Get caught cheating, and you may have to meet with your professor and accept a lower grade on an assignment. Get caught drinking when you’re under 21, and you may have to face a hearing board and suffer the loss of some university privileges. Get caught hazing, though, and your picture could very well wind up in the paper.
Hazing is a newsworthy offense. Communities and politicians are deeply concerned about the potential damage hazing can cause. They put pressure on schools like the University of Illinois to take action, and those schools develop zero-tolerance policies in response.
Fair enough. No one is suggesting that universities should allow hazing. Not all students who find themselves accused are actually guilty though. And even those who have made mistakes often face penalties that are far more extreme than those mistakes deserve. When universities act out of fear, they sometimes over-react, and students pay the price.
Whatever your situation, the LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team is on your side. We know what you’re up against. We understand the stakes are high. We’re dedicated, though, to protecting your rights and ensuring you get the very best possible resolution to your case.
What can we do for you? Call 888-535-3686 today to find out, or take a few minutes right now and fill out one of our online forms.
Defining Hazing at the University of Illinois
Again, it is worth knowing that the University of Illinois does not operate in a vacuum. Its anti-hazing policy is modeled on Illinois state anti-hazing law. However, university policy goes even further than the law. Here are the most important points you need to know if you’re going to avoid a UIUC charge.
- State law defines hazing as actual “bodily harm” committed as part of an induction or admission into a university organization. UIUC policy expands this definition to include “endangerment.” In other words, even if nothing goes wrong during your hazing event, you can be charged if your actions could have led to harm.
- Additionally, UIUC policy mentions the potential for “mental harm.” This suggests that anything from waking pledges up in the middle of the night to simple verbal harassment could be enough to result in a hazing charge.
- As the title to UIUC’s anti-hazing page puts it, hazing is not “just a Greek thing.” Any organization connected to the university can be investigated for hazing, including intramural athletic clubs, music groups, and even honor societies.
- Likewise, hazing isn’t just about admission into an organization. It can be used as a means of enforcing continued membership in a group or to initiate members into leadership roles, for example.
Finally, UIUC makes clear that its policy is separate from state law. That is, the university can charge you even if the state chooses not to. In fact, the university can charge you even if the state does investigate you and finds you innocent.
UIUC can also enforce strict penalties on those found Responsible for (guilty of) offenses. Organizations, of course, can be put on probation or removed from campus outright. Individual members are not shielded by organizations, though. If you’re caught hazing, you can face severe penalties up to and including suspension and dismissal.
If your academic future is at stake, you simply cannot afford to try and handle the situation yourself. You need an attorney, but not just any attorney. You need an attorney with experience defending students from university misconduct charges. You need someone from the LLF National Law Firm.
Defending Yourself From Hazing Allegations
As strict as UIUC’s anti-hazing policy is, the university can’t simply accuse you and punish you. You have a right, for example, to a presumption of innocence (“Not Responsible”). The university must have concrete evidence to find you Responsible. It must give you an opportunity to challenge this evidence. You also have numerous additional due process rights designed to protect you and ensure a just outcome.
- Anyone can accuse you of hazing—initiates, other group members, other organizations, organizational advisors, faculty, staff, administration, campus security. The university must decide whether the allegations are credible, though, before it issues formal charges.
- If you’ve been charged, you’ll receive written notice of those charges. This notice will describe the allegations and should provide you with enough detail to begin building your defense.
- UIUC will conduct a full investigation to uncover the facts in the case. They’ll likely ask you to come in for an interview. One of your most important rights is the right to an advisor. Your LLF National Law Firm attorney can’t speak for you during these interviews, but they can be on hand to help answer questions.
- Hazing investigations can be lengthy and involve multiple complainants, multiple respondents, and multiple witnesses. When they are complete, though, investigators submit their findings back to the university.
- The university then conducts a full hearing. Both sides have the right to offer arguments, to introduce evidence, and to call witnesses to testify. You are also entitled to raise questions about the other side’s evidence, including cross-examining witnesses.
- All cases at UIUC, including hazing cases, are decided using the “preponderance of evidence” legal standard. In simple terms, you are guilty if it seems “more likely than not” that you are guilty.
- You can appeal a hearing outcome, but only if you can demonstrate that you were treated unfairly by the process. This means proving the university didn’t follow its own procedures, offering new evidence that could prove your innocence, or arguing that a sanction is more severe than you deserve.
Hazing cases can be complex. You need to know that going in. Again, there may be dozens of people involved, and it can be difficult separating out just who did what. If there are any sexual components to the charges, you may be subject to complicated Title IX rules and regulations. Defending yourself not only involves establishing facts; it may also require subtle interpretations of UIUC’s hazing policy or the definitions of terms like “organization,” “officer,” and “consent.”
LLF National Law Firm attorneys are defense attorneys. We know what’s involved in pushing back against allegations. We’re specifically focused, though, on defending students. We understand hazing policies. We’re experienced with campus judicial systems. We’ve helped hundreds of students defend themselves. No one gives you a better chance of winning your hazing case. No one.
Fighting for Your Future
Hazing is a serious offense, and a Responsible finding can mean serious sanctions. Just because you’ve been charged, though, doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily be found Responsible. The LLF National Law Firm’s Student Defense Team can make sure you’re fully prepared to defend yourself. They can insist the UIUC afford you every due process right to which you are entitled. In the end, they offer you your very best chance of success.
Let the LLF National Law Firm help you fight for your academic future. To find out more, contact us today at 888-535-3686. Or, fill out our online questionnaire.