Paddles Considered Hazing??

[GmuTeke]

my school doesnt have an "anti-paddle" law on the books, but there's really only one place in the area where you can buy paddles.

the paddles are balanced wrong, the handles are too short and too wide, and it's routered so it's as hard to hold by the handle as possible (it actually cut into my hand when i was trying to hold it). in short, it's deliberately designed to not be used and to only hang up on a wall.

perhaps the greek paraphenialia stores could try stocking alternatives to paddles for each fraternity. i know they make 5 pointed crowns for ZTA ladies at my local store, perhaps they could make TKE triangles, or Oxes for theta chi or something like that, and see how demand goes.

[KABillyMac]

I guess I have heard it all now. There are actually some orgs. that will not allow you to decorate paddles because they view it as a symbol of hazing. Unbelieveable. I learn something new everyday from GC.

[AlphaGam1019]

There is a particular fraternity on my campus who got in trouble for paddling their pledges. They always carried their paddles around campus.
I think it's pretty sick.

[xok85xo]

In my chapter, since paddles can be considered "hazing", the little sister's make them for their bigs, and give them to them at their senior brunch(last chi omega function as an active)..I got mine in may..it's huge..practically an oar!

[AggieDZ]

Actually, many of the online greek stores do carry plaque-style cutouts in fraternity's/sorority's symbol/mascot shapes. I've seen owls for XO, arrows & angels for PiPhi, daggers for KD, diamonds for ADPi, lyres for AXO ect.....

Try somethinggreek.com (?) They even have our (DZ) Lamp & Turtle!

[Tom Earp]

Since there is no LXA on this thread yet, I step to the fore!

OTW is right on the mark, our International, NO PADDLES made for Big Brothers as it is a sign of hazing and we were one of the first to have anti hazing! It also does not let the Chapter make a Large Padle with the Associate Member Class on it as that showed a sign of Hazing! Moronic as it seems, it is!

These paddles are almost as tall as I am and hang on the walls of the chapter house! Many Alums who come back show their kids their paddle on the wall!

it may be against International regulations, but i told some of the new classes that if they decided to make a paddle do it! We are not making them do it, it is on their own volition. True it shows what hazing was as paddling someones as but it is harde to with a 5 ft paddle which is decorated and hanging on a wall!

[MenaceKiller]

While we are not specifically disallowed to make paddles for our houses or individual members, we are not allowed to CARRY the paddles around with us as they could be classified as weapons with the "intent to haze." So, in that case, I can see where legislators get off in preventing people from carrying around paddles all day and on campus -- in a way, it encourages members to paddle each other with a paddle that's always there. Since most people argue that it's only for show and/or signing proof of interviewing, it's missing the point that it's still a potential use of hazing ON CAMPUS.

That said, I won't support a measure that prevents our chapter from making paddles at all -- it's simply another design for a plaque that we hang up on the walls of our house.

-MK

[AXOLiz]

We make "paddles" for our bigs and littles in my chapter, but they aren't necessarily the wooden paddle that I'm guessing most other chapters make. Within our house, we get creative and occasionally go overboard. I don't know if it was a hazing issue at some point that started this, but we can make anything into a paddle, it just has to say things like "AXO, big sis, lil sis" and the names and so on...some people do the wooden paddles, but I've seen stuff like bulletin/dry erase boards, pillows, quilts, cross stitch samplers, all kinds of painted wooden things, picture frames, photo albums, and so on. I even know of someone who's making one out of metal, but not engraved, it's going to be shaped and formed into letters and stuff (but that's what I get for going to an engineering school ). I just got a little (they're actually doing their big sis search tonight, yay!!), and I got a fleece throw and decorated one of the corners for her paddle. My big and I have a contest going on to out-paddle each other, basically, to see who can be the most creative, and we'll probably end up with 50 paddles some day, but that's fine with me.

I think it's awesome to give something to your big or your little, no matter what it is, and I agree with whoever said that it's the action that makes it hazing, not the object. Anyhow, just my two cents.

[ErikaXO]

Hey AXO Liz, at least you guys can still HAVE a big/little search!!!!! When I was a senior we had to stop doing it because.......you guessed it.....it was considered HAZING!!!!!!

[33girl]

Just a side note to TEKE IS STRONG, the policies we're talking about did not come from the school, they came from the national HQ of the sorority.

[CrucialCrimson]

In most cases it isn't the school banning the paddles, but the organizations themselves trying to distance themselves from a past connotation of hazing.

[AXOLiz]

Originally posted by ErikaXO
Hey AXO Liz, at least you guys can still HAVE a big/little search!!!!! When I was a senior we had to stop doing it because.......you guessed it.....it was considered HAZING!!!!!!

That's ridiculous!! For me, that was one of the most fun parts of my new member period! I hate hazing and all, but these rules are getting insane. We can't require anything of our new members, all we can do is "strongly encourage" it. We had nationals watch us the one year during the new member period, and the new member mom really couldn't do anything...and the girls in that pledge class thought it sucked. They were disappointed on all the stuff they missed out on because nationals claimed it was "hazing."

[SigkapAlumWSU]

Whoever said that "paddling" (i.e. the action) not the paddle itself is hazing: I applaud you!
I agree with no hazing, no exceptions. But I don't think that an object can be and action, last I checked. I understand that some nationals want to get away from some of the images that *some* people have associated with Greeks. But please, at least suggest a reasonable alternative, rather than just doing away with a longstanding (for some) tradition of sisterhood....

Hmm, oars huh?

I have two old paddles from my outrigger canoeing days... I wonder if decorating them would get my daughter in trouble..

Sandy, I highly doubt they would