sorority rushee and hazing
 

I will be rushing for a sorority when I go to college. I have even heard horrible stories of hazing on a cheerleading squad. I am visually impaired, so the thought of hazing really worries me. Can anyone give any tips on finding signs that a sorority may hze, that would be awesome.

National sororites, that is members of the NPC and NPHC, do not haze. It is against the rules and beliefs of sororities. we forster friendship and love and scholarship and philanthropy. Hazing is the antithesis of what we stand for.

My sorority years have taught me more about myself and the sisterhood ALL women share than anything else could have ever hoped to.

If you found a sorority hazing, rest assured it is in DIRECT violation of local, state, national, university and sorority rules.

:)
Amy

Ditto on what Amy said!

I'm not going to lie and say that hazing doesn't happen, because it does. But keep in mind that hazing is ILLEGAL in most states, and those who practice it are caught and dealt with!

My sorority places strong emphasis on scholarship, sisterhood, and philanthropy....and the sororities I know of also believe that these ideals are important.

I truly believe that one should not have to subject herself to hazing in order to be a part of a sisterhood. Prior to rushing Alpha Gamma Delta, I actually rushed a sorority on my campus that made me

• address the active sisters by their titles, for example: "Good morning, Miss Gina, I am very happy to be in your supreme presence."
• wear a bracelet to indicate that I was a pledge
• carry around a pink box

These girls were very PLEASANT during rush, but they really made me UNCOMFORTABLE once I had been installed as a Pledge. Basically, if you feel at all uncomfortable during your New Member Period (because NPC organizations aren't allowed to call them Pledges anymore), chances are there's something wrong and something needs to be done about it. Anything that jeopardizes your physical and mental well being during your New Member Period should be considered hazing.

Good luck to you and let us know when you go through Recruitment!

Depends what you call hazing
 

I don't want to identify my Ivy League school or the GLO I'm speaking about, but to say that "NPC sororities do not haze" just isn't always true. The national organizations are anti-hazing. This does not mean that NMs don't get hazed.

I'm not talking about an isolated incident; this was the regular modus operandi at more than one house. NMs had to dress up like streetwalkers and sing (in front of fraternity pledges) songs about how they were sluts. NMs had to learn and sing songs about how the other sororities on campus were fat pigs. There were lock-ins when no one was allowed to leave the house.

What frustrates me is the disconnect between the presentation of what the organization is about and the experience after bid day. If this is valuable because it creates bonding, then the organization should state proudly to the PNMs that this is what will happen. If it is not valuable, it ought to stop.

To answer the poster's question, I think you have to keep in mind that if what I am describing does not sound like the kind of sisterhood experience you want to have, you can be absolutely sure it won't happen to you. You can be sure as long as you know that you have the strength to walk away from it if it goes on in your chapter. You can stand up and say, "I am willing to show that I value the group in another way, but I don't want to do this." The reaction will tell you really quick whether this group really wants you to be their sister. If they love and respect you, they won't want you to do anything that you'd be ashamed of later. If they don't, it's better to be an independent or try a different group the next year.

-- IvySpice

I am proud to say that my sorority does not haze. NPC along with my university have no hazing policies. If you for any reason feel that hazing is taking place, you should report it. Like mentioned before, hazing is illegal and is not a laughing matter. Contact the university's Greek Coordinatior/Advisor or local authorities.

I dont see that as hazing. When I pledged I wore a pledge pin, which was enforced by nationals. I had no prob wearing it, actually I was proud to wear it.




wear a bracelet to indicate that I was a pledge

Re: Depends what you call hazing
 

"Lock-ins" or retreats are NOT hazing. The entire chapter (sisters and pledges) participates in them as a bonding activity. Everyone knows about it far ahead of time and no one is ever forced to miss work or class to attend it.

Perceptions
 

You really have to go into recruitment with an open mind and sometimes take things with a grain of salt. If a sorority hazes, you'll probably hear about it somehow through recruitment. On my campus, it's a well known thing that most sororities haze. Keep your eyes and ears open for this. Other than that, there isn't much way of telling until your new member program starts. As the others have said, even though NPC sororities don't believe in hazing, it still happens, and if it happens to you, you have avenues to use to take care of it.

