Quote:
Originally Posted by ChioLu
While a different t-shirt is not like "paddling the pledges". pressuring the pledges to commit a crime or mandatory alcohol shots. It's the broad sense of treating one group of the same fraternity/sorority different than the rest. It's subjective.
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And subjective is a very dangerous thing when you're talking about whether something is forbidden or not . . . or in the case of hazing, criminal or not.
By definition, hazing is not about treating different members differently. Hazing has to do with harassment; real or potential physical, mental or emotional endangerment; demeaning someone or subjecting them to ridicule or embarrassment as part of an initiation.
Like I said, some groups have decided to use simple bright lines like "anything where members are treated differently" as a means of ensuring no one actually crosses the line. (And as I intimated, if those groups don't let NMs wear the badge or participate in all ritual, then I question whether they really are drawing the line at
anything that treats members differently.) If that works for those groups, fine. But be aware that other groups may not draw the line there. To say simply "it's hazing" rather than "my group considers it hazing" risks effectively claiming that the national policies of some other GLOs require hazing.