|
When fraternities begin accepting new pledges at the beginning
of the school year there is a period of time known as haze week. However,
hazing may not last simply a week and may actually last the entire year
when pledges are accepted into the fraternity as underlings. Generally,
hazing can be rather mild, but in many cases it is downright irresponsible
and dangerous. The following will help you understand what hazing is
all about.
Greek fraternities are all about ritual and acceptance
and what current individuals were required to do for acceptance is amplified
for future pledges. As a result, the hazing becomes worse each year.
Unfortunately, intelligent men and women succumb to inhumane treatment
and will later dish it out all in the name of being accepted as part
of the fraternity. Drinking bottles of liquor, not sleeping for days,
streaking, being chained and drug around campus, fighting, not bathing,
and humiliating themselves are all parts of a pledge's hazing process.
Because of this many students are seriously injured and some even die
each year.
It is difficult to pinpoint an exact number of hazing
deaths because the practice is secretive and might appear to be suicide,
or a result of binge drinking, however many individuals each year are
hurt or killed as a result of hazing. Approximately 130 individuals
were injured or killed as a result of hazing from 1923-1980, although
the real numbers are much higher especially in the 90s' and 2000s. The
real numbers are simply hard to come up with, but it happens more than
fraternities would like to admit. However, hazing has been around for
at least a century and while there is a lot of talk about outlawing
hazing and many states have anti-hazing laws, fraternities continue
to dish out this torture treatment to pledges.
Unfortunately, hazing continues despite many deaths and
injuries nationwide, not to mention fines, chapters being shut down
and even criminal charges as well as the 35 states that have anti-hazing
laws. The reason is that pledges must pay a price to join the fraternity
and as long as there are members in the fraternity that experienced
hazing in order to join they will expect all others to experience the
same. If not, the bond of the brotherhood will be weakened and the fraternity
will lose its esteem. That is the thought process at least of brothers
in college fraternities across the nation. Also, while many college
administrations have certain rules regarding hazing they do not enforce
them or else are completely oblivious to what happens during pledge
season each year and the injuries, both physical and psychological,
that occur each year.
Pledges should also be completely aware of what they are
getting themselves into. Frequently, individuals pledge a fraternity
with no idea that they might be beaten, sexually abused, forced to drink
a whole bottle of liquor while locked naked in the trunk of a car, or
hundreds of other humiliating and tortuous hazing events that take place.
If more pledges were aware of what they might experience the amount
of pledges would surely drop because one's life and dignity is not worth
trading for some brothers. Besides, would a brother really make you
do all of those things?
If you are a parent of a pledge then you should know the
grave danger your child is in during the initiation process. If you
are a future pledge then you should know there are many college organizations
you can belong to that do not include hazing and you can make friends
without joining a fraternity, in addition to this if you are part of
a fraternity you should consider requesting your fraternity change hazing
standards in order to protect the integrity of the organization and
eliminate the risk of death or injury as a result of hazing associated
with your organization. And if you are part of a university's administration
you should make sure hazing is addressed and completely understood by
the university in order to ban it completely. In order for hazing in
America to be stopped it will require significant effort from the colleges,
the fraternities, the pledges, and even parents. It is not easy to break
or change a century old tradition, but when students' lives are on the
line it should be the number one priority of all the above interested
individuals.
Written by: University-College.net Staff Writer - Copyright University-College.net
all rights reserved
« Back to University
and College Articles
|
|
