Nomadic Human Hazing

A common myth is that hazing is a “reality” in Frats and sororities. We've all seen it in movies and we've all heard stories from our friends. Hazing can be defined as people or individuals who are forced to do something that is psychologically, physically, or emotionally harmful or damaging (Merriam Webster). Greek organizations all over the world have taken steps in developing human rights policies and strict “anti-hazing” policies to get rid of hazing in all forms from all campuses and fraternities. In the 1980s the movie “Animal House”, became a hit. The movie’s “mocking” of the wild side of fraternity life: binge drinking, hazing, sexual harassment, wild parties, drug use, and poor living conditions, became the American public’s view of Greek life. Many television movies and shows depict the ‘crazy side,’ of Greek life and choose to show its negative side. In doing so, many movies and shows do forget to showcase the beneficial side of joining a Sorority or fraternity and show its positive

Students involved in clubs, fraternities, sororities, and organizations experience hazing. In fact, 55% those college students involved in clubs, teams and organizations experience hazing. Hazing is any action taken or any situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule and risk emotional, or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate. Hazing can occur in high school, intercollegiate, or even professionally. As an individual, you have to know what is hazing. What is going over the edge? Am I doing anything illegal? Or is this causing emotional or physical distress or stress to myself or to others? Hazing, even though its tradition,

Hazing is a very serious issue throughout America. Hazing, by definition, is any action or

Hazing as we know it today is most commonly to initiate members into a fraternity, sorority, or club of some sort. Hazing’s roots go into Ancient Greece when Plato first observed the occurrence and wrote about it in one of his works. The first sign of the term “hazing” appeared in the 16th century, when veteran soldiers would harass new sailors whenever the weather would create a haze. The integration of hazing in American society occurred in the 19th century after the Civil War. Before the war, university fraternities were a place to exchange ideas which most students did not find too engaging. After the war, the meaning of university fraternities had evolved to strengthen bonds with one another. The war put not optimal events and situations, which made soldiers strengthen bonds between one another. Fraternities would often replicate the traumatic events that occurred during the war to strengthen bonds between the recruits and the organization. The fraternities would base hazing rituals on stories their fathers or grandfathers who had participated in the war. Three hazing related deaths occurred in the

To some fraternity and sorority chapters hazing may be a way of group bonding and teaching respect, it is not indispensable. Hazing has been going on for quite amount of time, and banning organization who haze will make other chapters want to inflict pain and humiliation to their own pledges. Not only does is lead to a physical and mental breakdown path, but it also weakens the students and strips them of their power. Studies have shown that there are in fact fraternity and sorority chapters who believe that hazing is unnecessary, degrading and view it as juvenile, do not haze their members and perform true Greek rituals. Those chapters reported to become popular on campuses and did not see a loss in member loyalty and respect (Lowery). Fraternity

Hazing is usually about supremacy and dominance, this is to make those in charge postulate that they are formidable. Though a small amount may not be included majority of college delta clubs are guilty of the act of hazing. In order to be in a certain organization, people might be asked to perform dangerous ceremonies. According to the author Ally Hirschlag, a former pledge Britteny Starling, was forced to pretend as if she was a human trash can and mop. She would clean juice from the ground and accumulate the waste from other sister’s using only her fingers and pouches. They weren’t finished with her yet, she had to stay awake all night without permission for the bathroom, to make things worse she had to stand all night. When Brittney’s leg couldn’t handle it anymore one of the so called sisters smashed her ankle causing injury. Due to this she sued, which shut down Zeta Phi Beta sorority located at the University of California. This event shows that these so called sisters just want to feel in control, the tasks set for the pledges is a test of courage WRONG, It’s for the pleasure of someone else’s satisfaction. Hazing is ABUSE; it lowers one’s standards and makes them a slave towards their so called “brothers/sisters”. Her not being able to use the bathroom, while standing up is cruel. The fact that one of her sisters hit her on the ankle when she couldn’t take it anymore was evil. An associate (sister) is meant to help the pledges guide them and show them the

Hazing in universities across the nation has become an increasingly dangerous ritual that is seemingly becoming more difficult to put an end to due to its development into an "underground" activity. Though a regular activity in the seventies, hazing, a possible dangerous act of initiation to a group, has now become an activity that is banned in thirty-nine states (Wagner 16). However, this ritual has not been stopped or become less severe. In fact it is becoming more dangerous. Since it has been banned, with many colleges imposing their own penalties against those participating in it, many fraternities and sororities have pursued this activity in an underground fashion. Since these groups have gone underground, some victims of these

Hazing has been around for a while and it seems as if it won’t go away anytime soon. Hazing is defined as “any assumption of authority by a student whereby another student suffers or is exposed to any cruelty, intimidation, humiliation, embarrassment, hardship or oppression or is required to perform exercises to excess, to become sleep deprived, to commit dangerous activities, to curry favor from those in power, to submit to physical assaults, to consume offensive foods or alcohol, the threat of bodily harm or death, or the deprivation or abridgement of any right”(Schneider,2009,p194). Hazing is usually a ritual that sororities & fraternities and sports teams have in place to initiate newcomers. The “Hazing Prohibition Act of 2003” was put in place to prevent harsh hazing antics that was created as a way to see who would be the weakest link and be cut from the team. While some healthy competitions are welcomed, going beyond the line where someone feels uncomfortable is a step too far.

