Quote:
Originally posted by hoosier
Two "definition of hazing" questions of the past week:
1 - Is required "study hall" for pledges hazing? One natl. sorority poster said it is.
2 - In high school soccer, requiring each freshman (not on varsity) to be a ball boy at a varsity game. Ball boys retrieve the out-of-bounds balls. A soccer mom is calling this hazing.
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Two more good examples of hazing definitions gone awry. Next, parents forcing kids to do chores will be hazing!
I believe the study halls for New Members is considered hazing by NPC standards, but study halls are not considered hazing at the state level (as far as I know).
In general, state hazing laws are in place to protect people from the extremes, not to limit activities that pledges/aspirants/new members can do.
Here's an off the wall example of a good pledge activity gone wrong. Mandatory study hours are a great thing. They give pledges an opportunity to get together with other pledges (this REALLY helps students who aren't good at study skills get together with students who are in a non-threatening environment). BUT, if organizations are planning study hours FOR the pledges - like during class time or at 3 AM or something - that's unacceptable in my opinion.
Personally, I think all pledges should be required to attend all their classes unless there is a medical or family emergency. I also think that the rules about uniterrupted sleep are very important. If there were ever fewer than six hours of uninterrupted sleep, I would be disgusted with a pledge program.