My feelings about hazing...
 

Hazing has become a big issue on my campus. I was absolutely shocked to hear about some of what has been going on in many of our NPC sororities...I truly believed that the 'hazing' that occurred was NOTHING like the urban legends you hear. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif The reputation the BGLO's on my campus is almost more horrifying.

I truly believe that you should grow to respect your sisters and/or brothers because they set a positive example of respect, maturity, and love -- NOT because you are afraid of them.

One of my sisters and I were discussing this and comparing it to parents. You are much more likely to form a deep, loving emotional bond with a parent who has been a beacon of unconditional love than with a parent who has been abusive and instilled fear in you.

You will respect either parent, but one will be a healthy, constructive form of respect while the other is a resentful, terrified, and self-nullifying form. How are you supposed to feel close and affectionate towards someone who crushed your self-esteem and been detrimental in the quest to become the best man or woman you can possibly be (which is a major reason for my membership in my org.)? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/confused.gif

As a disclaimer, I am not 100% sure of what transpires in organizations other than my own. I also realize how sad it is that ENTIRE chapters, or even GLO's themselves are attacked for the possibly unsolicited actions of a fraction of the initiated members, because I believe that only rarely is it a majority of the chapter sanctioning and/or supporting these hazing incidents.

However, it seems that the systen is inappropriately very passive about letting things like this happen. The only penalty (to my knowledge) that NPC here gives reported orgs is a ban from participating in homecoming. Slap on the wrist much? Isolated hazing incidents add up and jeopardize the future of the ENTIRE Greek system! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif

I would think that chapters would be interested in penalizing the individuals that are blackening their name? In not doing so, they are putting the fate of their organizations at risk. The silence is a dangerous reinforcement that violating the human rights of others is OK. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

I just felt the need to share my thoughts on this...

I'm glad I never had to deal with any of this. The only hazing I can remember having done, was taking our pledges out at 3 AM in their PJ's to get donuts, one night. We went in a big group and had fun-nothing like you are describing now!

The hard part about dealing with hazing is that sororities and fraternities are based on tradition. Hazing is a part of almost every chapter's tradition. It is even harder to change things within a local chapter, because usually the only governing body they have is their alumnae. Sometimes it's the issue of "I went through it, why shouldn't he/she?" or "I earned my letters." It's all a matter of tradion, or a university's definition of hazing. Most schools define it as "any form of mental or physical discomfort", which can encompass things that we wouldn't normally consider hazing.
For example, my chapter used to co-sponsor events known as day-nights. In these events a fraternity and a sorority would swap pledges for the day. We, as pledges would go over to the fraternity house at 6am and cook them breakfast, we would then choose one of them to be our big brother. You would spend the whole day with your big brother. He would commonly take you out to lunch, teach you about his fraternity, and make you do stupid little things like serenade him in the middle of the campus. It was all in fun and games, and you weren't required to do anything you didn't want to. My pledge class did it together because we enjoyed it. The campus found out about them, and considered them to be hazing. Now, atleast for me, I don't think that new members will be able to develop that special bond with a big brother. Obtaining a big brother these days just means asking some fraternity member, at a party, usually while everyone is drunk, to be your big bro.
I do believe that hazing is wrong -- but I think that the definition of hazing is different for everyone.

See...

I don't think that either of those activities described are really 'hazing'. In a lot of instances, I think people whine too much. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif

I attended a private high school in 9th and 10th grade, and being a previously all-guys school, they had the traditional 'Freshman Initiation Week'. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Every freshman was given a green beanie by administration and we had to wear it all week, after our senior decorated it. We also had to memorize a pledge that our senior could make us get down and say on demand.

It was all in good fun and I'm very disappointed to hear that the school has since done away with Initiation Week. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif

My original post was not meant to be in any way related to everything going on with Chi-O. It was just an observation. I understand that there is a lot of tradition involved in the new member ed/pledge process, and am completely OK with that.

