College Hazing Faces New Scrutiny
posted by Kieara Chambers | November 29, 2017 | In NewsHazing is defined as anything a person is made or forced to do unwillingly as a form of embarrassment, harassment, or humiliation that may be dangerous and risks physical, mental, and emotional harm. There have been reports of hazing in the past for both fraternities and sororities, as well as sports teams, band, and in other scholarly groups. According to Inside Hazing, 5% of college students report having been hazed and 40% know about hazing activities occurring.
Hazing can lead to death in some extreme cases and can also bring about criminal charges. According to the Washington Post, Florida State University and Texas State University recently suspended all Greek life after alcohol-related deaths of pledges at both universities. And 17 fraternity members were charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a pledge at Penn State University.
After talking to some faculty, I discovered that hazing has always been a big deal and reasons people don’t report hazing is because they feel that it’s what they are supposed to do to be able to join a team or organization, they don’t want to get themselves in trouble or the organization, and they don’t want to be labeled as a snitch. These findings are consistent with national surveys which show that 46% of students think it is important to maintain a “code of silence” about such activities, and 27% don’t report hazing activities because they don’t trust authorities to “handle it right,” according to Inside Hazing.
There is at policy for hazing in FSU’s student code of conduct under the legal terms. In the policy on hazing in section 3, you can find the North Carolina statute that says hazing is unlawful and punishable in a court of law. The North Carolina statute states that if one is charged and convicted of hazing, they can face a class 2 misdemeanor which can be punished with 1-60 days of some form of punishment, and if the person has prior convictions, they may face jail or prison time. The hazing policy also instructs how to report incidents through the school’s disciplinary process, what are the sanctions, and a page that someone can fill out and report hazing anonymously. University punishments may involve counseling, suspension of the group’s charter, removal of the individual from the group, and individual expulsion from the school.
According to FSU staff and faculty, pledging was outlawed in the 1990s, which made it secretive and underground. Today the process is called the membership intake process. To decrease the risk that new members are kicked off the line before officially becoming a member they do not tell anyone that they are going through the intake process until the come out for their probate performance.
Hazing also occurs in middle school and high school.
FSU is currently in the process of creating a website about hazing, in the meantime keep yourself informed about hazing and don’t think that it can’t happen to you.
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