Media Releases

Record Participation In 2nd Annual #40 Answers Campaign

CONTACT:
Brad Beacham, Executive Director
Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc.
(540) 463-1869

CONTACT:

Tracy Maxwell, Executive Director

HazingPrevention.Org

(303) 325-7831

The second annual #40Answers in 40 Days anti-hazing campaign concluded last weekand provided more than 5000 straightforward answers to the most common excuses for hazing.

#40Answers started last year when two staff members at Sigma Nu Fraternity acted on aconcept to use Twitter for crowd-sourcing answers to common excuses for hazing.

Each day leading up to the beginning of National Hazing Prevention Week (NHPW) aspontaneous group of participants tweeted their answers to a different hazing excuse. Atthe campaign’s conclusion the collected tweets were compiled and made available for all.

“Regardless where or in what group or organization hazing takes place, we hear the sameexcuses and rationalizations to justify it,” said Sigma Nu Executive Director BradBeacham. “Our ongoing goal is to publicly and directly address forty of these fallacies byleveraging the power of social media.

”Last year’s campaign created a buzz among educators, coaches, parents and students,earning coverage in several higher education publications including Edu in Review.Looking to build on that momentum, Sigma Nu Fraternity teamed up withHazingPrevention.Org, the leader in anti-hazing education and chief coordinator of NHPW.

“The #40Answers campaign has given us the opportunity to continue conversations abouthazing prevention and reach a much broader audience who became engaged through thiseffort,” said Tracy Maxwell, Executive Director of HazingPrevention.Org “We arethrilled to have Fred Dobry from Sigma Nu as a volunteer and leader of these types of efforts.

”With the help of HazingPrevention.Org this year’s #40Answers campaign experienced atremendous increase in participation from anti-hazing advocates around the country. Intotal, over 1250 Twitter users participated in this year’s campaign, which represents a 5,000% growth from last year.

Although the #40Answers campaign has come to an end for this year, the hazingprevention conversation must continue year round. Sigma Nu Fraternity andHazingPrevention.Org have resources readily available to combat hazing. Many of theseresources can be found online at www.sigmanu.org and www.hazingprevention.org.HazingPrevention.Org

A non-profit 501c3 organization, HazingPrevention.Org is dedicated to its mission toempower people to prevent hazing in colleges and university student groups. This isaccomplished through programs and services including National Hazing PreventionWeek, observed across North America the last week in September each year; The NovakInstitute for Hazing Prevention, which teaches a science-based prevention model; andnumerous resources, webinars and social media campaigns like this one.

Sigma Nu Fraternity

One of the largest men’s Greek-letter fraternities in North America, Sigma Nu Fraternitywas founded in 1869 at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. The onlyFraternity founded upon the honor principle, Sigma Nu’s mission is to develop ethicalleaders for society; since its founding, more than 227,000 men have become members bydedicating themselves to the Fraternity’s cardinal principles of Love, Honor and Truth.The Fraternity is headquartered in Lexington, Virginia, and currently has 177 active chapters and colonies on college campuses throughout North America.

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