Quote:
Originally posted by RiceLax
I'm a freshman on the (former) Rice Lacrosse team. I was at the "initiation party" and I was "initiated"
Calling this hazing is a stretch. We were told several times that we didnt have to drink if we didnt want to. The event was not mandatory by any means. Several of our key starters (freshmen) didnt even go, and many upperclassmen have never attended the annual party.
We were handcuffed with toy handcuffs to freshmen on the girls lax team and given a fifth of liquor to drink, along with a wide array of chasers/mixers. From the stories I've heard of friends at other schools who pledged last semester, this is nothing at all. I had a great time, I never felt like I was in danger or I was being forced to do anything. Two girls went to the hospital because they had too much to drink, but I dont think they went directly from the party. Two guys had decided weeks in advance that they were going to bring boxing gloves and box each other, and they pretty much knocked each other out. They went to the hospital, one from the party and the other after he made it back to his dorm. Here at Rice, we have a wet campus and an alcohol policy designed with our safety in mind. Students call Rice EMS all the time to be checked out for alcohol-poisoning or drinking too much or whatever. The campus police are never notified, nor are parents. The administration wants us to be comfortable drinking on campus and calling for help if we have too much rather than drinking off campus and driving, or trying to down 15 shots in our rooms 5 minutes before we go out. So 4 people going to the hospital from one party might sound like a lot, but they weren't serious. No one's stomach was pumped, they were just given fluids and watched overnight.
Our captains hold no power other than they can sign checks for the rice lacrosse account. other than that, they organize games and run practices as we really dont have a coach (we're a club team). To single them out and suspend them, in my opinion, is ridiculous. We protested based on that logic, and their suspensions were reduced a bit.
Anyway, this is by no means an official statement or anything, so don't quote me. However, I just wanted to shed some light on this, as we've gotten a lot of bac publicity. I'll check back every so often, so reply or PM me or whatever. Take care y'all
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humm... you worry me. I went to a Beloit College and we had an identical drinking policy. We were not going to be carded if we walked around with drinks, (except in the campus bar) and they really wanted us to make RESPONSIBLE decisions as ADULTS. It was a great policy until my senior year when we had a plethora of students walking around with open handles, drinking straight from the bottle and then breaking it when they were done. Last spring we had 6 or so students go to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. One was on a ventilator and quite honestly could have died. Spring 2004 (or thereabouts) they banned open handles on campus.
We had been given a chance to be responsible adults and we blew it. ANYONE going to the hospital for alcohol related illness, (except in few rare cases) is not responsible and can jeopardize the people around them. Boxing...??? responsible...not really. Being told to drink is not appropriate, handcuffing (plastic or not) also not appropriate and anyone having to be hospitalized overnight for alcohol is not what Rice had in mind with their policy. You blew it by that behavior and your team should be suspended, just as any Greek org would have been. Rice made a good decision
Seriously stop and think about it. Have fun, if that means drinking responsibly do so, but not to the point where people go to the hospital. If groups like yours don't learn to drink responsibly, you will lose that privilege.
It very well may be hazing according to state laws.
People like you frustrate me. No one should ever be hospitalized for drinking too much. There is just no justification.
/soapbox