The University of Maryland will start including hazing instances in its annual security reports beginning in 2026, university administrators wrote in a campuswide email Friday.
The change comes after the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act was signed into law in 2024. This act requires higher education institutions that receive federal aid to record any hazing incidents reported to local police or campus security in their annual security reports.
The campuswide letter, signed by university president Darryll Pines, student affairs vice president Patty Perillo and general counsel and legal affairs vice president Jay Roselló, also announced the creation of the new Hazing Prevention at Maryland website. This website contains resources including information on what hazing is, this university’s hazing policies and how to report instances of hazing.
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“Fostering a safe campus community also means protecting our students from harmful practices like hazing,” the administrators wrote.
In March 2024, the University of Maryland placed a cease and desist order on social activities for all Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association fraternity and sorority chapters at this university, The Diamondback previously reported. The order came after this university received reports that chapters were engaging in activities that threatened university community members’ “safety and well-being,” The Diamondback reported last March.
The cease and desist was lifted later that month, but an investigation conducted by this university found several fraternities allegedly engaged in hazing, The Diamondback previously reported.
The hazing website also includes a direct link to the Code of Student Conduct Incident Referral Form which students can use to report hazing incidents.
The Friday email also described how this university supports free speech while maintaining campus safety.
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The administrators wrote, at its core, this university is a place where “thoughts and ideas can be freely exchanged and explored,” even if that means hosting expressive activities with messages that don’t align with the university’s values.
“As a public institution, we cannot discriminate on the basis of content or viewpoint and must allow such groups to be heard as well,” the letter read.
They also encouraged community members to visit the university’s freedom of speech website, which includes information on the university’s free speech policies and ways to report incidents of threatening or intimidating conduct, bias, discrimination or harassment.
