The truth about the pledging process
By Mario LaBeach

The brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity recently held a program about hazing to inform students who are interested in becoming a member of a fraternity or sorority about the facts of hazing in college. The program was a success; the room was fully seated with approximately 30 students.

Guest speaker Craig Harrison of Alpha Phi Alpha at Buffalo State said that though there are some organizations that still use hazing as a part of their pledging process, hazing is not tolerated by Buffalo State College or any other school .

“Most fraternities on campus do not haze at all. They do not believe in it and do not want their pledges to have to go through it,” Harrison said.

Harrison defined hazing as activities that are generally considered to be:

• physically abusive
• emotionally abusive
• hazardous
• sexually violating

“There are several different acts of hazing that fall into those categories,” Harrison said.

Other examples of typical hazing practices include:

• sleep deprivation
• yelling, swearing and insulting the pledges
• being forced to wear embarrassing clothing in public
• physical beatings
• consumption of an intolerable amount of alcohol

Harrison informed the students that there are several myths about hazing. Some of these myths include:

• hazing is no more than pranks that sometimes go wrong
• as long as there is no cruel intention, there is nothing wrong with a little hazing
• hazing is an effective way to teach respect and develop discipline
• if someone agrees to participate in an activity, it can't be considered hazing

Harrison told students that none of those myths are true. He addressed the myths by saying:

• hazing is pre-meditated and not accidental, it can sometimes become very severe
• even if there is no cruel intention, safety should still be the first concern
• respect should be earned, not taught
• in states that have laws against hazing, the victim's consent cannot be used as a defense

Harrison went on to say that hazing is illegal.

“I learned a lot from this program, I did not know that hazing was illegal,” said freshman Marcus Felton. “I thought that it was the necessary process of pledging for all fraternities and sororities.”

Harrison felt that he did a good job of getting the point across: “I just wanted the students to know that the notion of all fraternities hazing is just a stereotype.” “I didn't want the students that are interested Greek life to be intimidated because of the rumors that they have heard.”

http://www.stophazing.org/

http://www.uta.edu/stuact/greek/
forms/hazing_handouts.pdf

http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/
groups/hazing.shtml