Anti-Hazing is way outta control.

[jcalebk]

Anti-hazing policies that mant fraternities and especially sororities have adopted have grow way out of hand. On my campus most Greek letter organizations are not allowed to call their "members awaiting intiation" pledges. When I pledged I was the scum of the earth. But the fifty other guys I pledged with were too. This forced us to bond. I am closer to my pledge brothers than the new guys coming in these days. Hazing has a benifit to a certain extent.

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JCalebK

[LPIDelta]

I hate to tell you this, but you can "bond" without being the "scum of the earth". We call our "pledges" New Members.... and these women are just as bonded as I was to my class when I was treated like I was "scum of the earth". How resonable is to treat someone like crap for 6 weeks and then one day stand up and call them "brother" or "sister"? Do you think those members feel like they are a valuable part of the organization?

Fact is the face of the college student is changing and no one wants to waste their time jumping through hoops and doing stupid things to "prove" themselves worthy. Greeks have to start offering recruits more.... more leadership opportunities, networking, positive programming, if we're going to recruit the "best and brightest" out there and stay alive.

[SilverTurtle]

The extremes of "anti-hazing" are simply a response to the growing awareness of the problem, and the recognition that it IS a problem.

I just read (in the "Columbus Dispatch") a brief article (off of the AP wire) about some high school wrestlers who are in a lawsuit for hazing a new teammate. I THINK it took place in Connecticut.

Apparently the 'hazers' hogtied 2 new teammates w/ athletic tape. At least one of the boys was "sexually assualted with a plastic knife" (i don't know what that means, that's all the article said).. etc. 3 of the boys are being tried as adults in a case, and the prosecuters are going for assault, not some childish locker room pranks out of control.

According to the article, the graduating seniors the year before had encouraged this "tradition" of hogtieng new teammates. The school claims they had no knowledge of the activities.

So, yes, hazing happens all over the place. But I posted this to let you know that the general public is starting to get upset about it. And if they are going to put 3 high school boys in jail for 3-5 years (which is very likely), imagine what they will do to college adults.

Yes, a lot of the anti-hazing stuff does seem extreme. Be smart!!

[ginger17sr]

I have been researching sororities for my college research paper on hazing. I am not a
greek memeber, however I was strongly thinking about pledging until I started researching
about them. I think making my own friends, enjoying college life on my own and
concentrating on my
grades is far more important than joining and instant friend, instant hazing-bring you down
and live with it- organization that is supposed to be great. I understand that there are
benefits, but how can you be proud of something after being terrorized and put into life
threatening situations for such a long period of time? My friend is in a sorority, and some
of the hazing practices that she has gone through just to be "in" is not right. I have came
across so many articles of students that have died and students that have been hospitalized
and even raped due to hazing. And if many sorority chapters deny hazing and hazardous
rituals, and especially hide it, than it must not be good or
beneficial to the individual. I think sororities would be a greater influence on student life if
they found other ways to accept members. Stop these bizarre rituals and life threatening
dangers to show the pledgers that you have so much power over them, I understand that
some sororities are different than others, and some don't extend to such dangers. But
overall, hazing needs to stop.

[mgdzkm433]

ALL sororities have anti-hazing policies. Hazing is NOT something that is written into rituals or activities. If your friend was hazed, then maybe she should have reported it. It IS illegal, it IS a crime, if she didn't want to do it, she didn't have to. I'm not saying that it was right or that she wanted it, but there are options. If a chapter is caught hazing, they will lose their charter and action will be taken. I personally think that action SHOULD be take against the chapters and people who practice hazing.


I do not support hazing at all, but I do think that the anti-hazing policies have gotton way out of hand. It is rediculous that you can't have a FUN scavanger hunt. It is rediculous that you can't call someone a pledge (that is what they are doing "pledging" a sorority--it is a priviledge not a right). It is rediculous that a "new member" can't wait till the end of the semester to find out who their big sister is. HOW is that hazing?? Next it will be dues. It will be fundraisers. Anything and everything will be considered hazing. Formal rush will be hazing eventually. All the traditions of our sororities will go down the tubes. A lot of greek organizations have been around for 100 years or more. If we were "bad" I don't think we would have lasted this long.

Hazing IS in the minority. It doesn't happen to every person on every campus. Don't judge the greek system by the few bad apples. Greek systems bring a lot to schools. On MANY campuses, there wouldn't be homecoming, athletic support, student government. . .our number one priority IS community service and our national philanthropies.

Joining a sorority does NOT mean instant friendships. You have to earn that respect from the sisters. You have to prove that you will be an asset to the sorority. Once you have proven that, you will gain respect and friendship will follow. Do not misinterpret support and respect for friendship. In most cases, you will not like or agree with ALL the sisters in a sorority, but you will hold respect and support for them because they have achieved and done the same things as you and they are your sister.