Hazing in universities across the nation has become an increasingly dangerous ritual that is seemingly becoming more difficult to put an end to due to its development into an “underground” activity. Though a regular activity in the seventies, hazing, a possible dangerous act of initiation to a group, has now become an activity that is banned in thirty-nine states (Wagner 16). However, this ritual has not been stopped or become less severe. In fact it is becoming more dangerous. Since it has been banned, with many colleges imposing their own penalties against those participating in it, many fraternities and sororities have pursued this activity in an underground fashion. Since these groups have gone underground, some victims of these

Hazing in fraternities and sororities has become a tradition in the United States culture for decades (Alvarez

Hazing is where it is illegal for a person to commit acts to where they are accountable for harm to another person for the purpose of joining a group(South Carolina). Mainly in fraternities, hazing is looked at as fun and exciting to new members of the lifelong brotherhood. Daniel Fant says, “Not only will I have to probably go through hazing when I pledge one day but it is a tradition. My dad and brother have both been through the hazing process and so will I!”(Fant). The reality of how prominent hazing is in college life should be frightening. Hazing should never be a tradition. While hazing may be fun in the moment, the consequences are very risky. It is illegal for anyone to know about or help with the acts of hazing. Also, failure to report knowledgeable information about hazing is illegal(South Carolina). At many state supported universities, colleges, and public places of further education hazing is banned(South Carolina). Students can be dismissed, expelled, suspended, or even punished by the school’s president(South Carolina). Not only can hazing lead to harm to others, hazing can impact the person committing the hazing just as much. When hazing is first brought up, people normally think of one person being injured, but many peoples lives are in

Hazing often involves activities such as drinking games, sexual harassment, physical and emotional abuse, and forms of public shaming (OI). One hazing incident in Chicago ended with some girls in a hospital after a game of touch football turned upside down almost instantly. "Basically it started out as a fun hazing, like our initiation into our senior year. About 10 minutes into it everything changed--buckets were flying ... people were bleeding. Girls were unconscious," (Stand up against hazing: hazing is a socially sanctioned form of bully you can help cycle, 1). Another incident involved a Penn-State Altoona student who had committed suicide when he had jumped off a New York hotel rooftop a day before he had to return to his fraternity to initiate others. He himself was forced to drink loads of alcohol, fight pledges, endure the pain of being burnt with candle wax, etc., and didn't want to see others go through the same thing. "He struggled deeply with having to witness and participate in the hazing of others," (The Associated Press, 1). In reality, these initiations involving hazing have become brutal and could more or less be seen as a

Often times hazing is a big problem we see occurring in our society. Whether it is occurring within a sports team, sorority, school, friends, or even a group of co-workers, we hear about it on a relatively frequent basis. Often times hazing stories are justified by the person committing the act of hazing and over dramatized by the media. Conducting a full study on whether hazing actually exists and the multiple ways it exists can help members of our society to further understand the implications of the action. Throughout this study the definition of hazing has been explored as well as superfluous examples to prove hazing is prominent in our society and laws and actions taken against

Hazing has grown to become a major social problem. Recent incidents have been documented in marching bands, religious cults, and other types of clubs. Reports of hazing

Hazing can take place anywhere whether it be high school, college, sports, or fraternities. Other terms used for hazing are “hell week”, “help week”, and “initiation”. When one is trying to determine whether or not the situation is considered hazing there are many signs he/she could look for. Some examples include the following questions: is alcohol involved?, are there any risk of emotional or physical abuse?, and is there a risk of injury? (University of North Carolina Wilmington). If the answer to any of these is yes, then it would be considered some form of hazing. A study taking place at Alfred University shows that 1.5 million high school students have experienced some form of hazing. Forty-eight percent of students who belong to groups have reported to experiencing hazing behavior. These incidents can range anywhere between alcohol abuse to forcing one to commit a crime. Victims of hazing may hide the truth, whether they be embarrassed or they risk the chance of getting in a lot of trouble. While you may not notice it at first there are always signs to look for when searching for hazing activity. Some signs include excessive fatigue, wearing odd clothing, isolating themselves, skipping or missing class, and feeling depressed. Many parents are not aware of their child experiencing hazing activity. Although, now many of victims have decided to speak out about there encounters.