The Pros And Cons Of Hazing

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

Humiliated, scared, and pressured. Being hazed in front of a group of people, in public, or in private can be a mixture of these emotions. Hazing is a form humiliation and sometimes these activities can endanger students. It should not be allowed in schools or other workplaces, especially if it involves excessive drinking and violence. These things happen to people in sports, bands, military, and in a workplace.

As prevalent as hazing is among male college athletes, many people are surprised by the statistics surroundings this controversial topic. For instance in 1989-1999, of a survey of over 350,000 athletes, 250,000 plus said they had experienced hazing of some sort during their time with their associated team. One in five of these students experienced potentially illegal hazing including binge drinking, sexual acts, and destruction and vandalizing of property. Half of these men were involved in drinking contests or other alcohol related incidents, and only one in five experienced positive initiation practices such as team trips or team building exercises. When the geography of college campuses was evaluated, it was found that western and eastern schools participated heavily in alcohol related initiations, whereas southern and Midwestern campuses had a larger prevalence of dangerous or potentially illegal rituals (not to say binge drinking isn’t dangerous). Clearly hazing amongst athletics is not just isolated incidents of serious outcomes that happen to make the news due to their outrageous natures, but is a rampant practice that affects over half of every male athlete in college.

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: The practice of rituals and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group. Hazing is seen in many different types of social groups, including gangs, sports teams, schools, military units, and fraternities/ sororities. Hazing has been around throughout history and is used as a tool to make new members or pledges bond and create a trust between one another. The media is the main source when it comes to catching organizations like fraternities and sororities engaging in hazing or hazing-like activities. Today everything is posted on the Internet so it is common for the media to find evidence to support their anti-Greek idea. Hazing is a serious problem and there are alternatives

Your probably thinking, well isnt bullying the same thing. Well they kinda are, but there is a difference between the two. The definition for bully is a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker. On the site Hazing Prevention.org, they say the only real difference between hazing and bullying is that bullying usually involves singling out an individual at anytime and bullying them as a means to exclude them. Hazing, on the other hand, involves including people by having them “earn” their way into a group or onto a team. There are 10 Top of the Worst Hazing Ritual that Elite Day found. Number 10 was Raped by a Sharpie which is sexual penetration with a Sharpie. Number 9 was Cocaine or Dildo which is used within Sororities, it is when the girl has to either use a dildo in front of your “sisters” or take hit of Cocaine.

The article that I have selected is about hazing and how it is heavily associated with greek fraternity and sororitys across the U.S. Hazing is the act of ‘‘any activity expected of someone that joins a group and has the potential to humiliates, degrades, abuses, comprise safety, or inflicts pain until its victims’’(Richardson, Wang, &Hill, 2012). Hazing as a form of initation into these fratertinities and sorriorites and the behavior is highly anticpitate and welcomed as for many it is look at as a form of handed down tradition. Which brings us to the theory of reasoned action and it having much to do with an individuals positive or negative feelings about performing a behavior. Many have taken on the mindset that if you are not

College life brings many thoughts to mind…friendships, football , pizza, late nights, parties, fraternities, sororities, as well as racial discrimination, binge drinking, hazing and dying. The latter part of this list may not come naturally to most people, but they are frightening realities of the Greek system. Parents send their children to college assuming they will be in a safe, educational environment while enjoying all the benefits campus life has to offer, including fraternities and sororities. They do not expect a phone call in the early hours of the morning notifying them of their child's death. Since March of 2000, over 60 people have died in events associated with fraternities, alcohol and/or hazing (Marklein p. A3).

I am researching the issue of hazing on college campuses in Greek fraternities. My position is advocating for stronger hazing legislation on campuses to prevent others from commiting crimes of hazing against their “brothers”. In fraternities, many experience hazing or witness it and do nothing about it or enjoy the amusement. If people keep ignoring the signs, more lives will be lost as the count is only growing of high profile cases across college campuses. Hazing effects can turn people’s lives upside down as I learned last year from the death of my close friend at LSU. From personal experience, hazing takes lives away from people way too quickly and ends all hopes of a peaceful future.

