Hazing: A Student Perspective

Hazing: A Student Perspective

Nationally, this is Hazing Prevention Week. What does that mean? It means that there is no better time to start a conversation (or write a blog post) about hazing, the damage it causes, and the ways that it can be stopped or prevented. Hazing is a complex topic, but hopefully this post will give you some insight on at least one student's perspective.

The definition of hazing often become the subject of heated debate. Most students feel that the definition of hazing has become so broad and all encompassing that even looking at new members in the wrong way could be considered hazing. Hazing policies are often erudite and confusing as they try to serve as "catch alls" for the cleverer hazers out there. So what is the defnintion? Where can we go for an exhaustive list of what is or is not hazing? The precise defnition of hazing is not as critical to our discussion as you might think. Hazing can take so many shapes, sizes, and forms, the it is nearly impossible for any list or policy to capture them all.  

Relationships are the key to knowing whether or not something is hazing. In general, hazing is when one party exert power and control over another party based on it's perceived position within an organization. So basically, if a trust-based relationship between members in your organization is being abused (again in any shape, size, or form) then that activity is hazing. I know that sounds like a definition, but it isn't. You won't find it in any policies or student handbooks. For me, it's the lithmus test against which everything your chapter does should be held. If certain activities don't pass, meaning certain members retain power and authority over other members, then you need to start the conversation about ending those practices.

Hazing occurs because young men and women are looking for a meaningful rite of passage into adulthood. In college, many are away from home for the first time and seeking to define themselves. Rites of passage are important to the human experience and happen in culture across the world, but hazing occurs when this rite of passage becomes warped and twisted. The scariest thing about hazing, perhaps the thing that keeps me up at night more than anything else about this issue, is that it works. College students have figured out that forcing others through bizarre, difficult, and dangerous situations bonds groups of people together quickly and easily. Hazing can be done by just about anyone and forms a false sense of "brotherhood" or "sisterhood" that many college students look for in their transition to college and later, adulthood. This is why so many organizations have replaced real brotherhood and steadfast relationships with hazing. Fraternity done right builds real brotherhood AND does so without harming, embarassing, or humiliating anyone in the process.

Countless barriers hold our community back from confronting this issue and beginning a conversation about hazing and how we can stop it. We seem to be suffering from a pluralistic ignorance. Independently, few of us would condone the types of behavior that groups of students continue to engage in. Current group dynamics foster cultures of silence and entitlement over a cultures of responsibility and caring. Having conversations about the culture your organization creates and how it treats its newest members is not easy, but it's important. There is no better week to start the conversation, to question what has always been done, and to raise the bar in your own organization. You are needed more than ever to make the change in yourself and your organization and on your campus.

Even if you a non-Greek or a member of a non-hazing chapter, hazing is everyone's problem. Once one student group adopts hazing practices, it sends the message that it is OK for student groups to act that way. This is particularly true at William & Mary where most students are involved in at least two clubs, sports, or activities. Think about how fast hazing in even a few student groups can spread to many others.

Unfortunately, there is no model on how to run a new member education program (let alone an entire campus) that is free of hazing. My challenge to you, my dear reader, is to begin developing that model. There is no road map for developing this program, but it is desperately needed. I believe that there is a way to instill the values of our organizations in new members without humiliating or degrading them in the process. We, as fraternity men, need to lead the way for other student organizations to show them what can be done through positive member education.

In closing, I want to emphasize how much that discussions on hazing are just that: discussions. Whether you agree or disagree with my perspecitve, we need to talk it out. Those of us opposed to hazing need to remember that this isn't a time to talk down or preach others. We do need to take action and we need to do so quickly, but the approach to this change must be a community-wide discussion that takes things one step at a time. Hazing will not end overnight, but we can start taking small steps now that will build a campus culture where hazing is no longer accepted.