Hazing in public schools is a significant problem that may result in serious physical or emotional harm to students who are victims. According to experts in the field, each year more than 1,500,000 American students become new hazing victims. Hazing also results in legal challenges for school personnel. The courts consider public schools to be…

A Texas court's recent ruling that allowed a negligence lawsuit to proceed against 12 former administrators at Texas A&M University has some higher-education legal experts concerned about campus officials' liability in a variety of situations, including fraternity initiations, housing accidents, and student suicides. The decision was in favor…

In light of potentially erroneous and confusing judicial decisions regarding liability in hazing injuries, this article canvasses the many issues and precedents concerning hazing litigation, sorts through and adds context to them, and provides critical analysis and suggestions to lesson liability to Greek organizations. (EV)

A fraternity chapter's activities can produce a quagmire of liability for any number of parties. Explores recent developments in fraternity-related liability with respect to the following classes of defendants: member and officer, college and university, and chapter and national fraternity. (86 footnotes) (MLF)

Discusses legal problems surrounding fraternity hazing by college students. Discusses criminal liability, civil liability of individual fraternity members, civil liability of alumni governing boards, institutional liability, and risk management. Contends student affairs administrators who recognize hazing offends institutional values must also…

The paper addresses (1) lawsuits stemming from fraternity hazing incidents and their potential liability; (2) defenses raised by fraternities, universities, and individual defendants and the success or failure of those defenses; and (3) responses to the hazing problem (state legislation and specific university and fraternity anti-hazing policies).…

A science teacher forgets to remind her students to wear their safety goggles during a chemistry experiment and one student is injured when the caustic chemicals he is working with splash into his eyes. A teacher is late for recess duty and a student falls from the swings and is injured. A principal sends one teacher and one student teacher on a…

Reviews laws and court cases relating to alcohol and possible civil and criminal liability. Suggests a number of risk management principles, including knowledge of the law, policies forbidding hazing, fostering alcohol awareness, and discipline. (JAC)

Provides a basis for colleges and universities to develop regulations sanctioning hazing. Describes the types of activities that have caused death. Presents state laws and discusses the legal context leading to civil or criminal liability. (RC)

Institutional responsibility for hazing injuries was called into question in a Delaware Superior Court in the case of "Furek v. University of Delaware." In ruling in the university's favor, the court signaled that universities may move to eliminate hazing without unreasonable fear of creating institutional liability for hazing incidents.…

Student affairs professionals recognize that learning experiences transcend the classroom, and they have expanded the range of programs and services available to students well beyond the laboratory and lecture hall. The authors survey judicial opinions involving institutional liability for negligence and conclude that the expansion of educational…

While college and university officials tend to say they have fraternity hazing under control due to school policies and state criminal laws, critics find the laws have been ineffective, in part because of a tendency to blame the victims. Punishment of some student perpetrators has been minimal. Liability of schools can be substantial, with…

This second edition contains updated information and new case studies, offering guidance for safer programs and management of risk while reinforcing sound educational practices. The book features overviews of legal concepts and presents examples of situations from the trenches. Case studies illustrate a variety of teacher, coach, and administrator…

Following the alcohol-related death of a student at Western Washington University in 1984, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), initiated a study of guidelines for dealing with alcohol on college and university campuses nationwide. Suggestions are made for establishing effective policies and opening lines of…

Institutions of higher education, as well as the Greek-letter organizations they host, are under increasing public and legal scrutiny. It is vital that student-affairs administrators understand and address the potential legal implications of having Greek organizations on their campuses. (Author)