On Dec. 23, 2024, Congress passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act.

According to Congress.Gov, the act “requires each [institution of higher education] IHE to disclose hazing incidents that were reported to campus security authorities or local police agencies in its annual security report.” It defines hazing as “any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with other persons) against another person or persons regardless of the willingness of such other person or persons to participate.”

This act pushed EMU to begin annual hazing training for non-athletic staff and faculty in October of 2025. The training was through Vector Solutions, formatted into modules with quizzes throughout, much like Title IX training.

According to Jonathan Swartz, Dean of Students, the training consisted of “getting clear on the definition, which populations are most vulnerable, how to recognize hazing, and how to report it.”

Once the act was passed, the university wrote its own hazing policy. The group involved in writing it was Wayne Martin, Coordinator of Campus Security, Stephanie Mason, Director of Human Resources, and Carrie Bert, Director of Athletics. 

The act has guidelines that colleges and universities must follow. “We have to enhance our reporting structures, which we’ve done, report hazing on our campus safety incident reports, and enhance our transparency,” Swartz says.

While there have been no official hazing incidents at EMU, according to Swartz, he believes it could still be an issue off-campus. “If there are two or more EMU students who are a part of a specific organization in which hazing would happen, that can be investigated or followed up on, the report can be received even if it’s off campus.” He says the “where” isn’t as much of a concern. “It’s more like, who are the students, and what is the organization or team that they’re connected to.”

While the training is new to some departments, athletics has done it annually since joining the NCAA.

Bert states that athletic staff receive additional training each year. “Hazing and sexual assault, that’s wrapped into Title IX, so we have to do training on that. What’s specific for student athletes is that they have an additional training that regular students don’t have to do.”

Bert believes that hazing tends to happen when building a team, or anytime an initiation is considered. “It’s my understanding from reading that fraternities, sororities, athletic teams, and marching bands are groups that have some sort of membership component,” said Bert.

According to Bert, hazing training for staff and faculty in athletics includes knowing what to look for and understanding the importance of having those conversations with teams.

With hazing still a big issue on college campuses, including a death on Jan. 31 at Northern Arizona University, training and awareness among both students, staff, and faculty have become more important than ever.

EMU plans on implementing training for non-athlete students in the near future. “We’re hoping that it will be approved for implementation by the president’s cabinet sometime here in the next month or two,” said Swartz.