The Deleterious Effects of Hazing

Hazing is one of the greatest social threats facing young people today. Hazing can defined as any activity expected of someone joining a group (or to maintain full status in a group) that humiliates, degrades or risks emotional and/or physical harm, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate. While hazing can occur in any social situation, it is especially prevalent in the fraternities and sororities of post-secondary educational institutions. Hazing has been linked to decreased academic performance, lowered self esteem, physical and emotional scarring, and even death, whether from the hazing itself or by means of suicide. Therefore, it is pertinent that in order for this activity to be eradicated, organizations condoning or failing to deter hazing should be punished under federal law.

Hazing has dates back to ancient times, rising to full fledged maturity after the Middle Ages. As the Protestant Reformation spread across Europe, both the Catholic Church and Protestant denominations began physical and psychological hazing to weed out members that were believed to be most loyal to their cause. Examples included extreme sleep deprivation and starvation, flogging, and the forcing into Iron Maiden torture devices (this was a specialty of the Spanish Inquisition). Clerical authorities grew to like hazing because it established a strict division between those in charge and their subjects. As a result, hazing practices were adopted by other various organizations, and eventually made their way into the Greek organizations of universities (a.k.a. fraternities). Today, hazing is practiced by countless institutions to maintain a hierarchal pecking order of group members.

According to an Alfred University study, 5% of college students admit to being hazed, with 40% knowing about hazing activities (the vast majority of those responding to the study belonged to a fraternity or sorority). 40% of responses report that a coach or advisor was aware about hazing, with 22% reporting that coaches or advisors were involved in the hazing activities. This shows that if there are college faculty are taking part in hazing activities, then the colleges are either condoning hazing, or else are not adequately disciplining faculty members involved in hazing activities.

All the above statistics are steadily rising, and are consistent with decreases in academic performance and increases in clinical depression diagnoses among young people. This topic is therefore not one to be taken lightly. Hazing has also resulted in numerous tragic deaths, mostly from alcohol poisoning, but with suicides also being documented following hazing activities. Furthermore, while proponents of hazing claim that mentally and physically debilitating activities instill pledge unity, the result is often resentment of the pledge, and the pledge member may be rendered less loyal to the chapter than at the beginning of initiation. Therefore, hazing is an unnecessary initiation process that results in permanently harmful effects on group members, and we all should work to end this disgusting and degrading exploitations.