Hazing Essay, Research Paper

Hazing: Is it really necessary?

Having never been or wanting to be in a fraternity. I haven?t figured out

why they choose such ridiculous hazing rituals who would want to be ridiculed,

humiliated, and/or physically abused by someone who will later be your ?brother?.

Lives have been taken many times by these hazing rituals and fraternities still

continue to hurt people. If these people are supposed to be your friends, who

needs enemies?

Hazing has been around for many years and without knowing it, a lot more

people than one would think have died from hazing and initiations. The first

reported was in ?1905? in Lima, Ohio school? It was found that William

Taylor a 13 year old boy died of pneumonia caused by ?when classmates put snow

down his back?. (Watts/Grolier) As the years have gone by the hazing still

continue and were on a rise but slowly becoming useless because so many are

putting it down.

Hazing is one of the main issues that surround fraternities. Hazing is the

initiating of pledges to drink excessive quantities of alcohol, consume large

quantities of food, or submit to beatings with a paddle. Since deaths and

serious injuries have come about from hazing most states enact laws prohibiting

it.

?The acts of hazing in all its manifestations are unnecessary and have

proved to cause harm to individuals, families and the careers of promising men

and women? (Butler, 88)

Hazing is not just known in fraternities and sororities. Hazing has been

found in the military, sports, gangs and now in high schools. ?Almost half the

high school students who answered a nationwide survey said they were made to eat

disgusting things, abuse alcohol or drugs or perform humiliating or illegal acts

to join athletic teams, the band, even church groups.? (Hazing?s not A3)

Younger people have always been taught to look up to their peers. What college

students do high school and even middle school students are going to want to

imitate what the older students do. They feel that some young teens participate

in these hazing rituals to have a since of belonging, it is to bad that young

children need to participate in these types of activities just to make them feel

like they fit in.

The military has the most unheard of hazing rituals. The Marines are given

basic training week and if you complete the paratroopers training they are given

their golden wings. ?The wings are a pin with two half-inch protruding points

on the back. Sometimes, with that military love of macho ritual, the pin is even

proudly thumped into a marines chest to draw a little celebratory blood.? (Gleick

30) Some marines feel that since pinning has a long history in the corps, and a

few young jarheads jokingly call is a ?Marine sewing circle,? insisting that

the ritual is an integral part of Marine bonding. Someone with something wrong

with them would do such a thing to themselves. Military authorities insist that

they will do all they can to prevent such hazing in the future. ?If they think

that the leadership of the Marine Corps believes that bating on their fellow

Marine makes for a better warrior, they?d better find themselves a new

occupation.? Stated an angry general.

Another group that has hard to believe hazing are gangs, for girl gangs ?They

have to subject themselves to being `jumped in? or beaten up by all the girls

in the gang? (Vida 80) After the girls are ?jumped in? they are not done

with what they have to do to stay in the gang. ?Gang girls may be asked to do

an armed robbery or kill enemy gang members.? (80)

Fraternities feel that there is nothing wrong with the hazings or should I

say, ?initiation traditions are fund and bring a team together.? (Should

sports, 26) The bonding of the brothers is not something that should hurt

anyone, and should in the end bring them closer tighter so that they will have a

friend for life.

Not knowing that your friend is actually you enemy and that so many have been

injured or have died in the imitation. I would think when the first person that

died from hazing it would make the fraternities think about lessening the

rituals so that no one would die anymore. Hasn?t anyone heard of the saying

learn from your mistakes. One example of hazing turning into death is the

killing of Benjamin Folsom Grantham III ?he was killed in an automobile

accident while on a fraternity ?road trip? which involves dropping a

blindfolded member at an off-campus site? (Fraternity system A 14) The police

reported when Benjamin was found he was ?blindfolded and handcuffed.? (A14)

Some colleges are trying to crack down on the fraternities to make them stop

the hazings or at least make them not so harmful. Florida State is one of those

colleges they are trying to get rid of hazing completely, but they have to start

small. If the administration hears of any group on campus that does something

that can hurt members of the group, the group will be punished. ?That?s why

I have enacted a ?zero tolerance? policy for hazing, fighting or physical

abuse, and safety violations, including alcohol.? We are tough and getting

tougher. Some fraternities are pulling away from this type of behavior and even

going so far as to have ?substance-free? houses. (Scott E3) In south east

Missouri at all campuses resent death of a ?25 year old Michael Davis ?

journalism major ? died after two weeks of hazing at the hands of his Kappa

Alpha Psi brothers? (Chenoweth 20-1) new polices have been made about changing

the rules regarding hazing. For example making ?Hazing activities no longer

misdemeanors but felonies, all new pledges have to sign a hazing card saying

they will report any hazing activities.? (20-21) ?Hazing is becoming a thing

of the past.? (Scott E3)

If fraternities feel that they need to have some sort of initiation to bond

the brothers then they should come up with some things that are more on the

sillier side than the harmful side. I believe when everyone is laughing about

something and not people laughing at someone it is a whole lot better. Maybe

wearing a toilet seat cover around your neck for a day or something of that sort

because it?s not hurting anyone. It is just funny.

Life is so precious and yet we continue to hurt each other just to make one

fit in a group. Why would one want to even be in that group if you have to be

beaten, bruised, and ridiculed that is not something that someone should be

putting their selves through just be a part of something. Fraternities aren?t

for everyone but if you choose to belong to one check it out before hand to make

sure that life?s have not been hurt or taken, and you never know you could

leave with many friends that you will have for life, a new brother or sister.

Butler, O. Darryl. ?Reframing the socialization of Greek Life.? Black

Issues in Higher Education 2 Sept. 1999 p. 88

Chenoweth, Karin. ?When Hazing Leads to Death? Black Issues in Higher

Education 25, June. 1998

Gleick, Elizabeth. ?Marine Blood Sports? Time 10, Feb. 1997

?Fraternity system will hasten its end if it doesn?t abandon hazing

tradition? The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 6 April 2000 p A14

?Hazing?s not just a college tradition High Schoolers engage in it too.?

The Florida Times Union 29 Aug. 2000 p. A-3

Scott, Winston. ?FSU is working to eliminate hazing, substance abuse.?

Tallahassee Democrat 5 Nov. 2000 p. E3

?Should sports teams haze?? New York Times up Front 24 Apr. 2000 p. 26

Vida, Vendela. ?Girls on the Verge: Debutante dips, Drive-bys, and other

initiations? New York: St Martins Press. 1999