[DeltAlum]

We often are frustrated by the use of the word "ritual" when it comes to describing hazing. Most, if not all of us consider "ritual" as the ceremony by which we are inducted into our organizations.

On deeper consideration, I think that many acts of hazing are, in fact, rituals:

From the online Cambridge Dictionary:

"Definition
ritual:

a set of fixed actions and sometimes words performed regularly, especially as part of a ceremony:"

From Wikipedia:

"A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community.

A ritual may be performed at regular intervals, or on specific occasions, or at the discretion of individuals or communities. It may be performed by a single individual, by a group, or by the entire community; in arbitrary places, or in places especially reserved for it; either in public, in private, or before specific people. A ritual may be restricted to a certain subset of the community, and may enable or underscore the passage between religious or social states.

The purposes of rituals are varied; they include compliance with religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners, strengthening of social bonds, demonstration of respect or submission, stating one's affiliation, obtaining social acceptance or approval for some event — or, sometimes, just for the pleasure of the ritual itself.

In any case, an essential feature of a ritual is that the actions and their symbolism are not arbitrarily chosen by the performers, nor dictated by logic or necessity, but are, at least in part, prescribed and imposed upon the performers by some external source."

While most of you know that I don't approve of hazing, some of the language above is much the same as that used to justify some form of hazing during our pledge processes.

So, my conclusion is that, while hazing may not be part of our initiation "ritual," it may be a ritual unto itself.

I don't like the use of the word in stories, but I don't think it is totally incorrect.