high school hazing?

Hillary352 · #1 05-03-2002, 03:15 AM

I was searching under sororities at community.webshots.com when i came upon some pictures from what looks to be like a high school sorority. From what i saw in one pic, a very young high school girl is dressed in humiliating clothes before what she says is hell night (as she puts it the worst night of her life) along with her parents. does this seem wrong to anyone besides me? i would never let my daughter participate in blatent hazing activities. Isnt hazing illegal in all states? wouldnt this be detrimental to college sororities if high school girls are taught that hazing is a normal part of greek life?

Kevin · #2 05-03-2002, 08:51 AM

It's only illegal if you get caught. My HS didn't have fraternity's and sororities, (well we sort of did) there were these two organizations called "Men's club" and "Pep Club". I've talked about it on other threads. This was (and still is) FACULTY sponsored and I'm pretty sure the tradition goes pretty far back. Essentially the groups haze incoming freshman. Freshman at my old HS were treated basically like dirt. They actually have a hell week. On the final day they have to come to school dressed a certain way... This was a long time ago for me but I remember that the pep club wannabees had to wear a white t-shirt, green skirt, six pigtails and paint their faces with spots like a dog. As I recall they had to get 20 signatures from seniors for doing whatever they were told to do.

Men's club was suspended my second year after the freshman kids were taken out to this field where everyone would drink and made to strip naked and jog in a circle. They came back the next year though.. The school was VERY tradition oriented.

To the best of my knowledge all of this still goes on. I can only imagine what would happen if the faculty of my CURRENT school got wind that we did anything even close to resembling those things...

dzandiloo · #3 05-03-2002, 09:04 AM

Hazing was pretty obvious in my highschool...there were three organizations that did it the worst. FFA hazed their freshman--I don't know everything they did, but they painted one of their hands green and they weren't allowed to wash it. It was really gross when a week went by, and some of their hands were still green (these people handled livestock for crying out loud!!!).

The Thespians hazed bad! When I pledged, we were brought to the commons area and humiliated in a number of ways--we had to act like bacon or popcorn...we were made to carry the books of people we didn't know, say monologues at the most inappropriate times, do "worm races" in front of the school...dress in ridiculous costumes & wear them to class...call our "Big Siblings" "Master", it goes on and on.

Then there was a mens group called "Duffers" and they had to go through some hell. One day during their initiation week, they had to come to school completely nerded out--highwaters, horn-rimmed glasses w/tape, messed up hair, lunch-boxes, etc.

Of course--this was back in 85-88 (I'M OLD!!!) By the time I graduated, the Thespians were hazing in private, and no one wanted to be in the Duffers anymore b/c they couldn't haze. Sad, huh? (I'm saying sad about wanting to be part of a group that hazed). While some of the thespian thing I had no problem with (we were all drama-geeks, after all...we lived to be weirdos), I did not enjoy calling people "Master" or being made to do worm races (it hurt & I ruined my clothes!).

My college was virtually hazing free (if anyone did it, I did not know about it). Interesting how I went on to join a sorority, and the closest thing to hazing that I ever experienced was a kidnap breakfast where the pledges were brought to a private conference room & served breakfast! We got our bigs back, though...we kidnapped them, and took them to a public restaurant, and lo & behold, the Lambda Chi Associates had brought their big brother's too!!! All of us pledges had our make-up on, etc. b/c we knew they would be there...amazing how some of our big's lost their sense-of-humor that a.m.

carnation · #4 05-03-2002, 10:11 AM

Hazing is despicable, be it high school or college or military or athletic. When I was on the high school dance team in the sixties, the new members were hazed. So were the new members of the pep club, the athletic teams, the FFA...I'm horrified that none of our parents tried to stop it.

However, I was never hazed as a sorority member in the seventies. Sorority hazing was considered illbred and we wouldn't have thought of it. I still don't personally know anyone who was hazed by a sorority.

Kevin · #5 05-03-2002, 10:17 AM

Quote:

...I'm horrified that none of our parents tried to stop it.

I don't think you can be so hard on them for that.

Back in those days it *really* was part of the culture. Ethics and hazing had entirely different meanings back then. In those days (and in some places even today) hazing is still a welcomed aspect of the culture (although not by me).

I just think it's a little unfair to judge the past by the standards of today.

LHT
Kevin

dzsaigirl · #6 05-03-2002, 11:17 AM

sports, band, drill team, cheerleading - all of these haze, and much more visibly and more common than fraternities and sororities. So why does the media discriminate? Because chances are, they were in at least one of those activities in HS, but perhaps were not in a fraternity or sorority...not fair.

Around here, the blatant HS hazing happens in plain view, in the MALL food court. Silly outfits, screaming of commands, you name it...

FuzzieAlum · #7 05-03-2002, 12:15 PM

I never heard of hazing in h.s., but one of my sorority sisters reported being hazed by her high school band! I thought that was just ludicrous, and what was even more ludicrous was that no one complained to the administration or dropped out of band, they just took it.

dzsaigirl · #8 05-03-2002, 12:28 PM

I have been hazed in high school and college band before...so it does happen!

I will be a band director soon, and if I find out any hazing is going on, those kids will be kicked out of band and referred for suspension. Zero tolerance, woo hoo!

