Study Shows Hazing Still a Concern in College Marching Bands

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 2, 2015) — A new national study by music educators at Oregon State University and University of Kentucky found nearly a third of college marching band members surveyed have observed hazing in their programs but few students reported the activities, often because of fears of retribution or loss of social standing.

Published recently in the Journal of Research in Music Education, the survey found public verbal humiliation and public degradation were the most common forms of hazing reported by band members. Jason Silveira, an assistant professor of music education in the College of Liberal Arts at Oregon State University, served as lead author of the study, and Michael Hudson, assistant professor of instrumental music education at the UK School of Music, co-authored the research. 

The findings indicate there may still be confusion about what constitutes hazing and band members may need more education to understand what hazing is and why it shouldn’t be tolerated.

“Despite all of our efforts, the message about hazing is still not getting out there,” Silveira said. “Band participants might say it’s no big deal, it’s what we do. It may not be a big deal to that person, but to someone else it may be.”

Silveira and Hudson began investigating marching band hazing after several high-profile hazing incidents at colleges across the country, including the death of Robert Champion, a member of the Florida A&M University marching band who died during a hazing incident in 2011. Silveira and Hudson both completed graduate studies at another Florida institution around the time of Champion’s death.

Previously, little research has been done examining hazing in the performing arts, and what data did exist tended to be part of larger hazing studies involving athletics and/or Greek organizations. In response, Silveira and Hudson set out to learn more about students’ attitudes toward, understanding of, and exposure to hazing in their marching bands. 

“We wanted to pull back the veil of secrecy and see if there was anything we could do to help prevent hazing incidents in the future,” Silveira said.

With permission from band directors, the researchers queried more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students who participate in NCAA Division I marching band programs in 30 states across the U.S. Student participation in the online survey was voluntary.

Overall, band members reported that they had never been forced to participate in most of the 18 types of hazing incidents listed in the survey. Only four types of hazing had been experienced by at least 10 percent of the respondents.

Nearly 20 percent of band members indicated they had been required to sing or chant by themselves or with selected others while in public and nearly 20 percent reported being yelled at, cursed at or sworn at. Nearly 15 percent of the band members reported being asked not to associate with specific people but not others. And nearly 12 percent of the students reported depriving themselves of sleep.

The numbers were even lower when students were asked if they had participated in hazing others. About 3 percent of the survey respondents reported forcing others to participate in a drinking game, for example. Nearly 8 percent reported forcing others to sing or chant in public and 5 percent reported yelling, cursing or swearing at other members.

The vast majority of the students indicated they were aware of their university’s hazing policies and expressed negative views toward hazing activities.

“That’s a promising finding, that hazing is not being supported,” Silveira said.

However, nearly a third of the band members also reported observing some type of hazing, indicating a possible disconnect in band members’ understanding of what hazing is.

"It was interesting to see that band members confuse the acts of bullying and hazing, which are two separate issues. Bullying is of an exclusionary nature, while hazing is considered inclusionary." Hudson said.

Based on the survey findings, band directors or other band leaders may need to step up education and reporting efforts to root out hazing in their programs. That might include establishing a system for anonymous reporting of hazing; comprehensive reviews of hazing policies with members; or using role-playing to help members better understand hazing. "Giving students concrete examples that help delineate what hazing is might help,” Silveira said.

The research conducted by Silveira and Hudson is an important step in understanding the problem facing college bands and beginning to answer it. "It is our hope that studies like this one will help to continue dialogue on such an important topic as hazing within college organizations," Hudson said.

Silveira earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in music education from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, and his doctoral degree in music education from Florida State University. Currently, he teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in the Professional Music Teacher Education program, and also conducts the Wind Symphony at Oregon State. His research interests include music perception and cognition, psychology of music, teacher effectiveness, and teacher evaluation and preparation.

At UK, Hudson teaches secondary instrumental methods and conducting, as well as supervises student teachers. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he conducts the Lexington New Horizons Concert Band, is guest conductor of the UK Symphony Band, and is a frequent guest clinician around the United States.

Hudson's research interests include sociological topics in music education, band repertoire and programming trends, and perception of teacher effectiveness. Prior to joining the faculty at UK School of Music, he obtained is doctoral degree in music education from Florida State's College of Music.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, UK Public Relations, 859-257-8716 or whitney.hale@uky.edu; or Michelle Klampe, Oregon State University, 541-737-0784