Penn State will report incidents of hazing in alignment with Clery Act amendments

Penn State University is now notifying students in its messaging system about hazing incidents.

The change was made in accordance with federal requirements — the newly enacted amendments to the Clery Act, the university said. The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data.

Penn State said the change in its crime and safety notifications takes effect immediately and it will enhance transparency. However, it “does not directly indicate an increase in hazing incidents on campus.”

Previously, the alerts from the university just included issuing timely warnings and emergency notifications about certain crimes and emergency situations happening in real time. Hazing wasn’t a standalone crime category in Clery Act reporting, Penn State said.

Since that has now changed, the updated federal guidelines require all universities that receive federal funding to track and disclose hazing incidents in their annual security reports.

Though campus security must report hazing incidents, all Penn State community members can report hazing incidents to share concerns with the university confidentially.