Every day, all over the nation, people take part in membership intake processes that include hazing. This not only occurs in college, for fraternities and sororities, but in high schools, gangs, sports organizations and even the workplace.
To fully understand the concept of hazing and make a good judgment of whether it has been taken too far or not, we must figure out just what hazing is. Prairie View’s Office of Student Activities and Leadership defines hazing as “any intentional, knowing, or reckless act occurring on or off the campus of Prairie View A&M, by one person alone or acting with others, directed at a student, that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of the student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office, or maintaining membership in any organization whose members are or include students at Prairie View A&M University.” The definition can refer to either physical or mental and sometimes violent, possibly degrading practices.
Syndicated columnist Natasha Josefowitz says that hazing is a way in which senior members of the organization establish their seniority and dominance. It tests the loyalty of prospective members, pushes them to let go of their old identities and loyalties to other organizations, and it makes membership something to be valued.
The sad thing about hazing is that most victims don’t even realize that they are being hazed. Sometimes hazing is something as simple as having to wake up at 6 a.m. and call a member of the organization. Many do not realize that this is a form of hazing simply because they are not being physically harmed, but it is considered hazing because it is out of the prospective member’s ordinary character. Hazing is often viewed as both a controversial and opinionated matter.
“My viewpoint is not the opinion of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. I speak alone and as a person who was on both sides of the spectrum,” said Erica Newman, a member. “I don’t think that in today’s society individuals actually understand what hazing is because people are so busy on a witch-hunt and consider any and everything hazing. Hazing is being made to do something that a person doesn’t want to do.”
The definitions are often toughly debated between both undergraduate and graduate chapters.
“People in graduate chapters making decisions for an undergraduate chapter is where a lot of the problems transpire,” said Newman. “A lot of individuals who pledged graduate chapters do not understand the undergraduate process because they didn’t experience nor go through it and the processes are not the same.”
Hazing is quite prevalent in our society and even here on our very own campus. Last week, Donnie Wade, a prospective member of an on-campus organization, died. His death is thought to be the result of hazing. He might be just one of many fatalities that result from alleged hazing. According to Hank Nuwer, author and hazing researcher, over 150 college students die each year around the country from hazing related incidents since 1838.
President George C. Wright responded to the allegations by suspending all pledging activities indefinitely. “The university is taking this situation very seriously. It is imperative that we discontinue all fraternity and sorority membership intake activities until we receive a full account of events that led up to the death of Mr. Wade,” said Wright.
Although this has become a huge issue, it continues to occur. Many agree that this practice has now gone too far. Junior Travis Johnson said that “you have to go through too much. I understand that you must prove yourself, but people are now being put in life or death situations. I don’t see how you could subject people to such torture, then call them your ‘brother’ or ‘sister.'”
Many are so enthralled with these organizations that they will go to extreme measure to become a member. This is why many subject themselves to this torture. All over the nation, organizations are being suspended for hazing. Jackson State University has suspended 45 members of its band, the Sonic Boom of the South, because of the part that they played in hazing activities.
Last year, members of Southern University’s band were prosecuted for taking prospective members to an off-campus location blind-folded, dousing them with water and then beating them with a board.
One stopped the beating and then spoke out on what had occurred. Two others who endured the beating were hospitalized for several days and risked organ failure. The suspects were found guilty and must serve up to 50 years in prison because of their part in the hazing process.
People still continue to haze. After hearing about this, one student felt that “these beatings are unnecessary. It’s OK to have people do things like clean-up, wash clothes, or things of that sort, but it has gone too far.”
The fact that these practices continue makes some students afraid to join because they don’t know what might happen to them.
“I believe that people take place in hazing whether it’s being the “hazee” or the “hazer” because they feel they could get away with it,” said Kamesha McNeil, a junior communications major, “People think that just because others got away with it, they will, too. Even with knowing the consequences and troubles it could possibly bring they forge past the obvious for their own fulfillment of the moment.”
It’s not only those who are outside of the Greek world and other organizations that agree that it has gone too far.
Wayne Wilson Jr. of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. believes that it has become too extreme. “No organization is worth losing your life over.”
A former vice president of Sigma Tau Theta Communications Fraternity, Asheli Atkins, said, “You can test someone mentally or with silly things like passing a skittle down a line of people,” but the things that occur now are as if you are “preparing for war or something.” All of this just to “strut around at hump day and throw up signs.”
Hazing is a serious issue with serious consequences. According to the Office of Student Affairs and Leadership’s “Hazing: The Law,” you can get in trouble for anything from failure to report hazing, which is penalized with a fine of up to $1,000 and/or 180 days in jail, to hazing resulting in death which is accompanied by a penalty of a $5,000-$10,000 fine and/or 1-2 years in jail.
Although such grave penalties are in place, hazing continues to thrive in our communities.
In order to decrease the incidence of hazing, we must realize that it is not necessarily the “organization” that is doing the hazing but the people within it.
Wilson said, “The first step that organizations that need to take to decrease the amount of hazing should be to be more selective in choosing members.”
Wilson believes that student activities should deal with these hazing situations and administration should step in when necessary because after all they are the ones catching the majority of the heat in unfortunate situations.
“My daddy always said never want something so bad that you’re willing to do anything to get it,” said Newman. “Letters should not make the person; the person should make the letters. The minute that a person gets caught up in the hype of having letters they lose the whole purpose of the organization, therefore, becoming disillusioned and that’s when it becomes dangerous because you’ve lost who you are.”
Students should refer to the Student Conduct Code and Handbook for further guidance on the tolerance of hazing and the consequences linked with it.