Fraternity Hazing
Hazing (subjecting newcomers to abusive or humiliating tricks and ridicule) has always been seen as a secretive campus activity when it comes to fraternities and pledging. As a result, Dr. Mark Taff resorted in his article that, "..a series of 168 cases of injuries and deaths related to fraternity hazing activities...[occurred] in the United States between 1923 and 1982" (2113). Young college men are being hospitalized and even worse, dying, just for a couple of friends that give them a sense of belonging. The major causes of hazing are the students' wanting a sense of belonging in a big college campus, the college's infrequent knowledge of what occurs in fraternities, and the unwillingness of fraternities to change tradition. Since hazing has been around for more than a century, one cannot expect the practice of hazing to stop all together. It will probably take years before hazing perishes from the fraternity scene. Nevertheless, until an end is put to hazing, solutions can !be used to make hazing less common, until it no longer exists. These solutions that may be able to put an eventual stop to hazing, in the long run, are better education about fraternity hazing, stricter
A second cause of hazing is that since college campuses are so big in population, men believe that in order to make friends and "fit in," they have to subject themselves to ridicule and torture by joining a fraternity. Not many men would do this for a group of friends, but it is happening every semester in college campuses today. Not only are college men being hospitalized but many are putting their lives on the line, and even dying, just so they can be considered a "brother" in a fraternity. Nevertheless, it is not the pledge's fault, in getting himself into this type of situation. Certainly, each of these solutions, individually, can prevent hazing from occurring, but if all three solutions are used at the same time, hazing can be put to an end, faster. If fraternities are giving the education about hazing, they should see that hazing has evolved into a big problem. On the other hand, if they do not see hazing as a problem, college administrators can punish and reprimand the fraternities. If hazing incidents still exist, fraternities can be fined and sued since hazing is illegal in 35 states under law. Together, these three solutions are able to prevent hazing now, end hazing in the long run. ies (which are seen differently from regular fraternities), but it is not as severe in sororities as it is in fraternities. Stories of hazing incidents are all too common in the news media today. It would not be out of the ordinary, upon opening the newspaper, to read the testimony of some fraternity pledges "'We were taken to a deserted park and blindfolded...We sat on our knees for an hour. Then they began slapping us on the back of our necks, real hard, and then they started pouring hot wax down our back'" (Milloy CL). Also, an article stating that "...A sophomore at Alfred University in New York was locked in a car trunk with two others and told to drink a bottle of Jack Daniel's, wine and a six-pack of beer, one wintry night in 1978. He died of alcohol poisoning and exposure" (O'Connor 32). Fraternities are getting away with hazing practices, every single day. If a stranger did this to a civilian, they would automatically be arrested and imprisoned. The humiliations of hazing are said to build bonds between pledges and fraternity brothers. According to fraternity beliefs, the theory goes, if you and a couple of friends go through fraternity initiations, drinking excessive amounts of beer and being beaten by fraternity members etc., and only you and your friends go through it, then this gives you all something in common. An example of a hazing victim is typically a white male 19 to 20 years of age, who is experiencing some types of injuries between the months of February and April or September and October (the pledging seasons). Men are experiencing injuries including those caused by "blunt force (beatings, paddling, motor vehicle crashes, pedestrian accidents, and falls from height), cold exposure, heat exhaustion, gunshot, asphyxia, electrocution, cannon and beer-keg explosions,..." (Taff 2113), just to name a few. These supposedly bring the fraternity "together." Hazing also occurs in both sororities and bl
Some common words found in the essay are:
Eileen Steven, Mark Taff, Milloy C10, Marriott B3, Hank Nuwer, September October, Stevens Marcus', Jack Daniel's, Preface Chuck, Starts I1, college administrators, fraternity hazing, prevent hazing, anti-hazing laws, hazing occurring, prevent hazing occurring, hazing incidents, college campuses, author hank nuwer, laws passed, eileen stevens, marriott b3, laws prevent hazing, stricter laws prevent, solution restrict hazing,
Approximate Word count = 2115
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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