The Hazing Argument
Okay, so let’s be real. You can’t start a blog discussing whether greek life is beneficial or detrimental to college campuses without bringing up its ultimate flaw.
Hazing.
The word that makes the headquarters of every greek organization cringe. For those opposed to greek life, this is the creme dela creme of their anti-greek argument.
Hazing is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate.” (Chaney).
How on earth can places of higher education support a system whose initiation is bullying?
Yet, the media is riddled with tales of an 18 year old, happy-go-lucky kid embarking on his next step of life. A month later, his parents get a call from the police telling them their son is dead because of some frat stars dumb idea.
If I were a parent, I would be scared shitless to let my child join a frat.
Now, let me tell you a story about a boy who wanted to be accepted by his peers. He was a part of a popular, well known organization on campus. In order to “cross over” and become part of the elite, the boy had to run from the front of the bus to the back of the bus while his peers punched him, used mallets to beat him, and screamed profanities at him. Minutes after the boy made it to the back wall of the bus, he collapsed. He went into cardiac arrest. Within an hour, he was dead.
How did you picture this scene in your head? Did you see a bunch of frat boys beating a young kid as he neared the end of a bus? If you did, then your picture was wrong. This boy’s name was Robert Champion, and he was a drummer in Florida A&M’s marching band. The people on the sides of the bus beating him were his fellow band members, composed of both boys and girls. While this story had immense media coverage, I have never heard of a large group people being enraged and completely opposed to the idea of marching bands on college campuses.
The truth of the matter is, “55% of college students involved in clubs, teams and organizations reported that they had experienced hazing” (Chaney).
I’m not saying that we should accept that hazing is going to be present on college campuses. I’m merely saying that we should recognize that the greek community is not the only community that partakes in acts of hazing. The greek community does haze, and it is terrible. But so do athletic communities, clubs, academic organizations, marching bands… the list goes on and on. If I am going to hash out whether I think the greek community is detrimental to college campuses or not based on the hazing argument alone, I have to recognize that hazing would be included in college life with or without greek systems. In other words, just because the greek community is the most recognized and reported on for hazing, it does not mean that they are the ones that haze the most, or the sole criminals involved in hazing. I cannot say that the greek community is responsible for this flaw in the college system, and, based on this alone, I cannot say that the greek community is detrimental to the college experience.
Sources:
Chaney, Michelle. “Hazing on School Campuses: What Parents and Students Need to Know.” Stop Hazing. Massachusetts
General Hospital, Clay Center, Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
Botelho, Greg. “Man Gets 4 Years for Hazing Death of FAMU Drum Major.”CNN. N.p., 4 Sept. 2015. Web. 29 Jan. 2016.
