The Augusta Department of Public Safety and members of Augusta Unified School District 402 are dedicated to supporting the Kansas Statute 21-3434 which safeguards citizens from promoting or permitting hazing acts.
Why must Augusta enforce this law?
“Hazing is not only humiliating and embarrassing for the victims, but it is abusive and can be life-threatening,” reports Chief Tyler Brewer.
The chief also maintains, “82 percent of deaths reported from acts of hazing have involved the use of alcohol.Hazing is common during the end of the school year and often students are not aware of this law.”
Brewer adds, “We have had instances with hazing in the past, and we want the community to know that we intend to enforce the hazing law, or any law related to assault and battery, in order to protect all citizens in our community.”
21-3434. Promoting or permitting hazing. (a) No social or fraternal organization shall promote or permit hazing.
(b) Hazing is intentionally, coercing, demanding or encouraging another person to perform as a condition of membership in a social or fraternal organization, any act which could reasonably be expected to result in great bodily harm, disfigurement or death or which is done in a manner whereby great bodily harm, disfigurement or death could be inflicted.
(c) Promoting or permitting hazing is a class B non-person misdemeanor.
(d) This section shall be part of and supplemental to the Kansas criminal code.
Hazing is recognized as, “initiation” or “random acts” which can range from verbal to physical abuse, is defined as, “any action or situation, with or without the consent of the participants, which recklessly, intentionally, or unintentionally endangers the mental, physical, or academic health or safety of a student.
Augusta, Kan. —
