From BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY
The Institute for the Study of Culture & Society at Bowling Green State University invites the community to attend the Spring 2026 ICS faculty fellowship talk by Dr. Rebecca Mancuso. In her upcoming talk, Mancuso will discuss almost a century of hazing incidents at Bowling Green State University.
Mancuso’s research investigates the conflict between the need for group membership and the institutional reactions that did not manage to mitigate this behavior over eight decades. The talk will be on Thursday, March 19, from 6:30 – 8 p.m., at the Wood County District Public Library, 251 N. Main St., Bowling Green.
Despite years of new laws and university crackdowns, hazing persisted. Mancuso’s research examines this, looking at how a lack of institutional memory and accountability allowed the cycle to continue for nearly a century. She believes that understanding its history allows people to ask why these practices endure, what lessons institutions claim to learn, and whose experiences are centered or ignored in that process.
Mancuso is an associate professor in the Department of History at BGSU. She specializes in the history of Canada, local history, and public history, and also coordinates the Canadian Studies academic minor program at BGSU.
Mancuso’s project speaks directly to ongoing national conversations about campus safety, accountability, and student belonging. Her work demonstrates how historical research can illuminate present day challenges and encourage meaningful dialogue across the university and broader community.
The ICS is an interdisciplinary, public humanities center at BGSU founded in 1996. ICS helps faculty to develop, communicate, and disseminate their scholarly and creative work to constituencies across campus and throughout the region. With its public events and outreach efforts, ICS brings issues of national and global importance to northwest Ohio and, in turn, brings community knowledge back into the university.
This event is free and open to the public. The Wood County District Public Library is an accessible venue. For more information, follow ICS on Facebook and Instagram, @icsbgsu, or visit www.bgsu.edu/ics.
