The Truth About Sorority Hazing
Monday, January 16, 2012
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The National Panhellenic Council defines hazing as “any action or situation with or without consent which recklessly, intentionally or unintentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student, or creates risk of injury, or causes discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule or which willfully destroys or removes public or private property for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in a chapter or colony of an NPC member fraternity.” Despite being prohibited in all national sororities and women’s fraternities—and illegal in 44 states—hazing is still shockingly prevalent.
One senior at an urban East Coast college, a school with a relatively small percentage of Greeks—when she rushed the percentage was only 12% but has since risen to 22%—talks about her experience with hazing: “Panhellenic said that there was a zero-tolerance policy at [my school],” the very involved sorority sister explained. “They passed out pamphlets outlining any activity that could be considered hazing, anything from walking in a straight line, being forced to wearing a sorority t-shirt on a given day, and much more serious things. There is a hazing hotline that they told us about that we were to call.”
She reported feeling no pressure to rush and even waited until her sophomore year to do so, when most students at her university rush in the fall of their freshman year. During the fall of her sophomore year, despite the stringent rules against hazing, she was subject to a series of rules and events dictated by her pledge mom. These tasks included having to dress a certain way every day (for example, “Wednesday was Buddy Day. I hated Buddy Day. You were assigned a buddy in your pledge class and the sisters told you two that you had to dress alike.”), greeting all sisters with a standard greeting (“you sounded like an idiot saying it.”), and attending spur-of-the-moment lineups organized by a pledge class phone chain where sisters would ask you questions about the sorority and just tell the pledges what to do—“and you had to do it.”
She also explained some special hazing events that her pledge class endured.
- “We have an event that has to do with ice cream. You get into a room and there’s ice cream all over the ground and they tell you, you have to make it disappear but you can’t eat it. You have to put it all over your arms and in your hair. You have to get rid of it.”
- “We had an event called Apple-Onion where you’re all in a small room and one by one you’re told that one girl in your sorority has to leave, and you have to write down a pledge sister that you think should be forced to quit. Afterwards you have an apple and an onion and they say, “here is an apple and an onion, whatever you choose to take a bite out of, your pledge sisters have to finish the other.” The point of it is that the whole time during pledging you’re told that you’re a pledge class of one, so it’s all a test to see if you understand that you guys couldn’t be divided and you can’t write down someone so you’re supposed to write down yourself to sacrifice yourself against your sisters. You’re also supposed to sacrifice eating the onion on behalf of your sisters.”
- “Hell week,” which is traditionally the last week of pledging where hazing is most severe, “is now a weekend because the school cracks down. You have to all sleep at the same place, you can be kept up all weekend, you have to write a song about pledging, and sisters can line you up any hour of the day. There’s not a lot of sleep and you have to cook all of the sisters dinner on your own budget. If a sister wants a pack of cigarettes or Chapstick you have to go and buy it for her. You have to do whatever they want. You do puzzles and we had to sort sprinkles. They can put stuff in our hair like eggs and sour cream and we weren’t allowed to shower. Then you get initiated the next day.”
While these stories aren’t as horrifying as some rumored hazing traditions such as sisters circling fat on pledges or being forced to perform sexual acts on fraternity brothers—all things I have personally read about or heard of—they are still very much outlawed by the NPC. Eve Riley, the chairman of the NPC, includes in their definition of hazing, a sample of included activities that are construed as hazing. “Such activities and situations include, but are not limited to, creation of excessive fatigue; physical and psychological shocks; wearing, publicly, apparel that is conspicuous and not normally in good taste; engaging in public stunts and jokes; participating in treasure or scavenger hunts; morally degrading or humiliating games and activities; late night sessions that interfere with scholastic activities or normal sleep patterns; and any other activities that are not consistent with fraternal law, ritual, or the regulations and policies of the member fraternity or the educational institution.”
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About the Author
Biography
Cara Sprunk has been the Managing Editor of Her Campus since fall 2009. She is a 2010 graduate of Cornell University where she majored in American Studies with a concentration in cultural studies. At Cornell Cara served as the Assistant Editor of Red Letter Daze, the weekend supplement to the Cornell Daily Sun where she also wrote for the news and arts section and blogged about pop culture. In the summer of 2008 she interned at Life & Style Weekly as a beauty and editorial intern; the following summer she was an editorial intern OK! Magazine. In Winter 2009-2010 she interned at Star Magazine — where she is currently an editorial assistant in New York City. In her free time Cara enjoys reading, shopping, going to the movies, exploring and writing.
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Comments
No one really knows what happens unless you have gone through it
Everything is hazing. If they tell you to pick up a pen, then that is considered hazing because you are being told to do something. The truth is, the extent of hazing depends on the type of organization a person chooses to pledge for. If a latino or black person chooses to pledge a latino/multicultural/divine 9 frat or sorority, then the extent of the hazing would be worse than joining a so called "white" organization. I personally chose to pledge a multicultural sorority and was told "we do not hit you", "you can go home when you please" ect. Going into it, I knew that some of the rules included not being able to talk (social probation) wearing uniform or gear which was a hoodie, jeans and hair in pony tail..as well as a diet...which is all hazing. When I was initiated into the pledge process, being pledged(in the late hours of the night from like 10 pm to whenever they felt like stopping )we had to recite the greek alphabet as well as other information about the organization and had to contact all the sisters everyday and had library hours. I personally had family issues going on during that time and was told by my Dean Of Pledges (person who pledges the line) if i were to go home a lot it would hurt my process as well as told by a another big sister basically in a nutshell that if she did it with family issues then i shouldnt be complaining. At that moment i dropped from pledging because it was as though i had to choose between my family and a sorority. when pledging a black/latino/multicultural organization and you drop, people tend to look at you differently and talk about you. It didnt matter to me..because letters do not define who i am. my ex Line-sisters continued with the process and made it...one of them shared with me almost the entire process...such as being pushed and shoved and getting things they have earned taken away and having to earn it back with exercise and things like that. The truth is when pledging, everything you do is hazing. I do not regret dropping and being called a droppee because if i woould have continued the process and have been touch physically by one of the sisters, then i would have been dropped because i would not let someone put their hands on me. No one really knows what truly happens unless you have gone through it. I have and decided that it wasnt for me...i personally do not like to be screamed at for no reason or anything of that sort.
