College Hazing
Blake Hampton
Mr. Coleman
English-102
April 16, 2009
College Hazing Students come into college wanting to have fun and to meet new people. There is no better way to interact and find new friends than to join a fraternity. Fraternities come with a high cost though. