Scott Zadig
The hazing that takes place upon college campuses nationwide is a very serious issue. Hazing, by definition, means subjecting a person or group of people to anything that endangers or mistreats them in order for that person or group of people to be accepted into their collective group. Hazing occurs during the initiation process when new initiates or “pledges” are trying to gain acceptance by their fellow brothers or sisters in the Greek organization they committed themselves to. Hazing is a serious issue that is not taken lightly, but sometimes it seems authorities and the public considers the smallest things to be hazing.
I have recently accepted a bid to a fraternity of my choice and have had good experiences that have not been tainted by hazing. My fraternity does not partake in activities that I would consider to be hazing. As a pledge in my fraternity, we have the job of cleaning up the house to make it look nice before game days and social events. When I tell my friends about that, they consider it to be hazing for some reason. I see it as a duty that I have as a new potential brother in the fraternity. The brother’s also have their own duties related to the house’s upkeep, so it is not a valid to argue that the pledges’ cleaning requirement is hazing if the brothers have their own cleaning duties as well. There are other related examples that the general population considers to be hazing. If anything, activities such as those teach responsibility within the fraternity. I had to do similar activities such as cleaning when I was a part of a Boy Scout troop. Before one jumps to conclusions about whether an activity is “hazing” or not, one should think about whether harm is being done or if maybe something beneficial is taking place.
I have recently accepted a bid to a fraternity of my choice and have had good experiences that have not been tainted by hazing. My fraternity does not partake in activities that I would consider to be hazing. As a pledge in my fraternity, we have the job of cleaning up the house to make it look nice before game days and social events. When I tell my friends about that, they consider it to be hazing for some reason. I see it as a duty that I have as a new potential brother in the fraternity. The brother’s also have their own duties related to the house’s upkeep, so it is not a valid to argue that the pledges’ cleaning requirement is hazing if the brothers have their own cleaning duties as well. There are other related examples that the general population considers to be hazing. If anything, activities such as those teach responsibility within the fraternity. I had to do similar activities such as cleaning when I was a part of a Boy Scout troop. Before one jumps to conclusions about whether an activity is “hazing” or not, one should think about whether harm is being done or if maybe something beneficial is taking place.
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