Kaine Cosponsors Bipartisan Bill to Prevent Hazing on College Campuses

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, cosponsored the Stop Campus Hazing Act, bipartisan legislation led by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that would require colleges to report incidents of hazing on college campuses and provide parents and students with better information about a college’s hazing prevention policies and history of hazing.

Currently, there are no national reporting requirements for hazing incidents. The National Study of Student Hazing found that more than half of college students involved in extracurricular clubs, athletic teams, and organizations experience hazing. Since 2000, there have been more than 50 hazing-related deaths, including that of Adam Oakes, a Virginia Commonwealth University student who tragically died in a fraternity hazing incident.

“Students should be able to join clubs and organizations on campus without putting their health, safety, and potentially their lives at risk,” said Kaine. “This bill would help keep college students safe by educating them and their family members about the dangers of hazing and provide them with the information they need to decide which college to attend and organizations to join.”

Specifically, the Stop Campus Hazing Act would require colleges to:

• Include hazing incidents in their Annual Security (Clery) Report;
• Establish campus-wide, research-based hazing education and prevention programs for faculty, students, and families of students; and,
• Publish their institution’s hazing prevention policies and the organizations that have violated them online to help students navigate which organizations and clubs they should join.

Joining Kaine, Klobuchar, and Cassidy in cosponsoring the legislation are Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Lucy McBath (D-GA-7) and Jeff Duncan (R-SC-3).

Full text of the bill is available here.

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