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Harvard College Dean of Students Thomas G. Dunne said in a Tuesday interview that his “biggest priority” concerning campus hazing is to educate students on its legal consequences.

“What I’m really concerned about is students not fully understanding this, and then, in some instances, being personally legally responsible for something that they thought they were doing in the context of a tradition,” Dunne told The Crimson on Tuesday.

Dunne also confirmed that in line with the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act, which went into effect earlier this year, Harvard will compile and submit a list of student groups found responsible for hazing.

“The public listing of any group will be done later this year, and again, that’s part of the federal law,” he said.

The state of Massachusetts can fine individuals found responsible for hazing up to $3,000 or imprison them for up to one year, or both.

In order to publicize the ramifications and definition of hazing — which the law defines as potentially harmful acts “committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in, a student organization” — Dunne said the College is working to ensure students are “in a position to make informed decisions.”

The University published a webpage detailing Harvard’s hazing guidelines, support resources, and an incident report form. The new policies also played a “key part” in the fall Student Leaders Forum presentations, according to Dunne.

“I think the best course of action is for people to review the law as written, and then understand how it will be applied,” he said.

Though Dunne said sanctions for hazing will focus on groups within the “purview” of the University, he said all students should be educated on how they could be held liable in their capacity as Harvard students.

Whether or not a student organization falls under Harvard’s jurisdiction, Dunne said he hopes groups will “take on the responsibility of educating their members and their leaders about what the legal requirements are.”

Initiation rituals are a predictable aspect of student life for sophomores who choose to “punch” the College’s exclusive final clubs. Associate Dean for Student Engagement Jason R. Meier said in an interview last month that individuals in final clubs can be held accountable for participating in reported hazing.

But so far this year, it is Harvard’s registered student organizations, not final clubs, that have visibly borne the brunt of increasingly stringent University and federal hazing policy.

At least two campus groups faced penalties and investigations this semester, including the term-length suspension of the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra after a student filed a complaint about an initiation ritual at the group’s annual fall retreat. The College also investigated the Crimson Key Society after members of the group were seen wearing costumes in Harvard Yard.

Dunne said he believes in the “tremendous creativity” of student group leaders and their ability to revise their traditions in alignment with new federal guidelines.

“I don’t endorse the premise that in order for people to be welcomed or feel like a member of a group that they need to go through some sort of hazing ritual,” he said.

“What we’re interested in is being in conversation with students so that they can have some informed decisions about how we make this a celebratory, fun, transitional moment where students are joining our group,” Dunne added.

—Staff writer Harmony G. Fisher can be reached at harmony.fisher@thecrimson.com.