Cleaning house = hazing ???

[FuzzieAlum]

I think it is important to understand that every GLO has a different definition of hazing; same with the university policies chapters must abide by. (Of course some things are hazing to everybody.

Also, there are things forbidden "because of hazing" that may not actually be hazing. Consider:

-Making new members drinks until they puke, beating them with pointy sticks, making them run around campus in French maid outfits saying, "I love to clean for Mu Mu." I think most people would easily consider these hazing.
-Tests, cleaning duties, "always" wearing a pledge pin. These things can be conducted in perfectly dignified manners. If the tests are reasonable, the brothers intentionally don't make extra dirt, or the pledge pin can be taken off for showering, these are debatable. They are banned by many orgs because of the "slippery slope" argument - the tests get crazier every year and turn into line-ups, the brothers make you clean the icky toilet with a toothbrush, you have to get your nipple pierced and stick the pin in there in the shower ... the assumption is that if left to their own devices, collegians will eventually corrupt these activities.
-Making paddles or calling them "pledges." A paddle, if purely decorative, doesn't hurt anyone, and the term "pledge" by itself, while perhaps slangy, isn't necessarily derogatory. These two things are banned by many groups to help eliminate the perception of hazing, since people, especially non-Greeks, associate paddles with whacking and "pledging" (esp. in the NPHC world) with grueling processes.

Is all that fair? Maybe not. But hazing, just like excessive drinking and parties, has become enough of a liability to the continued existence of Greek life, that those in charge are willing to implement these changes if they think it will help us stick around. I guess my point is, Activity X may not hurt or demean the pledges - they might even enjoy it - but it could still be banned in the name of "stomping out hazing," because these rules are made with much more than just your chapter and your situation in mind.