Generalizations
 

>>>
"Lock-ins" or retreats are NOT hazing. The entire chapter (sisters and pledges) participates in them as a bonding activity. Everyone knows about it far ahead of time and no one is ever forced to miss work or class to attend it.
>>>

I'm sure that these statements are true at your chapter, which I'm glad to hear because what you're describing sounds like fun. But that doesn't mean that they are true in every case. In this case, they were not true.

I'd also like to point out that you don't necessarily need to "force" people to get them to do something they really don't want to do. When you're 17, and a group of older women you look up to, and who you desperately want to please and impress so that they will accept you, tell you to do something unpleasant, and you are with a group of fifty peers who are all doing it, chances are you're going to end up doing it too, even if no one holds a gun to your head. And if the alternative is to do it or get kicked out of the group, well, saying no in that context takes an incredible amount of strength and bravery that not every 17-year-old can muster.

Hopefully the original poster is going to a school with chapters like yours where she will be welcomed in a warm and sisterly way. I just think that she should know that there are chapters (and individual big sisters) out there who don't have the same ideas about how to build a sisterhood, and it might be worth thinking about how she's going to handle the situation if it comes up.

-- IvySpice

That is not true! Do not believe that all NPHC and NPC do not haze. All chapters are different and some do haze and get caught. I am sure you know already by this GC that some get caught hazing. The best way to know if a chapter's members haze, is if a girl like Amy tells you, "National sororities, that is members of the NPC and NPHC, do not haze."

-Heath

FKT

Well Heath, how do you propose that sororities convey the message that they do not haze to prospective members?
Technically, no member of NPC and NPHC should haze. All nationals have a resolution that this is NOT allowed. Yes, it does go on. But usually when a national office finds out, that chapter is gone.
For instance, KD doesn't mess around with hazing. We've lost several chapters in recent years because of hazing violations. Also, if you allow yourself to be hazed, you are just as much to blame as the person hazing you.
I've always been proud to say that my chapter does not haze. I'm not going to lie and say that no NPC or NPHC hazes. They SHOULDN'T, but some do.
It's unfortunate, but to prospective members, there is no definite way to tell if a group hazes or not. If it does happen to you, report it to the proper people. You will be released of your pledge and allowed to join another group if you so desire.

up until yesterday I was under the impression that hazing doesn't really happen as much as some people believe it does. I was never hazed, and so I just kind of assumed that it was more of a guy thing, and mostly sororities didn't do it, but I got into a lengthy conversation with someone on GC last night about her hazing experience, which maybe makes me think that it happens but my eyes just weren't open to it. Sometimes we don't see things that we don't want to.

My suggestion would be to ask some questions about being a new member, and listen to the answers very carefully that may give you some indication as to what the new member, or pledge period will be like.

Hey Pollywogg! Thanks for the nice convo last night - you allowed me to vent and talk about some things!

Anyway, don't be naive about hazing. If it happens, in which my case it does, then it does. Go ahead and try reporting it, because you will have all of Greek Life hating you. Believe me, I have seen it done - it's not pretty. They make your life miserable and you might as well leave the school. Hazing does, and will be continued. I've seen it done in public! It's a tradition, and like I said to pollywogg, and if you don't want to participate after initiated, then you don't have to. It's a decision.

thanks again pollywogg it was a lot of fun!

I would think that the "pledge trainer" (what is the PC term?) would go to the ends of the earth for you since your safety is her responsibility. Being aware of your vision limitations, it would take a very ignorant person to put you in a risky situation.

I can't say it wouldn't happen, but you may very well be able to tell who would be the least likely to paticipate in such activities when you meet them. Gentility is hard to fake.

I know that I'm not apart of the NPHC, but you all really can't group NPHC sororities with NPC. At NPHC informationals they have to say they don't haze. But I have NEVER been to any school where that is a fact. You are looked down on if you aren't hazed. Your chapter gets a reputation as a paper chapter and no one takes you serious. If no one sees your pledges losing sleep for an extended period of time or waking up at 3:00am to buy a sister a candy bar, no one give you respect. I know it sounds silly, but it is true. I don't know about NPC but you really can't speak on behalf of any NPHC sorority.