It's not only sororities
As a member of my campus's sororities, I am proud to say that my sisters and I have never been hazed and would never haze any woman, especially one we call a sister. I would just like to point out that this article vilifies sororities, who are not the only perpetrators. I have also heard stories about sports teams, clubs, and other campus activities where hazing has been involved. Greeks should play an active role in stopping hazing at their schools, but they aren't the only ones to blame in the first place!
Hazing is predominant
I think people regularly want to believe that hazing isnt happening as much as this article makes it sound but the sad fact is that it really is. I went to a state university that was very well known and almost all of our greek societies hazed. I agree that the dressing the same isnt that big of a deal, but unfortunatly once girls get together and start hurting others they fall vicitim to what psychologists call the "lucifer effect" and they can be convinced to do horrible things that they later say they dont remember doing and are ashamed of. I worked at the on capus hospital and on pledge nights we would have to stay open all night to treat the hazing vicitms that would come in, in carloads. Tons of alcohol poisening, one guy had been paddled so badly that he lost the top two layers of skin on his buttocks, and a group of sorority pledges that came in bleeding and missing their toenails because to be part of the group they had to let their big sister pull their toenails off with plyers. Of course people who support greek life dont want to think this happens but it happens too often. Once is too often. Thats not including the fraternity that got shut down on our campus for sodomizing all of its initiates. All of this at one school, I would hate to think of how much is going on nation wide that we are missing because we want to bury our heads in the sand and assume that just because your sorority is good doesnt mean the house next door isnt abusing their pledges and they are too scared to say anything, or they are feeling pressure from parents who are telling them its ok hunny, I was hazed too its just something you have to live with.
Hazing
I was the pledge director of my chapter and a Panhellenic member. Our chapter was proud of our no hazing practice and it sickens me to hear that in 2011 this stupid behavior continues. I truly thought this was a thing from the old "Animal House" days. Degrading those who are your main support system for the next four years is morally, and psychologically damaging to all involved. It is in no way building your chapter cohesion. Those greek who still support this behavior should be stripped of their membership and booted off campus. Those instigated it should be expelled from campus. A complete no tolerance policy is the only way to save us from being banned outright by universities. I know that our no hazing policy is a better way to created stronger bonds as my Facebook page is filled with sisters that I haven't seen in twenty years but still care about. We share life's adventures now just as we did back then. We console each other with losses and congratulate the successes in life. This is what you want from your greek life. There is nothing beneficial in learning to be a sadist. It degrades us all.
Some problems with your facts
First, you mention that the African-American sororities have done away with the pledge period and somehow that is supposed to indicated they do not haze, yet the picture you have with your story shows an article about an African-American sorority that is in trouble for hazing.
Second, National Panhellenic Council (NPC) groups do not have a "pledging period." They have new member periods which last 6 weeks. Joining a sorority involves time and financial commitments. The 6-week new member period is intended to allow new members to decide if they really want to make that commitment after learning about the sorority and its members.
Finally, if I recall correctly Alexandra Robbins' book exposed hazing by local sororities, which are not members of NPC.
Some problems with your facts
First, you mention that the African-American sororities have done away with the pledge period and somehow that is supposed to indicated they do not haze, yet the picture you have with your story shows an article about an African-American sorority that is in trouble for hazing.
Second, National Panhellenic Council (NPC) groups do not have a "pledging period." They have new member periods which last 6 weeks. Joining a sorority involves time and financial commitments. The 6-week new member period is intended to allow new members to decide if they really want to make that commitment after learning about the sorority and its members.
Finally, if I recall correctly Alexandra Robbins' book exposed hazing by local sororities, which are not members of NPC.
This article makes it sound
This article makes it sound like every chapter hazes, which is far from the truth. Yes, hazing does happen sometimes, but it's not as common as this makes it seem. I am an alumna of a Panhellenic sorority and I have been very involved with Greek life since I joined. I know many sorority members from other sororities at other schools and also many members of other chapters of my sorority at other schools and I have never heard a hazing story from any of them that wasn't a rumor of what another chapter does.
Hazing is terrible. The temporary "bonding" that it creates is not deep and lasting, and there are so many things that can go wrong in the process. Any chapter that still allows hazing is seriously behind the times and probably just around the corner from getting caught and facing some very serious consequences. It definitely does not happen everywhere, but at those chapters that it does happen, it needs to stop.
Some things that they consider hazing
are ridiculous. For example, the pledges in my sorority are not allowed to wear their pledge pins because it's 'hazing.' They only wear it when we wear, I'm sorry but that is ridiculous. I wore my pledge pin proudly and it sucks that they aren't able to have that same kind of pride. I don't agree with everything that they consider to be hazing.
This is my school paper!
This is my college's student-run paper!! Cara, how did you pick this up? How wierd that the little Collegian image just popped up on the side of my screen! That newsroom is where I spent every day last year as Entertainment Editor. Good to see things are circulating.
That's so funny Cece! I just
That's so funny Cece! I just found it through some random google searches for headlines like that. I thought it was perfect! Were you there when this happened?
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