Hazing expert says no amount of hazing is ever harmless

A sports psychology consultant says there is no acceptable level of hazing and the recent allegations regarding Dalhousie University's rugby club is about perpetuating a culture that accepts the practice.

The university said it received a complaint from an employee sometime in the last two weeks about the Dalhousie Tigers Men's Rugby Club. The allegations are being investigated by the university, which did not provide details about the nature of the complaint, who filed it, where the incident occurred or who was involved.

Brian Leadbetter, a spokesperson for Dalhousie University, said it was serious enough to warrant a suspension of the team's privileges.

"We do not tolerate behaviour that humiliates, disrespects or threatens anyone in the campus community … and that's why we're moving ahead with this investigation," he said.

"There will always be isolated incidents of individuals crossing the lines of acceptable behaviour and that is certainly the case from our perspective in terms of the investigation we're moving forward with."

Ryan Hamilton, an associate professor at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton and a sports psychology consultant, has researched hazing and spoke at Dalhousie University at the start of this academic year about hazing prevention.

He said no amount of hazing is harmless.

"For me, any amount of hazing is inappropriate and problematic," Hamilton told CBC's Maritime Noon. "When we are thinking about hazing, we're thinking about marginalizing people or making them do things for the enjoyment of veterans."

Hamilton said the impact of hazing may be difficult to see in isolated incidents. Teams and individuals may get away with it once or twice but it's the cumulative effect that matters, he said.

"That doesn't mean a culture of hazing isn't being established,” Hamilton said. "That doesn't mean these traditions will just dry up and people won't try and one up them and move forward.

"They can have negative consequences. Negative physical, psychological, or team group dynamic impact. There's no such thing as a little bit."

'It does seem surprising'

Many schools, such as Dalhousie University, have hazing policies and Hamilton said that's a great place to start. But he warned policy doesn't change culture and more formal education is needed to teach students about hazing and why it's wrong.

Hamilton said hazing is not strictly a Dalhousie University problem, with many cultures still supporting hazing. In his study, he said most students have already experienced incidents of hazing long before they reach the university level.

Hamilton doesn't know the details of the Dalhousie University rugby club suspension, but said it's surprising given the strong hazing policy the school has in place.

"It does seem surprising that it is happening again," he said.

"This has been something that has been happening at Dalhousie University, certainly something that they are looking to address and need to address, but I don't think this is just a Dalhousie University problem."

The suspension of the rugby club may have a wider impact, according to Hamilton.

"Hopefully, in particular, other coaches who can see what is at stake when these things occur," he said. "Maybe that propels coaches or team staff to really inspect what is happening with their teams."