Pass a Law to Prevent Hazing - REACH Act

Dear [title] [last name],

Please consider cosponsoring the Report and Educate about Campus Hazing (REACH) Act. 

Hazing is a threat to the health, safety, and well-being of students due to its intimidating, harassing, and violent nature (StopHazing Research Lab, 2020). The National Study of Student Hazing found that more than 55% of college students involved in clubs, teams, and organizations experience hazing at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Unfortunately, hazing continues to have lethal and lasting impacts on individuals, families, and communities across the country. No state is immune to hazing or the effects in its college and university communities. Federal legislation is a necessary step in stopping hazing and the unnecessary harm it causes.  

REACH is a bicameral and bipartisan bill (S. 744/H.R. 2525) that: 

• Calls for the inclusion of hazing incidents as Clery Act crime statistics in Annuals Security Reports (ASRs)
• Requires comprehensive research-based educational programming on hazing for all stakeholders.
• Uses an inclusive definition of hazing: 1) affiliated organization/group context, 2) Phyical harm, mental harm, or personal degradation, and 3) Regardless of a person's willingness to participate.

This federal legislation is clear, concise, and key to creating transparency and preventing more hazing incidents from occurring. Adding hazing incidents to the existing Clery Act infrastructure ensures institutions publicly share hazing statistics in a uniform way, while not requiring them to reinvent the wheel or allocate substantial resources. It will also help strengthen campus safety and promote educational environments where students can participate in clubs, organizations, and teams without the mental, emotional, and physical abuse of hazing. 

Thank you for considering cosponsoring this important legislation and keeping our states’ students alive and safe at school. 

Thank you,