[breathesgelatin]

First off, I wasn't trying to be rude, if you perceived it that way. I'm just trying to explain our campus culture (of which I do not approve).

Originally posted by exlurker
1. The Washington and Lee university policy statement against hazing is a sham

I'd say yes to this one. The school tries to enforce it but the hazing is kept well underground. The things that ARE out in the open are not, however, reprimanded (ie dressing like pirates to class). In my mind, if they really wanted to prove it though, they could.

Originally posted by exlurker
2. The W&L IFC policy statement against hazing is a sham, too. (By extension, can one conclude that the individual fraternities' anti-hazing policies are also more or less a set of lies -- or at least selectively applied?)

Definately. No fraternity here wants to see hazing end, except for maybe 2-3 of them. The IFC would take action and does take action if violations are found, but they seldom are "found out", and those that are found are usually minor.

Originally posted by exlurker
3. A highly selective, prestigious university like W&L knows what its students / applicants and their parents want.

On the contrary, I think most parents are opposed to hazing. I've only met one pro-hazing father. There is a sense in which, though, most people who come here do expect to pledge. Guys find out pretty early that there will be hazing involved. Parents generally get lied to. Most parents I have met are adamantly anti-hazing. And by no means does the school promote hazing to parents. It doesn't even promote Greek life in its admissions policies.

Originally posted by exlurker
4. Around three-quarters of the male students apparently want to be hazed -- and the more severe the hazing, the better, socially speaking.

Well, yes, to a degree. No one wants to be beat to a pulp, but most support hazing to a degree. 80% of guys here pledge. And the "best" fraternities are the worst hazers.

Originally posted by exlurker
5. Tradition rules.

This statement sums up what's best and worst about W&L all at once. We must diversify and reform our Greek life, but we should keep our Greek and other important traditions.

Originally posted by exlurker
So, hey, if that's what a bunch of overwhelmingly white upper-middle-class and upper-class guys and their families want and are willing to pay fairly big bucks for, who am I to object?

One small question -- how do they handle physical or emotional damage if/when it occurs? Student and alumni social pressure to hush it up? Alumni payoffs to keep parents and students quiet? Alumni and university officials working together to make sure the school's disciplinary processes are well-greased, or -- G*d forbid it should happen -- making sure the Virginia legal system is kept out of things?

Surely the chapters don't rely on insurance companies and their Nationals to handle the potential financial damage?

Well... not sure about the emotional implications. I feel that a lot of that gets repressed until graduation, or it turns into a drinking issue. Alcoholism is a definite problem here! Alumni social pressure is key. The top 4-5 fraternities are NOT going to get kicked off for any length of time or suffer any consequences so major as to permanently damage their standing.

I've never seen a case that came to a Virginia legal system. I've seen 2-3 cases that went to the IFC for minor things. I know of one case where 6-7 brothers resigned from a house to avoid any complications (that was an alcohol poisoning issue).. I know of a few broken bones, etc, but I don't think those were ever "found out"....

In short, it's all hidden. Everyone knows it's there, but the fraternities don't want to change, most other people are too scared to rat them out, and the school doesn't want to tarnish its reputation or lose alumni support by revealing it or closing chapters.

I don't want this to turn into a W&L hazing thread. That's not what I meant this as.