Is Alpha Gamma Delta Hazing?

Just letting everyone know that they should not be worried by the title of this thread. Its just a question I have.

In the greek life forum, James started a thread about PNM's questions about Sorority Life. In it, KittyKatKappa said that she believed that NPC considers anything that you have to do to earn Initiation is considered hazing.

As far as I know, according to NPC, requiring points or anything that implies that Initiation is "earned" is considered hazing.

At first, I was thinking well Alpha Gam doesnt have anything like this so it wouldnt be a concern. Then, I thought about our 14 Pearls requirement. Where you have to do something under each of the 9(?) headings, with 5 being done again to equal 14. You have to do this along, along with other things in order to fulfill Initation requirements. In a way this a form of a point system. Than, AXOAlum went on to talk about how one of their chapters got got in trouble for doing something like this.

As for the points system - I saw someone else question this as hazing - yes, for AXO anyway, the NM "points" system is considered hazing. In fact, we just had our hand slapped because we give the NM's these pretty paper cut-out lyres that we hang on the wall, and for each "accomplishment" she makes (inpersonal or sorority life - for example, if she attendsa forum on domestic violence), she gets a paper
"pearl" on the lyre. The original objective was to show them how proud we are of what they do in and outside of sorority life. And they always LOVED to show off their "pearls" - well, Nationals said "NOPE" - because this could be used as "mental leverage" onthem to hold them to higher standards or whatever. So unfortunately, even something that is designed toreward them and boost their confidence, can bemisconstrued under the right circumstances.

I know my chapter and many others also do this same thing, except to show that they are/have been completing the Pearls. For our littles we had to make a pearl board and for each one that they did, they got a pearl or whatever you wanted to put on it. I did hard starbusrt for my lil.

I know that Alpha Gamma Delta, [size=5.0]ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT[/size] tolerate hazing by its chapters or members in any form. But given what KittyKatKappa and AXO Alum said, would the Fourteen Pearls be technically considered "hazing" under those definitions?

and if not.......

Would it be because of the NPC policy that...

From Information on NPC
"The National Panhellenic Conference is a conference body, which cannot transgress or supersede in any way the rights and powers of individual fraternities."

Meaning that because the Fourteen Pearls was instituted into our fraternity BEFORE we joined NPC and it does not do anything to put a PNM ar risk, emotionally physically, etc., then it does not fall within the "hazing" technicality?


*side note* I did try to change the name of this thread, however It did not work. If it didnt my apologies if I scared or offended anyone by its title.

**completed after going to Marchall's, Walmart, putting together a bookcase, and cleaning and reorganizing a room. Oh yeah and losing (but still looking for) my 5th lavaliere. I know I know