But there has to be a line as far as what needs to be taken to earn one's letters. Physical abuse, forcing pledges to strip down and then circling their fat in marker, adding comments like "Moo", asking them to perform sexual acts, or dropping them off in another town and demanding that they find their way home are all things that I wouldn't wan't done to me, nor would I dream of forcing someone else to do, especially a SISTER of mine that I had a voice in choosing.

*Manda*

I think that if we want to address the issue of hazing and how to better work against the years of *tradition* that the Greek organizations base their need to haze on; we have to start with the pledges/new members. I think that we should educate the new members that they have the ability to stand up for themselves and when they feel that an activity has crossed the line for them they are able to speak up and do something about it. I know that there have been activites that my pledge sisters and I have participated in that made some of them very uncomfortable, but many were afraid to speak up for fear that after they devoted so much time, emotion, money, etc. that they would be dropped and unable to be initiated. I think that if there was an outlet for you to say this has definitly gone over the line for me, some of our hazing problems would disappear.

First of all I would like to state that my sorority does not haze. We can't make pledges do anything that we wouldn't do. The hazing policy is included as a part of their pledge book. They know their rights and are told to speak up if anything we ask of them is questionalbe. Secondly, if you are dumb enough to be put through a lot of unnecessary bull**** (physical & emotional abuse) to become a member of an organization, wake up and smell the coffee!! True brothers/sisters shouldn't have to do that to you in order for you to form a bond.

I personally don't think that 3am donut runs, serenading, scavenger hunts, and things like that are hazing. I do see that they are events in which people have to work together or be together and they have a chance to work on their sisterhood/brotherhood.

When it comes to hazing I am not a very happy person. Back in the fall of 1997 we had 15 pledges. One of the other sororities didn't like the fact that we got more girls than they did so they brought us up on 14 charges of hazing...coincidently a made-for-tv movie about sorority hazing came out right before this event. I believe it was called "Dying to Fit In" or something like that. (I hate those stupid movies) Thank god all of our pledges stuck up for us. If they hadn't we would have probably been kicked off of campus.

Anyway, I believe their is good, fun hazing and then there is bad hazing. You shouldn't have to be subjected to the bad hazing to make your greek life experience memorable.

You people have the same problem a lot of Greeks and non greeks both have. You cannot distinguish the difference between pledging and hazing. Pledging is a process with a pre planned beginning and end. Pledging involves several factors. Making sure the plegdes have humbled themselves enough to learn about the fraternity and it's memembers (i.e. history and goals, objectives). Insuring the pledges bond with both other pledges and people already in the fratenity/soroity they hope to join.
Hazing is not a process. It is not planned and their is no moral or underlying factor behind it other than revenge or someone getting their rocks off. The problem occurs when you have people who pledge but did not understand their pledge process. No one every explained to that person the intricate planning and care that went into their pledge process and should go in every pledge process. As a result of this you get a lot of greeks out there who know how haze crap out of someone but sadly know nothing about pledging.

Kappa Alpha Psi
Nu Iota Spr. 97

Hazing is not a tradition, if it was then it wouldn't be a problem. Meaning, if the hazing activity in a particular organization began as one thing, then progressed into a horrible nightmare of danger and risk, that would be breaking tradition. Hazing does not become part of the pledge process, it replaces it. The only tradition that remains constant in the fraternity house is the ritual activities. I think I can safely say the best way to determine if your house is out of control with hazing is if your current members don't understand the details of the ritual, but can clearly recall all of the pledge activities. If you whole house is brainstorming on the creativness of hitting someone with a paddle rather than the proper way to do the handshake, it's time to modify your traditions.

I support safe pledge unification activities. Take control of your organization before the problem controls you. The tradition is the members you leave when you graduate.

RUgreek

[This message has been edited by RUgreek (edited February 10, 2001).]

someone needs to be reminded how to do the handshake?