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  • Essay / The issue of hazing as a rite of passage in Greece

    Hazing can be defined as rituals and activities that cause humiliation, abuse, or harassment through the process of initiation into Greek life. The most recognizable forms of hazing occur in fraternities on college campuses. College hazing is taken lightly given the degrading and sometimes fatal results for victims. Hazing is illegal in most states, but is it enough? University of Virginia police point out that the first death from hazing occurred in 1873 after a "member of the Kappa Alpha society died falling into a ravine after being left alone in the woods, blindfolded” (Hazing). Hazing continues to be a problem nationwide. Joining Greek life is more than saying, “I’m in a fraternity,” it represents a bond of brotherhood with the letters they share and the rituals they perform that constitute their loyalty and values. There are many ways to address hazing issues in Greek life, starting with undergraduates who are new members to Greek life, they can have the greatest influence. Additionally, more attention should be paid to these issues on college campuses, stricter rules and laws should be enforced as punishment for getting caught in order to get them to stop in the future, and to disseminate the list of resources to first-year students or those who rush Greek life each year. .Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay There is a fine line between what constitutes hazing and what constitutes brother-bonding activities. Some believe that hazing a fraternity's pledges restricts those who do not belong to that particular fraternity. In reality, a pledge is a male looking for a fraternity and a fraternity also looking for that male. Hazing is a test of your metal and physical strength, "those who choose to join a fraternity are faced with revered initiation rituals, which serve the purpose that each member "will ideally move more and more the periphery towards the center” of a social unit. " (Smart). Before a pledge can be initiated in a fraternity, they must do certain things for the brothers of the fraternity in order to prove that they are worthy to wear the letters of that fraternity. Brothers already initiated want to engage in what they believe to be the perfect form of a man and they do so by "imitating the transition from boy to adult as they move from pledge to full brother. Initiations are meant to test. and to prove masculinity Masculinity is tested through a set of feminizing hazing practices” (Smart) Hazing can be as simple as a scavenger hunt or promises to shout out phrases that brothers find funny. More recent case of hazing occurred: in November 2012, when a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Northern Illinois University died after being forced to answer questions and consume alcohol all night » (Hazing). Hazing has become all too common in universities in this modern world. Across the country, schools need to promote the idea of ​​less hazing and act accordingly. The first step to changing the idea that hazing makes boys more mature is to prove it false while identifying the risk factors for hazing. Many schools and students across the country identify that hazing isa problem and want to solve it. There is a national week known as “Hazing Prevention Week” that continues to be adopted by several universities. Hazing Prevention Week was created to educate new members of organizations about hazing and what they should do if they encounter these practices. Students are encouraged to take a stand, sign a banner and commit to ending hazing, but no one seems to follow through on these actions. Elizabeth Dsurney explains how students think: “For most of us, it's not about hazing,” she says. This is a rite of passage that everyone in the organization has already experienced. If you don't want to be in such situations, or if you don't think you can handle being in these situations, don't rush, don't join, don't try” (Dsurney). She continues her argument by saying, “Just because it’s expected doesn’t mean it should happen” (Dsurney). Hazing Prevention Week works closely with organizations to spread the idea that fraternities can still pass on their rituals to new members without practicing hazing. In the article “Hazing Prevention Makes an Impact” it is explained that “hazing is an issue that is not seen as much in the news, but as the news article says, when it appears, it will hit hard” (Hazing Prevention). Hazing Prevention Week is a good way to start being proactive rather than reactive when it comes to hazing, but it doesn't push students to do anything to address these issues. Hazing Prevention Week lets students know that things happen behind closed doors in a fraternity, but it doesn't give them any resources to take action and take a stand to change hazing practices together. Another solution to preventing hazing from occurring in the future is to enforce rules and laws to prevent this practice from escalating into a more serious problem. Enforcing rules that no one wants to follow also becomes a problem. Sometimes big companies like to sweep small problems under the rug and hope that no one will find the mess. For example, “colleges prefer to turn a blind eye to hazing because they want to avoid the public scrutiny that comes with being at the center of a major crime on campus.” To avoid public scrutiny, some universities use the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”) as a shield to avoid reporting incidents of hazing that occur among college students” (Alvarez). Many witnesses or victims of hazing also fail to report these crimes because they do not want to be the person reporting on the practices and rituals that have been going on for many years. Many people wonder why young adults are attracted to Greek life organizations when they should be well informed about the possibilities of hazing and its frequency. Indeed, “Greek organizations are very secretive. The loyalty required by keeping secrets, like hazing practices, appeals strongly to many young people's desire to be accepted” (Alvarez). The appeal to loyalty is another reason why witnesses or victims do not report hazing crimes. They are told that these acts of hazing are ritual and must be kept secret to earn their letters. Alvarez agrees that if the individuals who commit these hazing crimes are held accountable, they should be primarily responsible for their actions, which should have a chain reaction effect on the..