Hazing Essay, Research Paper
When most people hear the term? hazing? it conjures up images of fraternities. In
world nevertheless, hazing occurs in many spheres including fraternities, sororities, the armed forces,
athletic squads, and pupil organisations at both high school and college degrees. In fact,
hazing incidents are dramatically different from the humourous images many people associate
with the term. Hazing, by definition is any action or state of affairs which does non lend to
the positive development of a individual by doing mental or physical uncomfortableness, or
embarrassment of any sort. It may besides be defined as an action or state of affairs that
deliberately or accidentally endangers a individual? s life for any ground. Writer of several
books on hazing, Hank Nuwer, said that? hazing has been associated with more than 50
deceases in college fraternities and countless more physical hurts including palsy, non to
reference the annihilating emotional effects that can ensue for so many immature work forces and
women. ? ( 4 ) Duty is a major issue refering hazing, and when danger is non
nowadays, it should non be considered hazing.
Suiting in at college is a large trade, particularly for fresher. The most popular manner to
tantrum in, run into a batch of new people, and to go involved with new milieus is to fall in a
sorority or fraternity. A individual thought of fall ining one of these organisations should inquire
themselves one of import inquiry ; how far should they travel? Should this individual be forced
to set up with paddling or contact, taging or stigmatization, curtailing category attending, or
being deprived of proper sums of slumber needed to keep day-to-day life? When a pupil
accepts a command, he or she begins plighting to that peculiar fraternity or sorority. The pledge
period could last anyplace from a few hebdomads to several months. Fraternity pledge periods
are normally more physically demanding than that of a sorority. Once pledging is completed,
the individual becomes a member of that peculiar fraternity or sorority.
The autumn semester is pledge period on about every American college campus.
Students are endeavoring to suit in by making things such as imbibing unreasonable sums of
intoxicant, and go toing secret meetings which interfere with their categories and other facets of
their societal life. Hazing yearss occur largely during snake pit hebdomad. Hazing happens everyplace,
and someplace something is bound to travel incorrect whether it be serious mental or physical
hurt or even decease in some instances. Some pledges quit during snake pit hebdomad chiefly because
they either come to their senses and get down to understand that being a member of a Grecian
organisation is non the lone manner to suit in particularly if it could harm their lives. Others merely
recognize that they do non hold to purchase their friends. The 1s who do remain normally live their
lives believing in the mysterious bond of brotherhood or sistership. ? Hazing is really educational
about human nature, ? one haste president stated. ? The nicest, politest, most churchgoing
people turn out to be so average and angry. And cruel if you give them a small power. ?
In the head of most people, the term cult refers to something like the images of the
combustion of David Koresh? s Branch Dividian colony and the mass self-destruction of Jim Jones? s
Peopless Temple fans. The fact is that most people do non recognize that many pupils,
module members, and decision makers on a regular basis confront, and even take part in cult-like
behaviour. The legion fraternity and sorority chapters that engage in opprobrious hazing
patterns on college campuses around the United States are the most prevailing cults among
American society. Upon scrutiny of the cult-like facets of hazing in Grecian
organisations, a individual may be able to understand why the pattern is so hard to stomp
out. It besides reinforces the pressing demand to happen new schemes to forestall the pledging-related
hurts and deceases that have occurred for decennaries, despite strong attempts to eliminate them.
One of the latest efforts to deter hazing is the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology? s determination to revoke the sheepskin of a alumnus who was accused of functioning
intoxicant to a fresher pledge at an event. The pledge subsequently died of intoxicant toxic condition. If one
can acknowledge that the unnatural behaviours found in many Grecian organisations are really
similar to, and as profoundly rooted as the behaviours found in cults, they will take the first measure
towards developing a broader, more systematic attack to the job of hazing.
The word hazing seems so harmless. The root of the word is frequently used to depict
a scene that is slightly obscured by a mist or fog, or possibly an diffident frame of head.
Victimization is the maltreatment of power and control that underpins hazing and it needs to come
to an terminal. The victimization that fuels hazing besides contributes to the sexism and racism that
leads to torment, force, and subjugation in society today. The desolation and
harm that can happen as a consequence of disregard, fright, ignorance and maltreatment of power that is
derived at the disbursal of others is impossible. One member of the Greek system told of
the more typical hazing activities such as derogative name naming, pledge clean-ups after
parties, sleep want, forced imbibing, and the ingestion of foul substances that
would bring on purging upon consumption. He was an 18 twelvemonth old fresher, and he was
frightened and bewildered by what was go oning around him. He was forced to imbibe until
unconsciousness, and as he lay in a infirmary room, he became keenly cognizant that he was in
sculpt physical danger. A few of his fraternity brothers came to see him, and while he was
alarmed by the danger in which he had been placed through intoxicant hazing, he was even
more hard-pressed by the behaviour of his brothers that paid him the visit. All they wanted to
state him was to maintain his oral cavity shut about the full
state of affairs. His physical lesions healed
with comparative easiness, but his emotional cicatrixs became evident when the hurting turned into fury
which could no longer be held back.
