positive group building activities to generate ideas for ways to reach your goals and build a healthy group, team, or organization. 
  • Stop Hazing Student Ambassadors Program: If you want to get involved at the national level of hazing prevention and work with other student leaders from across the country who also want to create positive change, consider becoming a Student Ambassador with Stop Hazing. 

If you or someone you know has been hazed, you can make a confidential or anonymous report of hazing to the University at hazing.cornell.edu/reporting.