Tufts has updated its hazing policy for the 2025–26 school year, standardizing reporting procedures across all campuses, establishing mandatory training for all students and mandating the university to publish official statistics in the Annual Safety Report, created by the Department of Public Safety.
According to Briana Sevigny, Tufts’ director of community standards, the amended policy comes in response to the Stop Campus Hazing Act, passed in December 2024 by Congress. The law now requires universities to disclose incidents of hazing where police or security were involved. Massachusetts state law punishes students for hazing with fines of up to $3,000 or a one-year sentence in prison.
“The most significant changes in the revised policy are additional data reporting to meet the new requirements in the SCHA and making the policy consistent across all colleges and schools,” Sevigny wrote in a statement to the Daily. “There are no substantial changes in the way hazing is defined or what behavior is prohibited by the policy.”
Tufts’ policy defines hazing as “any activity, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate, that humiliates, degrades, or endangers the mental or physical health of someone because that person is joining or continuing membership in a group, team, or student organization.”
In accordance with regulations, Tufts will publicize hazing incidents through online data sets.
“We will publish statistics on hazing in the [Annual Safety Report] — beginning in Fall 2026 — and will publish findings of hazing by recognized student organizations in a Campus Hazing Transparency Report, which will be published online and updated at least biannually,” Sevigny wrote.
Also in accordance with the Stop Campus Hazing Act, Tufts is now mandating online training through Canvas in a course titled, “Hazing Prevention.” The training defines hazing, describes how it manifests itself and gives resources to report it to the Tufts University Police Department and the Office of Equal Opportunity.
Evaluation through online quizzes is also included in the Canvas training to ensure students retain information from the module.
“Tufts has been providing information to all students about our hazing policy at the beginning of each year for quite some time and also providing training and information to student groups and teams for many years,” Sevigny wrote.
Hazing is prevalent at American universities, often involving sexual misconduct or alcohol abuse. According to research from North Carolina State University, more than half of all college students experience some form of hazing, and incidents involving sexual abuse have increased over the last three decades.
Although hazing is most common in Greek life and athletics, it is not limited to those organizations.
“Hazing can appear in clubs, student organizations, professional societies, labs, athletic teams, or other groups,” Associate Dean of Students Kevin Kraft wrote in a statement to the Daily. “There have been instances of hazing in many types of groups.”
Kraft claims that Tufts has been able to largely avoid such incidents through administrative intervention.
“Over the last 10 years, Tufts has increased efforts around hazing awareness and prevention, training for organizations and teams, reporting, and addressing concerns,” Kraft wrote. “This has contributed to a change in the culture of our community, where there is much greater awareness from student leaders on how to create a positive and inclusive culture focused on belonging without hazing.”
Gracie Preminger, a senior and co-president of The Ivy, a local sorority at Tufts, commended the university for the rollout of its new policy.
“Tufts has always been super diligent about hazing policies, especially with us. We keep in contact with them pretty regularly,” she said. “It was nice to see that the training is required for everyone, and that they were recognizing how hazing can also happen in other settings, like in a lab or in a classroom.”
Emily Hirsh, The Ivy’s risk manager, expressed concern about the university’s ability to enforce training through the Canvas modules.
“I thought [the training] was good. I thought it wasn’t too long [or] too short. I think the one thing is people probably could skip over it,” she said.
Although The Ivy maintains a no-hazing policy, Preminger and Hirsh both noted that Tufts is already heavily involved in enforcement. The university organizes regular meetings with risk managers from other Greek life organizations on campus. According to Preminger, the university also monitors Sidechat, an anonymous social media app popular among Tufts students.
“Tufts Fraternity and Sorority Life — they really watch everything like a hawk,” Preminger said.
Hirsh praised the updated anti-hazing policy as a meaningful step for a campus culture that already takes hazing seriously.
“I know a lot of the other risk managers, and I think pretty much everyone on campus takes it very seriously, and if they don’t already, I think that this new education will really enforce that,” Hirsh said.