It was considered a rite of passage and something that all kids did. A lot of kids looked forward to the hazing because they felt it mean that they were accepted into a social circle. As a freshman I had made the varsity cross country team. I was so excited and really looked up to my upper classmates. They were my social comparison, evaluating ourselves in terms of how we compare with others (66) and my reference group, the group against which we compare ourselves (67). One day, while we were doing our cool down stretches, the upper classmen decided it was time to haze myself and another freshman that had made the varsity team. We had to take turns sitting in the middle of the circle while each upper classman told us what they disliked about us. I was too fat, I was ugly, my braces were disgusting, my hair was too thin, I didn’t wear the right clothes. It was 15 minutes of utter ego-busting humiliation that left me feeling worthless and ashamed of myself. My self-concept, the relatively stable set of perceptions that you hold of yourself (63), had changed. I no longer saw myself as the strong athletic smart girl who had earned her place on the team. I was left with a reflected appraisal, a self-concept that reflects the way we believe others see us (65), of an ugly, stupid girl with no friends and whom everyone hated. I went home and I cried. I was so depressed. My parents knew something was wrong but could not figure it out. After a couple weeks, I finally broke down and told my parents what was happening at school. They were horrified. They went into the school to speak with the athletic director and coaches who all said that kids will be kids, and it was all in honest fun. I wanted to quit the team. My parents got me into counseling to deal with the depression, but they would not allow me to quit. Instead, my father started practicing with me in the morning before school. He told me that those

There are multiple hazing activities that take place, such as: consumption of large amounts of alcohol and drinking games, singing and chanting in public, being screamed, yelled at and cursed by other members, and being woken up in the middle of the night and deprived of sleep. In some cases, hazing may include physical abuse as

Hazing is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate” (Chaney). It is a ritual on many college campuses, especially in Greek life, forcing the students to do acts like, binge drinking, humiliation, sexual acts, and more. It is a very dangerous act that could include traumatic injuries like beating, drowning, and could even result in death on the student being hazed. Hazing is a growing problem here at The University of Alabama and at other college campus’s around the nation and there needs to be changes presented to cut out these dangerous practices. For this act to be stopped students, administration, and even parents must take steps to eliminating hazing on campus.

In recent years several high profile national cases have brought hazing to the forefront in American society as a real issue and a problematic one at that. According to recent statistics from the University of Maine, 1.5 million high school students are hazed each year. Of the athletes who have reported hazing, 40% have reported that a coach or advisor was aware of the activity. 22% report that the coach was actually involved in the activities. (Allan & Madden, 2008). Moreover, 36% of students say they would not report hazing primarily because “there’s no one to tell,” and 27% feel that officials or coaches won’t handle the situation right. In additional research a survey was conducted in which coaches were questioned

Hazing is generally centered around dividing new members of a group, or rookies, away from the senior members (Waldron, J., 2015). Waldron, J. (2015) defines hazing as “include(ing) any behavior, no matter how benign or mild, that separates teammates from each other.” (p.1090) This can be as mild as segregated seating or giving the worst chores to the new person (Waldron, J., 2015). These go as severe as the stories we all hear in the news. One such story, reported by the New York Times, is the case of George Desdunes. Mr. Desdunes was kidnapped, by his fellow S.A.E. members, he was tied up, and continually given shots of alcohol until he passed out (Winerip, M., 2012)(p.ED24). That night, after he had passed out, his brothers left him on a couch while they continued to party (Winerip, M., 2012)(p.ED24). Mr. Desdunes was discovered at 6:45 the next morning by the staff that cleaned the frat house, he had died of alcohol poisoning at some point during the night (Winerip, M., 2012)(p.ED24). Waldron, J. (2015) states “Regardless of severity, hazing behaviors are humiliating and degrading and often bring emotional or physical harm to others.” (p.1090) Though mild hazing is rarely talked about it is still negative and detrimental to team cohesion (Waldron, J., 2015). Add story of mild hazing. Many positive initiation rituals also offer a sense of danger so what is the difference? Positive initiation rituals include