Even though it reaches deep into human history, hazing remains a puzzling behavior for social scientists. Why would people systematically abuse their own future allies by making them participate in extremely unpleasant group initiation practices?  For colleges and universities, hazing has been a pressing safety issue for decades, so much so that Ohio recently passed a revised anti-hazing law. For fraternities in particular, hazing practices can include intense calisthenics, servile labor, heavy intoxication, paddling and other ordeals. Although acknowledging that there are instances of h...

Kent State University at Ashtabula Associate Professor of History Bradley Keefer, Ph.D., was recently named one of ten finalists for the University’s most prestigious teaching honor, the Distinguished Teaching Award.  The award is sponsored annually by the Kent State Alumni Association and is presented to three full-time faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary teaching in the classroom and the devotion to touching the lives of students. Keefer has taught on the Ashtabula Campus since 2007. Prior to that, he served as an adjunct faculty member at the Kent, Stark and Tuscarawas Cam...