It is also important that we remember that definitions of hazing vary. These things may be considered hazing by some GLOs, and some of them might be considered hazing by almost all GLOs, but whether they actually constitute hazing is going to depend on (1) state law, (2) campus policies and (3) GLO policies. For example, none of the things listed would be considered hazing under the laws of my state.

As for the bolded, the only GLO I know of that doesn't do that is Sig Ep in its Balanced Man chapters. Otherwise, I don't know of any GLO that allows pledges/new members/whatever-else-they-may-be-called to, for example, wear the badge or be present for ritual. As has been discussed on GreekChat many times, many fraternities and sororities have rules prohibiting pledges/new members from wearing letters or having anything that displays the coat of arms. Most GLOs do not allow pledges/new members to hold office, though I know that some do.

That's why it's best not to make blanket statements about what constitutes hazing beyond the obvious things, and instead to talk about what is considered hazing by one's own GLO or one's own campus.

The hazing song goes on and on. GC hazing threads have been the same for years. If you (in general) are a member of a GLO and you don't know how hazing is defined by your GLO, institution, and state, I posit you have not been paying attention. Do so.

I know. But new people come along periodically who haven't taken time to read all of the (many) hazing threads where this has been said over and over.

Plus, I think it's not necessarily a problem of not knowing how hazing is defined by one's own GLO, institution or state. The problem as I see it is assuming that all GLOs define hazing the same way that one's own does.

I want people to stop needing GC to educate them on some things. What did we do before GC?

It is problematic to assume that our GLO's definition of hazing applies to everyone but I consider it even more problematic to assume people have to care what we say either way about hazing. Even after you tell people that hazing has subjective components, there are still people who believe their opinion of what constitutes hazing, pledging, sisterhood, and brotherhood is so awesome that it should silence any dissenters.

Considering that many of our new members were 6 years old when GC went online, they didn't do much at all before GC.

What else would you do on a forum?

In that case, I guess we're relegated to the same old Internet discourse on hazing and brothel laws. :)

Tell me about these brothel laws of which you speak...

The ones that new GCers swear they found evidence of or were taught in New GLO Member training. :)

The cycle of "no, this isn't true" continues in certain GC threads.

Well if you didn't know what sorority it was, you know now. It is all over Good Morning America's website.

I feel bad for all the SDT's out there who are like "omg".

Just saw this in my FB feed
http://abcnews.go.com/US/sorority-me...ry?id=20395573


Sorority Member's Story Calls Hazing 'Weirdly Worth It,' College Investigates Claims
Sept. 27, 2013
By CHRISTINA NG via Good Morning America

" A New York college has put a sorority's pledging on hold while it looks into hazing claims made by a recent graduate in a Cosmopolitan magazine article about the "trauma" of sorority hazing and why it was "weirdly worth it."

Tess Koman, a 2013 graduate of Union College in Schenectady, described the experience of sorority pledging as "at once one of the best and worst decisions I've ever made," but ultimately decided that "the benefits outweigh the hazing."

She detailed a number of alleged hazing situations, including being "forced to dance for all the fraternities on campus to absurdly sexual songs" and "lineups" during which pledges were expected to rush to the sorority house wearing all-white and no makeup. "

click link to read the rest.

From the introduction to the article:
Not only are they lacking judgement in publishing an article that encourages hazing, they are also encouraging more people to write to them about this topic, so that (presumably) more of these types of articles can be published! :eek:

Hey Alpha O, welcome to GC! Come over to the AOii forum and introduce yourself.

I just read this article today and some of the articles reacting to it. The writer talks a lot about how going through the hazing process brought her some of the best friends she has ever had. I have to wonder how her friends are going to feel about her if their chapter gets kicked off campus? This is one of the most bizarre articles I've ever read on Greek life.

I used to read Cosmo in college and thought it was soooooooooo sophisticated and worldly. I picked up my daughter's copy the other day and leafed through it and my immediate thought is that it belongs in the bathroom.

Not as reading material for those inclined to do so, but as toilet tissue.

lmao!!