I also want to know how many articals have you found 100? 200? It's terrible that there are that many deaths and trials and so forth due to some idiots that happen to be greek. Those people give greeks a bad name. It is truely the minority though. 100-200-300 cases out of MILLIONS of greeks in the world. Greeks for the most part are not bad people. I'm not trying to justify those cases, but you can't just look at the bad in order to make an educated guess about the greek system, you have to look at the good as well.

Mikki
Delta Zeta Alum
Kappa Mu Chapter
Sigma Alpha Iota Alum
Eta Tau Chapter

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"I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special."

--Julia Roberts
(Steel Magnolias)

Visit me at:
http://homepages.go.com/~dzkm433/index.html
and
http://www.calypso.com/dzkm433/welcomtomyworld.chtml

[ginger17sr]

Thanks for the insight, I see your point, I do not know a lot about the greeks, it is all new to me. I am researching about Sorority hazing, so I do not find a lot of good stuff about them. I'm just reading all the "bad" stuff that goes on. Before I make assumptions I should probably look into everything. This is also an internet researchnproject, so I am finding all of this information on the internet, which is harder to depict the factual information from the non factual information. Like you said, I still do not agree with hazing, but then again most people I believe don't. Thanks again though, you broadened my horizons and insights on greek life.

[SilverTurtle]

Hey ginger,

There is a website against hazing you might be interested in (if you haven't already seen it) that shows the other side of hazing in Greek Letter Organizations :

Stop Hazing.Org

Hank Nuwer is involved with that, he has also written some books about hazing. In fact, he has a new one out that I haven't read yet. ("Wrongs of Passage")

In his book "Broken Pledges: the Deadly Rite of Hazing" he tells the true story of a boy named Chuck who was hazed + died as a result.

The positive outcome from this tragedy was that Chuck's mother decided to do something about it, and has devoted her life to speaking out against hazing. Chuck's death occured in the 70's (1974 if I remember correctly), so that's a lot of time to put into anti-hazing! Something really cool is that his mom said at first she hated all GLO's, but the more she talked to them, the more she like them! And, instead of trying to abolish the Greek system, she worked (and does still) to make it even more positive by educating members about the real dangers of hazing.

Chuck's death, incidentally, resulted from a combination of things, but mainly alcohol poisoning.


I agree with Mikki that some of things considered 'hazing' are way out there. And I think most of the people on this board will agree w/ that. That doesn't mean that they all support hazing, though.

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Phi Beta Fraternity

[This message has been edited by SilverTurtle (edited April 03, 2000).]

[babyface1914]

I am a member of a historically back fraternity known as Phi Beta Sigma, the royal blue and white family. Now true some the things I went through to become a member wasn't necessary, but what doesn't kill you CAN ONLY MAKE YOU STRONGER! Now I can identify with some of the comments made in this forum. The fact of the matter is me and my Line Brother are extremely tight, and we will have a lasting relationship for the rest of our lives. Now our bond is strenghtened by what we went through. And everybody I locked up with (you nphc headz know the lingo!those of you who aren't paper of course) has that same understanding. Now since I went over i have seen a lot of lines. Those of which I got with (pledged or hazed for those you who can identify), whom have since crossed, we have a good relationship because im assured that what i went through they went through. And when i see them its mmmaaaaaaaasssssivvve love. I love those cats, because there still here, they made it despite the odds. Those of whom I didn't have the opportunity to see, i would take longer for me to establish that relationship, because i don't know the validity of there pledge process. In the end I can say that at best, ours is bond that can never be severed.

babyface,

What doesn't kill you may make you stronger, but what about the brothers that have been left behind because "it" did kill them? or injured them? I can't see justifying any form of "hard pledging" that puts the life of a brother in danger!

And death does sever bonds. They may still exist out of respect for those that have past along, and the links to the past. But any bond that doesn't have the ablity to be strengthend as a friendship, brotherhood ages them - can not truely live.

Artimis

[Tigger]

Ginger17sr,
I guess it all depends on how you view hazing in the first place. It's supposedly defined as anything you ask someone to do that they wouldn't normally do or that doesn't have a positively constructive outcome. Well, first of all your friend violated her oath if she told you about anything she had to do, hazing or not. Second, yes you feel a bit of pressure if you don't go along with it, but if you are joining the right group for you they won't discriminate because you were uncomfortable with something. I was not subjected to anything horrible, by that I mean I was not forced to drink and I was not subject to anything violent whatsoever!!!! Most of the so called "hazing" is about trusting your future sisters or brothers. I agree, I wouldn't want to be a part of a group that made me feel uncomfortable or treated me with complete disrespect, (which is what real hazing is). But like I said, then you picked the wrong group to get involved in. Not all sororities and fraternities are like the ones portrayed in the media. In fact, I partied less after I joined a sorority, I was just to busy with activities and schoolwork to make it to many parties. Some do party alot, but think about the person....most likely they'd find another group of friends and be partying just as hard or harder. It's all in knowing who you are, and what you're joining.