Cornell to Ban "Pledging" for GLOs

[ASTalumna06]

In Skorton's op-ed piece he states that about 2,000 alcohol-related deaths occur annually among American college students. At Cornell, high-risk drinking and drug use are two to three times more prevalent among fraternity and sorority members than elsewhere in the student population, he wrote.

He goes on to state that, during the last 10 years, nearly 60 percent of fraternity and sorority chapters on campus have been found responsible for activities that are considered hazing under the Cornell code of conduct.

"Hazing has been formally prohibited at Cornell since 1980 and a crime under New York State law since 1983," he wrote. "But it continues under the guise of pledging, often perpetuated through traditions handed down over generations. Although pledging is explained away as a period of time during which pre-initiates devote themselves to learning the information necessary to become full members, in reality, it is often the vehicle for demeaning activities that cause psychological harm and physical danger."

Has anything been done in the past regarding these alleged hazing incidents? It seems to me that if any student has acted outside the rules set forth in the Cornell Code of Conduct, they should have been brought before the school, or the authorities if the situation called for it.

If this has continued to go on without prior warning/punishment, it seems to me that blame for the death this past spring should partially fall on the shoulders of the higher-ups at the school, who didn't take control beforehand.

If it had been swept under the rug in the past, it shouldn't have been, and pledging wouldn't have been done away with now.

How are they even going to do away with pledging completely? What if a chapter is simply teaching their new members the way of their fraternity/sorority in a structured and meaningful way, that doesn't bring harm to any of the new members.. will that be considered a violation of this new policy? Or are they considering "pledging" and a "new member education period" to be two different things?