Of all the actions that athletics administrators can take to address hazing, simply talking about it with student-athletes and equipping them to address it among themselves may be the most effective solution, panelists suggested during the NCAA Hazing Prevention Summit January 10 in Nashville.

Experts provided definitions of hazing, essentially agreeing that it inflicts some form of harm -- most often mental but also frequently physical. They also presented data indicating that most student-athletes are confronted with hazing in one form or another, though few recognize it when they experience it.

"There's something about the language, something about the way we define it in our own mind, that keeps us from recognizing the reality," said Tim Marchell, director of mental health initiatives at Cornell University.

Elizabeth Allan, a professor at the University of Maine, Orono, who is completing a nationwide study of collegiate hazing supported by the NCAA and 25 other education-affiliated organizations, offered a "sneak preview" of data, including a finding that 81 percent of participating students experience hazing but only 7 percent say they have been hazed.

The study, scheduled for release in March, also details the prevalence of various types of hazing behavior, ranging from requiring students to participate in sexual acts, inflicting sleep deprivation and shaving heads or other parts of the body (each reported by 16 percent of responding students) to participation in drinking games (involving 46 percent of respondents).

Allan found that many students already have experienced hazing by the time they enroll in universities and colleges, contributing to its acceptance. More students (about 10 percent) acknowledge having been hazed in high school than in college.

The study's findings echo previous research, including a 1999 study conducted at Alfred University in response to that institution's experiences with hazing incidents.

"It's important to remember that hazing hurts," said Norman Pollard, the university's dean of students. "It does harm emotionally, it hurts physically, and it is devastating to families that learn after the fact that their children have been harmed."

Other panelists discussed consequences of hazing, including physical and psychological impacts on student-athletes, potential institutional liability and negative media attention.

Attorney Janet Judge of Sports Law Associates warned that the wide variety of anti-hazing laws from state to state and related reluctance of prosecutors to pursue hazing cases in some locales means that institutions must provide leadership on the issue.

Franklin College journalism professor Hank Nuwer assessed the quality of media reporting about hazing, pointing to news coverage that ranges from informing readers about the issue to harmfully minimizing its significance or even glamorizing it.

He also commented on the impact of media coverage of hazing incidents on campuses.

"Wherever hazing happens, it's like a bear attack -- you will be bitten anywhere  and everwhere," he said.

However, it was perspectives from a panel of student-athletes and a coach that seemed to resonate most with the approximately 250 summit participants. They advised administrators to communicate face to face with student-athletes about hazing, and involve them in finding their own solutions to the problem.

"The only thing I have as a coach is to hope that I can go back to (student-athletes) and help them realize what's important to them, who are they, what's important to the team, and who they are as a team," said Dan Pepicelli, head baseball coach at St. John Fisher College.

"I think it boils down to communication," agreed Kyle Waterstone, a track student-athlete at Hope College. "A lot of times, we look at hazing, or sexual harassment, or date rape, or alcohol abuse as things we don't want to talk about. It’s the broken window that nobody wants to fix."

"Start small," Allan advised administrators seeking a way to begin addressing hazing with student-athletes. "Start with a dialogue. Start talking."