Norman J. Pollard, Ed.D.
Emeritus Dean of Students, Alfred University
Webinar Details
A fundamental need for adolescents is to be part of a team, group, or club. Unfortunately, some in their desperation to give meaning to their participation will create pseudo initiations. All too often their attempts go awry, and hazing occurs.
Participants will understand the seriousness and severity of hazing and the possible ramifications of when initiations become hazing. This webinar has been designed to be both a resource and general guide for those K-12 district and school leaders to gauge the possibility of hazing incidents amongst their teams / clubs / groups and how to implement prevention strategies.
Additionally, participants will have a conceptual framework for understanding why attachments to groups are so important to this generation and how to use a comprehensive public health approach to hazing prevention in K-12 districts and schools. This is especially significant after two-plus years of isolation and social distancing when it is predictable that students will actively seek ways to reestablish interpersonal connections.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this webinar, participants should be able to:
- Identify the key components in the scope, definition, and dynamics of hazing.
- Understand how Covid may increase incidents of hazing.
- Describe the continuum of hazing behaviors.
- Recognize what groups are most likely to haze.
- Identify the risks and consequences associated with hazing.
- Develop a template for a hazing prevention plan.
Additional Resources
Presenters
Over the past thirty-five years, Norm has had extensive experience working with adolescents and college students. He received his Ed.D. in counseling and personnel services from Drake University in 1985. He also has an M.A. in agency counseling and a B.A. in political science and criminal justice.
He retired as the Dean of Students at Alfred University in 2019 where he had been employed in several positions since 1991. In his role as Dean, he was responsible for promoting our students’ compliance with the University code of conduct and adhering with all local, state, and federal laws, including providing training programs, investigating policy violations, and managing the student conduct process.
Prior to serving as Dean of Students, he was the Director of the Counseling and Student Development Center at the University. In addition to providing individual counseling to students, he oversaw the Alcohol and Other Drug Education Program, and represented the University at conferences, seminars, and meetings on a number of mental health topics including hazing and other school safety related issues. He also worked as a counseling psychologist at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA from 1985 until 1991.
He has developed an expertise in the fields of school safety, harassment, hazing, and bullying through my research, education, and experience as a counselor and school administrator. He has given numerous presentations on the topics including: “Emerging from the Haze – Using Prevention Strategies”, 2019 Everfi Campus Prevention Network Summit, “Addressing Bullying on the College Campus,” “United Educators Telephone Roundtable: Preventing and Responding to Bullying Among Students,” “Campus Climate and Bullying’s Influence on Student Health/Well-Being,” and “Hazing and Bullying in American Schools.”
He also has been a principal investigator in two national landmark surveys: Hoover, N. & Pollard, N. (1999), Initiation rites and athletics: A national survey of NCAA sports teams, Alfred University; and Hoover, N. & Pollard, N. (2000), Initiation rites in American high schools: A national survey, Alfred University. He recently contributed two chapters (Sexual Hazing: A Wrongful Passage and How Alfred University Ended the Greek System to Become a Hazing Research Institution) to Hank Nuwer’s new book “Hazing: Destroying Young Lives” and co-authored “A Coach’s Guide to Hazing Prevention.”