Hazing is non something that merely happens to? wimpy? people who don? Ts know how
to state no or to people with low self-pride who will make anything to get friends. Many
people fall victim to the? fault the victim? outlook that is non much different from a
common response to adult females who have been raped. Students may sometimes show a
feeling of impotence over the hazing activities such as self-blame, shame, and
humiliation. Most pupils do non acknowledge that they are dallying with hurt and decease
through their engagement in hazing activities. Hazing Begins in really elusive yet powerful
signifiers when pledges are expected to take part in organized subservience, are called
degrading names, and are required to stay by cockamamie and frequently humbling regulations that clearly
topographic point them in a low-level function. The power instability begins here with the really elusive
signifiers of hazing that appear to be harmless at first, but set the phase for continued maltreatment of
power that is unsafe and dangerous. If hazing is genuinely an effectual agencies of
set uping bonds of brother and sistership, edifice trust and fosterage regard, so why
are these techniques non being promoted to other groups or systems?
Some people claim that hazing schemes are adopted for developing group
coherence, integrity and trust. Over the old ages, pro-hazing statements have included claims
such as: hazing physiques unity because people bond through hard experiences ; hazing
Teachs respect for the active members of the organisation ; digesting hazing proves that a
individual is strong and it is an accomplishment to do it ; hazing is a challenge that makes
plighting merriment and exciting ; hazing motivates lazy people ; it is tradition ; it works in the
military and hazing is one manner for members to demo their dedication to the group and earn
their rank. In world, hazing ne’er was, and ne’er will be the best manner to bond in
times of adversity. It may be true that person can be taught about regard, but people
can non be taught to esteem others. Respect must be earned, and hazers do non gain the
regard of their victims. Hazing may actuate and dispute people, and it may look like an
accomplishment when it is over, but hazing motivates people through fright and for this ground,
this sort of motive is merely impermanent. Hazing does non develop motive and
committedness to the ideals of the fraternity or sorority. Fraternities and sororities were non
founded upon ideals that support hazing and therefore it is non a tradition. All of these
myths work together to build and semblance and that is why hazing is a alluring tool for
those who do non understand it.
Hazing does non authorise people, and it does non back up, promote or inculcate
people with the motive and inspiration to conform to the criterions of the organisation.
Hazing is opprobrious, it strips power off from others, and it diminishes and belittles hence,
the wake of hazing is ever negative. One should non be fooled by the semblance of
hazing. One must look beyond the power that operates for those involved or potentially
involved in a hazing state of affairs. Hazing creates a rhythm of maltreatment. It is about people experiencing
powerful at the disbursal of others. It is a inexpensive signifier of manhood or muliebrity because it
entails taking the power of person else off to do oneself experience stronger. A pupil
from Louisiana State University stated, ? I know it? s incorrect, and I know it? s negative and
unsafe, but it? s ne’er traveling to change. ? Hazing diminishes the self-respect of others through
inequality and unfairness.
Leadership, sistership, brotherhood, character, scholarship, and community service
are a few of the ideals that may come to mind when thought of the true significance of a
fraternity or sorority. These are the ideals that have contributed to the strength of Hellenic
life on college campuses. The ideals upon which the organisations were built. It is non
apprehensible how person can warrant or apologize tolerance of hazing and other opprobrious
patterns in any organisation, particularly and organisation that is based upon caring for each
other and association is a pick. Grecian adviser Elizabeth Allan stated that? neglecting to
confront opprobrious behaviour such as hazing is another manner of stating? I don? T attention about
you? . ? In taking to go a member of a fraternity or sorority one has become a
member of a brotherhood or sistership that stands for much more than a group of
persons populating together and socialising through their college experiences. Becoming a
brother or sister agencies that one has become a member of a community that goes beyond
friendly relationship and calls their members brother and sister.
Along with the power to do determinations comes the load of duty for the
results of those determinations or indecisiveness in some instances. The duty for
decision-making is the foundation of unity and strength in leading. Person needs to
take a base against violent hazing and do a good name for the hereafter of Grecian
organisations.
Allan, Elizabeth. ? The Ripple Effect. ? University of Texas, Austin. April 14, 1994.
www.stophazing.org
Fraternity Insurance Purchasing Group ( FIPG ) . ? Hazing Defined. ?
Keim, Will, Ph.D. ? The Power of Caring. ?
Leemon, Thomas A. The Rites of Passage in a Student Culture. Teachers College,
Columbia University, 1972.
McNamara, Robert. ? Hazing. ?
Nuwer, Hank. ? Grecian Letters Don? T Justify Cult-Like Hazing of Pledges. ?
Nuwer, Hank. ? Hazing, Separating Rites from Wrongs. ? July Issue, Vol. 147, No. 1.
Scott, William A. Values and Organizations, A Study of Fraternities and Sororities. Rand
McNally & A ; Company, 1965.
