In accordance with Ohio law and Wilmington College policy, no individual, group, team, or organization shall conduct, participate in, permit, or condone hazing, whether on or off campus.* Hazing is defined by law as “doing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any student or other organization or any act to continue or reinstate membership in or affiliation with any student or other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person, including coercing another to consume alcohol or a drug of abuse, as defined in section 3719.011 of the Revise Code.”**
Hazing examples include, but are not limited to:
- Any brutality of a physical nature;
- Forced tasks of servitude including errands and clean-up activities where an active(s) is not participating in the task;
- Forced or encouraged consumption of food, beverages, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, or drugs, including prescription, over-the-counter, and illicit drugs;
- Forced or encouraged calisthenics or other physical activity which could adversely affect the physical health and safety of the individual;
- Forced or encouraged exposure to the elements;
- Sleep deprivation;
- Forced or encouraged exclusion from social contact;
- Forced or encouraged conduct which could result in extreme embarrassment or loss of dignity;
- Willful destruction or removal of public or private property;
For the purposes of this definition, any activity as described above which may be required for affiliation with or continued membership in an organization is presumed to be “forced or encouraged” activity, the willingness of an individual to participate in such activity notwithstanding.
- The imposition of fines;
- Withholding of diplomas or transcripts pending compliance with the rules or payment of fines;
- The revocation of permission for an organization to operate on campus or to otherwise operate under the recognition or sanction of the College;
- The imposition of probation, suspension, dismissal, or expulsion.
All Wilmington College community members are required to report their knowledge of hazing to the Vice President, Chief Student Affairs Officer/Dean of Students. Ohio law also requires that College administrators, employees, faculty, consultants, alumni, and organization volunteers acting in an official and professional capacity shall not recklessly fail to immediately report their knowledge of hazing to a law enforcement agency within the county in which the victim resides or where hazing has occurred or is occurring.***
*This policy applies only where the hazing takes place between two or more individuals who are affiliated with the College.
**Ohio’s anti-hazing law known as “Collin’s Law: The Ohio Anti-Hazing Act,” took effect on October 4, 2021 and may be found in Ohio Revised Code sections 2901.31, 2903.311, 3333.0417, and 3345.19 at http://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code. Pursuant to Ohio’s anti-hazing law, participating in or recklessly permitting hazing is a second-degree misdemeanor. Participating in or recklessly permitting hazing involving forced consumption of drugs or alcohol will constitute a third degree felony.
***Reckless failure to immediately report such knowledge is a fourth-degree misdemeanor, except where violations cause serious harm, elevating the penalty to a first-degree misdemeanor.