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126 Penn Statim 1 (2021-2022)

handle is hein.journals/statim126 and id is 1 raw text is: The Failure of Zero-Tolerance Policies in
Addressing Hazing
Gregory S. Parks*
ABSTRACT
Hazing is a moral, legal, and existential issue that has spanned
generations, cutting across institutions and organizations. A common
approach to addressing it is zero-tolerance policies-whether in word or
in practice. Zero-tolerance policies are designed to stamp out hazing by
severely sanctioning perpetrators. The problem is that zero-tolerance
policies, at best, do not deter deviant behavior. While the certainty of
catching perpetrators deters, severe sanctions have long-been found to be
of limited use in deterrence. At worst, zero-tolerance policies drive deviant
conduct underground where it can become more perverse. Zero-tolerance
policies do so because perpetrators wish not to be severely sanctioned; at
the same time, they are not convinced that their conduct is problematic.
This Article grapples with these issues in the context of hazing.
Table of Contents
I.INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1
II.ZERO-TOLERANCE: A HAZING REMEDY ............................................................2
III.ZERO-TOLERANCE: A FAILED APPROACH ........................................................5
IV.SHIFTING FROM FAILURE (SEVERITY) TO SUCCESS (CERTAINTY) ....................7
V .C O N CLU SIO N ................................................................................................. 8
I.   INTRODUCTION
Hazing has been a persistent issue over generations and across
organization-types.1 For many, the default solution has been zero-
* Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives and Professor of Law, Wake Forest
University School of Law.
1. See Gregory S. Parks & Jasmine Burgess, Hazing in the United States Military: A
Psychology and Law Perspective, 29 S. CAL. INTERDISC. L.J. 1 (2019); Gregory S. Parks &
Matthew P. Hooker, Organizational Ideology and Institutional Problem-solving: Hazing
within Black Fraternities, 44 L. & PSYCH. REV. 91 (2020); Gregory S. Parks & Katherine
E. Wenner, Making the Band: Hazing and an Analysis of Interpersonal Dynamics, 18 VA.
SPORTS & ENT. L.J. 35 (2018); Gregory S. Parks & Nicolette DeLorenzo, Hazing in High

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