The Panther

Issue date: 10/26/05 Section: Editorials

So what is hazing? Hazing is exactly how Terrell defines it. It is not contributing to the framework that builds a person up to become a better member of society. True, the organization wants members who have sacrificed something out of their normal lives to feel worthy of becoming a part of the history and dedication that has caused them to be there in the first place: NEWSFLASH: that is called "pledging." Just as the Alpha Phi Alpha states in Terrell's story, "There is a difference between hazing and pledging." An alumnus who graduated from PV more than 20 years ago and is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., says that, "It was fun pledging. I never felt like my big brothers slandered my character in any kind of way. Nowadays it has gotten out of hand. If it was like it is today when I decided to join my organization, I would not be a member today."

To insult one's intelligence in becoming a member of an organization, which has been founded on the basis of scholarship, leadership, education, community service, and etc., was not in the purpose that the founders of the "divine nine" had in mind. If the founders of these organizations knew what was going on today, how do you think they would feel? Better yet, one day when your children go to college, will you tell them it is OK to let someone beat their esteem down? Or, will you tell them it is OK to treat their own race like they are not one and the same? Think about it.

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