In 2025, UNC-Chapel Hill joined a national research study focused on preventing hazing on college campuses. The What Works Study, led by The Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research at Penn State University, brings together students and campus partners from college and universities across the country to strengthen hazing prevention.
For three years, participating campuses will use research and student feedback to develop hazing prevention strategies tailored to their communities. At Carolina, this includes a new hazing prevention program for all students and student organizations launching in Spring 2026, led by Violence prevention and Advocacy Services and Student Life and Leadership. Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students will also have the opportunity to participate in a hazing prevention survey each year to help inform future hazing prevention efforts, resources, and support at the campus and national levels.
2025-2026 Updates
Program Development: Choose Your Action
Choose Your Action (CYA) is an interactive program that puts you in the driver’s seat of real-life decisions faced by students and leaders. Through immersive scenarios, you’ll explore how leadership, risk-taking, and everyday choices shape the kind of community we create at Carolina and in our groups, teams, and organizations. Learn more about Choose Your Action and how to request the program.
2026 Campus Hazing Prevention Survey
The 2026 Campus Hazing Prevention Survey is open to all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students from February 23 through the end of April. Learn more and take the survey.
2026 Focus Groups
Violence Prevention and Advocacy Services will coordinate a few focus groups of undergraduate, graduate, and professional students that will be facilitated by the Piazza Center team. These will be conducted during the spring 2026 semester.
If you are interested in participating in a focus group, please email violenceprevention@unc.edu with the email subject line, “Hazing Prevention Study Focus Group.”
