By Luke Araujo | Staff Writer
In an article last week, The Baylor Lariat covered Baylor’s Spring 2022 Hazing Report issued toward the Baylor Chamber of Commerce. In the report, chamber faced several punishments, including the prohibition of hosting Diadeloso in the spring 2022 semester and the prohibition of hosting new member education until several requirements are met.
Following the publication of the article, the Chamber of Commerce posted a statement on Instagram last week.
Chamber of Commerce president Jamie Holodak said chamber put the statement out as a response to the hazing report and the Lariat article.
“The statement was just letting everyone know what we’re doing as an organization moving forward and how we’re responding,” Holodak said.
Regarding the prohibition to host Diadeloso, Holodak said Diadeloso is being taken away from chamber for this semester, but it plans to host it once again in 2023.
“We’re very much looking forward to that opportunity,” Holodak said. “We understand that it’s a great privilege to be able to run events like homecoming, Family Weekend and Dia. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to host Dia again in 2023 and get back to what the chamber does.”
Chamber of Commerce vice president Adrian Mora said chamber has made changes in order to combat hazing in the organization.
“One of the procedures we have to go through is a hazing prevention course,” Mora said. “I’m going to go through that, and I will be really emphasizing and stressing the importance of following those rules and guidelines set by Student Activities and the university.”
Mora said the organization’s new focus is on being positive and making sure everyone feels comfortable and safe.
“A big thing we’re stressing this semester is verbiage and language that we use throughout the recruitment process and new member education process,” Mora said. “We want to focus on using the right words. One of the things the hazing report mentioned was a negative atmosphere. We want to try to stray away from that and to have a process that really reflects what we do in this club.”
In the hazing report, chamber was prohibited from hosting new member education until prerequisites are met. Mora said there are still conditions to be fulfilled before chamber can put it back into effect.
“New member education is hopefully going to be in effect once we finish the big three things we’re supposed to complete,” Mora said. “Those things are the culture review, hazing prevention course and new member education audit. Once those three things are done, we are allowed to start our new member education process.”
Holodak said another focus is on doing what the club needs to do to be ready to welcome new members.
“The hazing report has those guidelines that are just the minimum of what we need to do as an organization,” Holodak said. “We’re working on those things throughout this first part of the semester, and it is our hope that we will complete those well and not just do them to get them out of the way.”
Holodak said chamber is hoping to take a new member class later this semester once its responsibilities are fulfilled.
Concerning students who are thinking about joining chamber when its new member education returns, Holodak said chamber is looking for new members who share its core values.
“We have been and will always be a club that loves Baylor and wants to serve Baylor to the best of our ability,” Holodak said. “That’s what we’ve always been about. We like to pride ourselves on our three core values: hard work, humility and unity. If there are any people out there who place importance on those values, then chamber is the right place for them.”
