ABCNews.com Asking for Feedback About Hazing

[DWAlphaGam]

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Li..._mailform.html


How Do You Feel About Hazing?
ABCNEWS.com Wants to Hear From You

Sept. 29— The recent allegations that members of a high school football team sexually abused several younger players has brought hazing back into the headlines.

Were you ever hazed when you joined a sports team or a college fraternity or sorority? Did you agree to go through the experience and, if so, why? Did you feel that it helped create a stronger bond between you and the other members of the group? Or did you feel forced into it?

Did you ever participate in hazing when you were part of a team or perhaps a fraternity or sorority? What do you think leads someone to take part in hazing?

If you are interested in speaking with ABCNEWS.com, please email us. We want to hear how Americans feel about the hazing phenomenon. Please provide an evening and daytime phone number and/or e-mail address so that someone from ABCNEWS.com can contact you if we decide we would like to talk to you further about your thoughts.

If we use just your e-mailed comments in our coverage on ABCNEWS.com, we will not contact you.


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There is an e-mail feedback form at the bottom of the link if you're interested in contacting them. Hopefully this investigation will not specifically attack greeks!

[Tom Earp]

My Dollars worth is sent!!!!!!!!!

Hope they come and interview me!

[sugar and spice]

How awesome would that be, if you were just watching ABC and all of a sudden Tom Earp was on the news.

[DWAlphaGam]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
How awesome would that be, if you were just watching ABC and all of a sudden Tom Earp was on the news.

Seeeriously.

Tom, if they interview you, you'll have to let us know so we can all watch! (Hopefully they could interpret your e-mail enough to figure out how to contact you, LOL!)

[texas*princess]

the "hazing phenomenon"? OOOOO-k

I think that with sports it is something that has probably happened for a long time, it just never made headlines. I don't know how all of a sudden it became a trend or "phenomenon"

I think that would be awesome if Tom Earp was on the news!

[BSUPhiSig'92]

I'd like to see if Tom speaks like his e-mails!

[adduncan]

Originally posted by BSUPhiSig'92
I'd like to see if Tom speaks like his e-mails!

Maybe ABC will contract someone from GC to write the subtitles???

Just kiddin' ya, Tom. Ya know we luv ya!

Adrienne

[moe.ron]

Tom, if you get interviewed, I will give you $1 if you do the running man on air.

[hoosier]

TO: ABC News

For 40 years, I've written and talked about hazing in fraternities.

When I was a fraternity member at Indiana in the early '60s, the hazing and "Hell Week" was everywhere, but private - often concealed by a "Help Week" community service project.

Now, changing attitudes and insurance rates have forced national fraternities to severely clamp down on hazing - usually the chapter is suspended immediately if there is any hazing discovered.

Another important thing is that the nine "black" fraternities and sororities are the biggest hazers, without question. It seems like you cannot join a black fraternity without severe and repeated paddling. Although these groups have little in common with the 90 or 100 "traditional" national Greek Letter Organizations, their hazing is spread over all of us. For example, when the two girls died/drowned in California last year while seeking membership in a 'black' sorority, which apparently didn't have a charter and wasn't affiliated with the school, it was widely publicized as "two more campus hazing deaths." It was really just two murders near a campus.

Another important thing: I'm sure you have the Alfred Univ. study of Athletic Hazing. The definition of hazing in that phony study included "forced to return to campus before classes start." This means every football player, cheerleader, soccer player (male or female), and other fall sports participant (and even the marching band members) was "hazed" by Alfred's definition, and this distorts the entire study.

Another concern is the double standard. This fall there have been reports of hazing at the Michigan State women's soccer team, Maryland (M &F) lacrosse, Nebraska football, and Texas A&M band and spirit club. In all of these cases, the participants/teams/coaches got slaps on the wrist. In the worst case, at Maryland, the hazers got suspended from games, but the suspensions end before the season starts. Athletics can haze with little fear, but even minor fraternity/sorority hazing is a death knell for a chapter. That's a classic double standard.

Good luck with your efforts.

[AlphaXi4983]

well said

[DWAlphaGam]

Originally posted [in part] by hoosier

Another important thing is that the nine "black" fraternities and sororities are the biggest hazers, without question. It seems like you cannot join a black fraternity without severe and repeated paddling. Although these groups have little in common with the 90 or 100 "traditional" national Greek Letter Organizations, their hazing is spread over all of us. For example, when the two girls died/drowned in California last year while seeking membership in a 'black' sorority, which apparently didn't have a charter and wasn't affiliated with the school, it was widely publicized as "two more campus hazing deaths." It was really just two murders near a campus.

Wha-wha-WHAT???

What is the basis of this statement?

[rho4life]

Originally posted by hoosier
TO: ABC News

For 40 years, I've written and talked about hazing in fraternities.

When I was a fraternity member at Indiana in the early '60s, the hazing and "Hell Week" was everywhere, but private - often concealed by a "Help Week" community service project.

Now, changing attitudes and insurance rates have forced national fraternities to severely clamp down on hazing - usually the chapter is suspended immediately if there is any hazing discovered.

Another important thing is that the nine "black" fraternities and sororities are the biggest hazers, without question. It seems like you cannot join a black fraternity without severe and repeated paddling. Although these groups have little in common with the 90 or 100 "traditional" national Greek Letter Organizations, their hazing is spread over all of us. For example, when the two girls died/drowned in California last year while seeking membership in a 'black' sorority, which apparently didn't have a charter and wasn't affiliated with the school, it was widely publicized as "two more campus hazing deaths." It was really just two murders near a campus.

Another important thing: I'm sure you have the Alfred Univ. study of Athletic Hazing. The definition of hazing in that phony study included "forced to return to campus before classes start." This means every football player, cheerleader, soccer player (male or female), and other fall sports participant (and even the marching band members) was "hazed" by Alfred's definition, and this distorts the entire study.

Another concern is the double standard. This fall there have been reports of hazing at the Michigan State women's soccer team, Maryland (M &F) lacrosse, Nebraska football, and Texas A&M band and spirit club. In all of these cases, the participants/teams/coaches got slaps on the wrist. In the worst case, at Maryland, the hazers got suspended from games, but the suspensions end before the season starts. Athletics can haze with little fear, but even minor fraternity/sorority hazing is a death knell for a chapter. That's a classic double standard.

Good luck with your efforts.

This sort of us versus them attitude is needless. I don't know what org you're in, but unless you have SPECIFIC EVIDENCE of ANY group hazing, it is reckless slander to say that they haze.

Under a broad enough definition, all Greeks haze. We all can agree that last year's AKA drowning death in Southern Cal was a tragedy. But it was tragic due to the loss of life, not because of the org they were interested in, or the color of their skin.

[lovelyivy84]

Careful hoosier, your bias is showing.

Thank you for once again showing your TRUE colors and using a TRAGEDY to somehow demean an entire community and a group of organizations of which you obviously know NOTHING, and that have done everything in their power to end this.

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Before we jump all over Hoosier, I'd like to note that usually Hoosier's posts are pretty fair.

We don't know Hoosier's background or how much information Hoosier has about any specific group. Additionally, I for one would be pretty upset if Hoosier brough up specific instances of a certain group hazing. Talk about bad press.

[lovelyivy84]

Have you seen some of his posts before they are deleted? I know all about this individual that I need to know.

Originally posted by HotDamnImAPhiMu
Before we jump all over Hoosier, I'd like to note that usually Hoosier's posts are pretty fair.

We don't know Hoosier's background or how much information Hoosier has about any specific group. Additionally, I for one would be pretty upset if Hoosier brough up specific instances of a certain group hazing. Talk about bad press.