Kevin · #9 05-04-2002, 01:01 AM

Quote:

So why does the media discriminate? Because chances are, they were in at least one of those activities in HS, but perhaps were not in a fraternity or sorority...not fair.

You'd really be surprised how many people in the media are greek... Or at least here they are.

LHT
Kevin

theta_phi · #10 05-04-2002, 01:20 AM

I was also hazed in high school. This one time at band camp (sorry I couldn't resist). But seriously, all freshman were assigned to a senior member and you were their slave for the week. On the first day the freshman had to carry their seniors' suitcases and stuff to their rooms. Then on one day all freshman were woken up by the seniors around 4 or 5 in the morning to find their doors covered with whipped/shaving cream, pads, condoms, etc. The seniors would be in the hall with whistles and would be yelling and all the freshman were forced into the basement where they were forced to do exercises and embarrassing gestures and sing and dance and basically make fools of themselves until they were exhausted. After that, the freshman had a little time to go to their rooms to get ready. Then while marching to breakfast, all freshman had to make animal noises instead of calling (left, left) while marching. All the other schools would laugh at the freshman. At all meals that day the freshman had to sit at a table beside their seniors' and were not allowed to talk and had to get all the food and dump the tray for their senior. That night there was a 'talent show' where the freshman were forced to dress up in embarrassing costumes and sing and dance in front of everyone. Also, the entire day there were air raids. All the seniors had whistles. If a freshman was caught out of their room and a senior blew their whistle, the freshman would have to get belly down on the ground, fully lying down wherever you were (in mud, on the road, etc.) and say "I am a lowlife freshman I have no poise and grace and when I see a senior I fall upon my face". Also, all day freshman were not allowed to talk at all. The seniors could basically do whatever they wanted to the freshman. The guys had it worse, they were actually forced to do outrageous numbers of pushups and were actually beaten by the seniors. The worse part of it all was that the band directors and all the chaperones had no problem with any of it, they actually watched it all happen and took pictures and laughed.

AGDLynn · #11 05-04-2002, 09:33 AM

"It's only illegal if you get caught."

That's one of the stupidest explanations I have ever heard of. Take the words "high school hazing" and replace with another illegal activity and see how it sounds.

Against the law is against the law.

If there is hazing in different high school activities, that would decrease the reasons some would want to even attempt to join a collegiate Greek organization.

Kevin · #12 05-04-2002, 11:19 AM

Quote:

"It's only illegal if you get caught."

That's just what I observed my HS's views to be on this subject.. not my own. To be honest they probably think it's perfectly legal.

LHT
Kevin

justhey76 · #13 05-04-2002, 11:54 AM

Yeah, I would say hazing is mroe common in HS than you would think. When I was a freshman, the varsity soccer team would haze anyone who was a freshman or sophomore that made varsity. And since there were only two of us, there were a LOT of people that hazed just a very few people. They split up into two groups and came and woke us up at our houses at 4 in the morning, and OUR PARENTS WERE IN ON IT! Then they painted our faces, and wouldnt let us change clothes, or even put a bra on. Then they took us to our coach's house where we proceeded to shoepolish his car, and they took pictures only of the freshmen doing it. Then, they were really nice, and took us to a breakfast place, and even paid for our meals, the catch was, we were still dressed in pj's. Then, by this time, the malls were open and they tied us two together and made us walk around in the mall with dog leashes on with fish painted all over our faces and arms. It didnt do any real harm to me, but i was pretty PO'd that i had to get up so early in hte morning. i didnt think about it at the time, but all i had to do was say no........

XO_Princess · #14 05-07-2002, 09:49 PM

When I was in highschool, we hazed and were hazed. When you were a junior, you were given Little Sisters, who were freshman. By the way, I was at an all-girls private hs. There was a specific night where you were kidnapped by your big sisters and they took you out to public places, dressed you up, and made you do emberrassing things. When I was a junior, we took our little sisters out, dressed them up, took them to a mall, and made them go up to random strangers and do stupid things with them-while we took pictures. Then we took them to breakfast the next morning-it was supposed to be all in good fun. When I was a freshman, our big sisters dressed us up, and made us stand on a street corner and hold up signs. Then they took us to the all boys school and emberrased us in front of the guys. Back then I didn't feel like it was hazing, but looking back on it, I guess it was.....oops...

ECUKaitlyn · #15 05-08-2002, 01:18 AM

I am a high school senior getting ready to graduate (yea!!)..anyway I guessed I was hazed and hazed others although I have never thought of it like that. I got into the Anchor Club my junior year, and when you get in, you have to do all kinds of little stupid things for the seniors, and then on the last day, they dressed us up in all this ridiculous stuff and we had to wear it all day and sing little songs and stuff at lunch, but all this was fun to me! I never thought of it as hazing.

I was also on the cheerleading and soccer teams for four years, but they never made us do anything. But I do think the guys soccer team hazed, my boyfriend told me they "break in" the new guys, but I don't know what that entails.

Why are these type of things considered hazing? I think its just fun and games and a good way to all come together and bond. I always thought hazing was like beating, yelling or forcing someone to drink large quantities of alcohol and stuff like that but whatever, I dont know much about the subject.