Events

“How Many Times Can You Learn That Lesson?” A History of Hazing at an Ohio Public University, 1920–2000

Mar 19 | 6:30–8:00 p.m. Wood County Public Library @ Downtown Bowling Green

Historically, hazing has been as much a part of American university culture as cramming for exams and celebrating homecoming. However, very few histories of higher education mention hazing as a noteworthy part of student life or a longstanding problem. This is surprising when we consider that hazing has resulted in injuries and deaths at universities every year. This study explores why such dangerous behaviors abound in the university environment by employing one institution, Bowling Green State University (BGSU), as a case study of continuity and change in hazing culture. It combines evidence from campus manuscript collections, newspapers, and oral histories with psychological and anthropological research to show that students have engaged in hazing for specific reasons: not only for power, but also to increase privilege and status in the campus community.

The project will help current and prospective students, parents, and university administrators understand the role of elite social groups in campus life, and why efforts to eradicate hazing so far have not succeeded. As long as students have sought to increase their socioeconomic status through membership in exclusive organizations such as Greek chapters and sports teams, hazing has followed. The products of this study, including a historical monograph and a series of public presentations, will make clear the power of the past in present-day university culture. The author will also reach a national audience via StopHazing.org, the leading prevention network with which she is involved. Ultimately, the project emphasizes that hazing will likely persist unless we better understand its historical complexities.

At Home in the Heartland: Korean American Adoptees Reflect on Midwestern Roots

Mar 26 | 6:30–8:00 p.m. Way Public Library @ Downtown Perrysburg

This project explores the experiences of one of the largest yet often overlooked groups within the Korean diaspora in the United States: Korean adoptees raised in the Midwest. Focusing on how race, identity, and belonging are shaped regionally, it examines how transnational and transracial adoption into predominantly white Midwestern families influences racial formation. Drawing from interviews with adult Korean adoptee return migrants to South Korea conducted during a Fulbright Scholar Fellowship (2020–2021), the work situates these lived experiences within broader conversations about Asian American identity and regional racial dynamics, contributing to scholarship on Asian American studies and return migration.

In addition to the scholarly component, the project includes a collaborative community initiative with young adult counselors and volunteers at the Asian Adoptee Summer Camp in Avon, Ohio. During the ICS Fellowship, a workshop on Adoptee History and Life Writing will be developed to create an intentional space for exploring the social and political histories of transnational adoption through storytelling, activism, and creative expression. By supporting counselors as they mentor youth adoptees, the project fosters intergenerational dialogue, strengthens community connections, and deepens engagement with adoptee identity and history.