About a week ago an article was written called “I Support Hazing” and, as a member of a sorority, it naturally piqued my interest. Turns out it brought out a little bit of rage in me. If there’s one thing I deeply, wholeheartedly, profoundly hate, it’s hazing.
Some points that the author brought up are as follows:
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- “The best definition I could find is that hazing is ‘the subjection to harassment and ridicule.’”
- “The organizations that have ritually used hazing usually don’t do it just to belittle anyone that wants to join their group, they want to provide a unique experience and ensure that they will have the best new members.”
- “The main problem people have with these rituals and requirements to join a fraternity, sorority, etc. is that it’s built to be an exclusive process.”
- “Without a hazing process, your membership is the equivalent to a participation trophy.”
- “The constant ridicule that is a part of most hazing cultures puts your ego in check and reminds you that your excrement stinks as much as everyone else’s.”
- “The sort of hazing I'm in support of is letting your superiors ridicule you to teach you patience, and if you disrespect them, you should do strenuous physical activity until you learn your lesson on respect.”
- “The desire to get hazed is absolutely voluntary.”
So I have words about these things.
“The best definition I could find is that hazing is ‘the subjection to harassment and ridicule.”
Every school has an official definition of hazing. My school defines hazing as “any activity, expected of or done to someone affiliating with, joining or participating as a regular member of a group, that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.” In the 2012 Education Code, the state of Texas offers a much longer, more comprehensive definition of it. It can best be summarized as "Hazing means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act, occurring on or off the campus of an educational institution, by one person alone or acting with others, directed against a student, that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in an organization.” It is a much bigger problem than simply harassment and ridicule.
“The organizations that have ritually used hazing usually don’t do it just to belittle anyone that wants to join their group, they want to provide a unique experience and ensure that they will have the best new members.”
I think the author misunderstands the definition of unique experience. Some hazing rituals I’ve heard of include the pledge Battle Royale, where pledges were forced to wrestle in a mud pit outside the fraternity house, the air raid, where the pledge masters could yell “Air Raid” at any moment and pledges had to dive to ground and have fruit pelted at them, Old South, where the pledges are forced to act like slaves for the initiated members, the Elephant Walk, paddling, the Sharpie Rape, the Ol’ Milk Chug, and many more, several of which violate state and federal laws. Those do not include the ones where alcohol is consumed or members die.
Some hazing rituals are less harmful and do not break state or federal laws, but they are mandated all the same. I’m sure that Air Raid was not originally meant to cause bruises or head wounds, but there is always the potential for escalation. If the ritual does not involve physical or mental punishment, coerced drinking of any substance, sexual degradation, violation of the law, or other things required in all of the rituals I’ve heard about, it’s not actually hazing.
In my opinion, unique experiences include learning about the history, values, and stories of the organization, going to theme parks together, cooking or baking together for events that benefit their philanthropy, studying abroad together, and other things that foster bonds not based on fear, but on friendship. This may not sound “fun” to some people, but no one has ever been physically or mentally scared by hearing supportive words from a brother or sister.
“The main problem people have with these rituals and requirements to join a fraternity, sorority, etc. is that it’s built to be an exclusive process.”
No. Everyone knows that fraternities, sororities, etc. are exclusive because only a few are selected to join. If that was the main problem, then people would hate all selective organizations in general, hazing aside.
The main problem people have with hazing is the harm it causes, physical, mental, or other. hazingprevention.org , which offers more information and helpful resources, explains how hazing is psychologically harmful, even if the effects are not seen from the outside. The website says, “Sometimes because of shame or self-blame we do not hear about the psychological effects of hazing, and these many cases do not make the news, or are reported in the same way that physical trauma is. But the negative psychological effects of hazing can be both long-lasting and just as traumatic to the victim and their families. These can include depression, suicide, poor grades, withdrawal from activities and shame. This harm can persist into adulthood and can undermine the well-being of a person.”
“Without a hazing process, your membership is the equivalent to a participation trophy.”
Being in a sorority, fraternity, etc. is actually about participating. Members are considered members because they do things like participate in philanthropy events, participate in bonding sister- or brotherhoods, and participate in fun events like pep rallies and banner contests. Being in a sorority or fraternity is not about an individual win, it’s about working as a group to better the lives of everyone participating.
“The constant ridicule that is a part of most hazing cultures puts your ego in check and reminds you that your excrement stinks as much as everyone else’s.”
My only question to this is: why would the organization accept someone as a member if they didn’t already respect them as a person? From my personal experience, my sorority selects women who are courageous, respectful, ambitious, eager to learn, and genuinely excited to be there. Why, if an organization is so selective, would they want someone with an unchecked ego?
“The sort of hazing I'm in support of is letting your superiors ridicule you to teach you patience, and if you disrespect them, you should do strenuous physical activity until you learn your lesson on respect.”
I will refer the readers to my previous section about teaching respect. I’ll also take some time to talk about the deaths of students which are still happening to this day that were caused by the notion that these rituals could teach them respect.
October 15th, 2010: Samuel Mason died of alcohol poisoning.
2010: Victoria Carter and Briana Gather died in a car accident after being deprived of sleep.
February 5th, 2011: George Desdunes died of alcohol poisoning during a trivia game.
2011: Robert Champion beaten to death.
November 2nd, 2012: David Bogenberger died of alcohol poisoning during a trivia game.
2012: Philip Dhanens died of alcohol poisoning after being forced to stay in a room until he finished the alcohol.
March 26, 2012: Robert Tipton died from blunt force trauma to the head.
April 20th, 2013: Marvell Edmondson and Jauwan Holmes drowned.
December 8th, 2013: Chun “Michael” Deng died of blunt force trauma to the head and drowning.
July 1st, 2014: Armando Villa died of dehydration.
September 22nd, 2014: Tucker Hipps died of injuries from a drop off a bridge.
November 14th, 2014: Nolan Burch died of alcohol poisoning.
November 17th, 2014: Trevor Duffy died of alcohol poisoning.
“The desire to get hazed is absolutely voluntary.”
There’s a social psychology term called “cognitive dissonance” that talks about how a powerful motive to maintain cognitive consistency can give rise to irrational, sometimes maladaptive behaviors. Leon Festinger, the guy who came up with the theory, discovered that when we as humans do something that is against our common sense or moral code, we feel a tension in ourselves which will not go away until we come up with reasons why the things happening should happen.
Say that you are experiencing the Air Raid, where the older members may pelt you with fruit whenever they feel like it. Obviously, a sensible person would not welcome being hit with anything from bananas to grapefruits, but you are, just for the title of “member of XYZ”. You might think to yourself, Why the hell am I letting people do this to me? This thing you’re feeling is cognitive dissonance, and as a human you must regulate it right away. The justification may be, it’s all in good fun, even though being bruised by fruit isn’t actually fun. Or it may be, this teaches me to follow orders, though you know that someone who orders you to “stay still while we throw stuff at you” is not someone who deserves to give orders. But it still happens. We justify things to get rid of the what-am-I-doing feeling. It’s not voluntary. It’s psychology.
Hazing is not something that should be taken lightly. It’s harmful in every way imaginable. If you or someone you know is being hazed, you have options to get help. Talking to the president or advisor of an organization can be helpful if the hazing is only from a few members of the group. Most colleges and universities have their own anti-hazing laws, and administrators can often help. If all else fails, contact the police. Forty-four out of the fifty states have anti-hazing laws, and violations of those laws is a crime.
Ninety-five percent of hazing cases go unreported. If you are concerned for your safety in an organization, ask yourself: is membership more important than life, safety, and sanity?
