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Originally posted by valpogal99
Like a few of the other groups, ADPi doesn't have paddles. I agree that I don't see the harm in them. I haven't heard of too many incidents where sorority members used them on new members. Why is it that NPC tries to change terms but fraternities still use the traditional phrases without too many incidents.
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I don't think I agree with you here -- NIC fraternities quite obviously have a lot more hazing/other risk management issues to deal with than the NPC sororities. Whether or not this is due to the strictness of the approach that the NPC has concerning hazing/drinking/risk management in general, I don't know -- but look at the hazing posts in the risk management section. Ninety out of every 100 involve a fraternity, not a sorority.
Whoever mentioned that non-Greeks would be "naive" to think that we hit each other with paddles -- I don't agree with that either. What's the main purpose of a paddle? What has it traditionally been used for -- besides rowing boats, of course?
A paddle is a sign of violence and is traditionally associated with hazing. It's not that much of a jump to think that it still might be used that way, especially for those who are not very familiar with the greek system (although why we would bother to decorate them first, I don't know). Paddles are always going to be associated with violence -- but this goes for whether we call them "paddles" or "wood boards" or "plaques" or whatever, so that's why I don't think the NPC name-change will do anything whatsoever. If they really want to make a difference they'll have to do away with the paddles themselves, not the name.
I do think that "paddles" in the form of an important symbol to the sorority -- Phi Mu's quatrefoils, AST's anchor -- would be a good solution. Not only do they lessen the hazing connotation, but they have the added bonus of having an immediate connection to something related to your sorority, so they're more personal and more meaningful.
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