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BGSU students take part in anti-hazing campaign

Students at BGSU are taking it upon themselves to spread awareness about hazing and how to prevent it. This comes nearly a year after a student died.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Bowling Green State University students are taking a pledge against hazing following the death of a student, Stone Foltz, nearly a year ago.

Students addressed letters to their high schools, with the hope of spreading awareness on how important it is to teach even the youngest students the signs of hazing and how to prevent it.

The letters will be going out all week to school districts across Ohio and Michigan. 

Contained in that letter is also an invitation to the first-ever Ohio Anti-Hazing Summit at BGSU this summer. 

Leaders with the university said it starts in grade school with bullying. Things that might not seem like hazing can gradually turn into more serious situations.

"We want to provide opportunities for people to recognize that maybe that's not okay," Ben Batey, chief of health and wellness, said. "If we can stop it early, it won't progress to higher levels that everybody recognizes--things like forced alcohol consumption or physical abuse."

Which is what happened to BGSU student, Stone Foltz, who died a year ago following a hazing incident. 

Since then, the university has proactively educated students about hazing. 

Students like Fide Valverde-Rivera, who said she's had a positive Greek life experience, knows it isn't like that for everyone. 

"But at the same time I know that there's a complete opposite where people are taken advantage of, there's power dynamics that are abused," Valverde-Rivera said. "I just want high school students to be more informed about what this looks like at their own schools, but as well as coming into college."

She signed the letter because before she started college, she said she was naïve to what hazing looked like. This is her way of educating others.  

"It just goes to show how easy it is for students to come into college on their own, not knowing what these dynamics look like and how they can be manipulated or taken advantage of by way of a new member pursuit. So for me, I just want to ensure that students are prepared."

Monday was the first day of the letter writing campaign and not many students showed up to sign it. But Batey explained the university has been able to spread awareness about anti-hazing in other ways.

This campaign will go on both Tuesday and Wednesday in the student union on campus.

Tuesday evening, the university is hosting a candlelight memorial to remember Stone Foltz. It starts at 7:30 p.m. 

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