By T. R. Shaw, Jr.
Once again the despicable act of hazing
has claimed the life of another young, promising college student at a major
university.
This time it happened at Louisiana
State University to a pledge of Phi Delta Theta. Last Spring another pledge’s life was
brutally snuffed out in Beta Theta Pi at Penn State University where criminal
charges are still being prosecuted.
These incidents are sickening, totally unacceptable, and absolutely
indefensible. They should never have
happened.
Hazing is defined as subjecting a
subordinate to mental, physical and emotional abuse with acts of humiliation
and violence which may lead to injury or death.
Full disclosure, I’m a Sigma Chi alumni and active with my chapter at
Central Michigan University. I serve on
our House Corporation and Alumni Association Board, and mentor the active
chapter. These tragic incidents at major
universities hit close to home for me.
I can honestly admit I never
experienced hazing in my fraternity experience.
I’m proud Sigma Chi has had a longstanding policy against hazing and
proactively prohibits it. It is
discussed ad nauseum at our
Leadership Training Workshops. My
fraternity, and I likely speak for all the others, takes a strong and
unwavering stand against hazing, as it should be. They would be foolish not to. Hazing violates our core principles of
Friendship, Justice, and Learning.
In college, we did the crazy things fraternities do, and there was certainly
potential for situations which could be considered hazing, but we believed such
acts do not create brotherhood, camaraderie or esprit de corps. We never crossed that line. We knew hazing was the quickest way to lose
our charter and everything we hold dear.
During the time I was pledging, the
Interfraternity Council at CMU hosted a lecture by Eileen Stevens, the mother
of college student who died in 1978 in a hazing incident. Her son, Chuck Stenzel, a freshman at Alfred
University in New York, died in the trunk of a car from hypothermia and acute
alcohol poisoning at the hands of a fraternity gone wild. It was clearly a barbaric act of hazing. Her crusade and organization, CHUCK
(Committee to Halt Useless College Killings), was powerful and well
received. It was her personal crusade,
and she shared her anti-hazing message at more than 700 colleges through the
years. We heard her message and anguish loud and
clear. All of us at CMU in those days
were onboard with the fact that hazing was totally useless and unnecessary.
Since those days all fraternities
have gone through periods of decline and rebuilding. Our chapter at CMU nearly ended in the 90’s
but made a strong come back in the new millennium. From what I’ve witnessed, I’m confident the
message against hazing has endured.
So why is hazing still happening? I believe many fraternities lack strong and
responsible alumni and adult oversight.
Frankly, it’s difficult to find good alumni willing to devote the time,
energy and responsibility for ensuring the active chapter isn’t violating civil
and fraternal laws. It takes a special
person to be a chapter advisor or alumni leader. With the challenges of professional life and
family, it’s a task many shun, and are unwilling to take on.
We can’t deny the prevalence of
alcohol, and to a lesser extent drug abuse, has on the local fraternity. The median age of most fraternities is 19 and
the drinking age in nearly every state is 21.
The pressure to fit in can be overwhelming to many young students; many
cannot handle it. Violating the law goes
against the principles most fraternities profess and stand for, which is often
forgotten in the heat of the moment.
The fight to make fraternity houses “dry” is still vigorously opposed in
most circumstances which is unfortunate.
Alcohol and binge drinking is destroying many young lives and creating
future problems.
Lately, with many fraternities, the individual school has taken
stronger disciplinary action than the national organization when things go
wrong. Following the recent death at
LSU, the school has shut down ALL Greek organizations. I hope that’s a wake up call to every national
office. In many instances, if the
national won’t take swift action, the school will. We’re seeing this more often. This is not what most national fraternities
want. Most want a strong relationship
with schools. Alumni need to reengage
with their chapters.
I don’t know what the correct answer to all of this is. Nobody wants to see more of this nor the media
attention it brings. Above all, nobody
wants to see young people die tragically in foolish deaths. I do know that all Greek letter organizations
are on the hot seat at most institutions.
There is a movement to abolish them altogether, which would be
unfortunate. I can say with a great deal
of perspective most fraternities and sororities are great institutions which
produce people of character, teach positive life values, build leaders and
contribute immensely to the college experience.
Greeks have been traditionally stereotyped, and when bad things happen
they face the scorn of society.
Bottom line, hazing in all forms is abhorrent behavior which needs to
be abolished by any organization which professes to build character, including fraternities,
the military, sports teams, and any other organization dealing with young
people. Hazing is not limited to Greek
life. Hazing does nothing but divide and
destroy organizations and individuals.
The more we can do to fight this menace, the greater all of us will
be. When we truly respect each other,
this would never happen. I applaud all
those who take a strong stand against this barbaric practice and hope it
becomes a thing of the past.
No parent should ever have to fear for their child’s life when they go
off to college.
T. R. Shaw
Jr. is CEO of Shaw Communication in Battle Creek, Michigan. You can read his blog, The Reluctant
R(L)eader at www.read-mor.blogspot.com
