In compliance with a new federal law, Washington University in St. Louis has updated its policies and launched a new website to provide information on state law and university policy regarding hazing and reporting and prevention efforts.
President Joe Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) in December. The SCHA seeks to improve hazing reporting and prevention on college campuses by:
- Including hazing statistics in annual overall campus security reports
- Establishing a university wide research-based hazing education and prevention program
- Implementing hazing policies and creating a hazing transparency report, which publishes incidents of a recognized student organization being found in violation of the hazing policy.
The university’s definition of hazing, its policies, how to report hazing incidents and prevention and awareness efforts are all available on the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards website.
WashU began implementing the new requirements in January. The first hazing transparency report will be available in December; its first annual security report that includes hazing statistics will be published by October 2026.
