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Ive spent some time reading all however many pages that this thread composes on the internet. It is my first post and id like to start off by saying that i am a member of a local fraternity in New England. Being local we set our dues low, but more importantly we are free to set our own process. We have never put a pledges life at risk in any way during Pledging. However some things that we have pledges participate may be legally considered hazing? Do we flat out say during rush that we Haze? no, we tell prospective members that they are expected to work hard for letters and that its not easy.
My personal experience and from what I have seen since becoming a brother is that holding people accountable for there actions is not only the right thing to do to maintain good brotherhood, but is also a duty as members of the greek community as a commitment to excellance. The reason why hazing is looked down upon is that our society as a whole has become to open to failure and excepting those who cannot do and almost rewarding them. People now adays come from differant living enviroments then the fraternity man from the 1980s. people born in the 60's had parents who for the most part disiplined there children and kept them in line. Is hitting your child the best way to maintain order in a family? no.
Does this mean that if your child screws up you should just let them go? as im sure non hazing fraternities have clearly said is how they handle disorderly pledges.
Being in a fraternity is like a family away from home. The older members of the fraternity are the parents and the newer members are the children. The older members teach new members semester after semester how to become good brothers , mostly by holding them accountible for there actions. You dont just kick people out who make a mistake, just like in real life. You need to make sure they deal with there mistakes and you help them realize that making mistakes is part of life. It helps them for the real world. if a pledge is late to an event or forgets something and a brother makes that pledge run a mile on the track are you seriously going to call the police and report me for hazing violations? Hazing has come from hitting and dangerous things to basicly include everything.
Im sorry to inform you that being hazed, as a legal term, is a part of life. The sooner you realise this the easier it becomes to haze because you are really doing your new members a valueable service. The members go on to lead normal lives being productive employees and owners and political figures. Thats why greeks have been so successful in the past. we as a whole train people for real life.
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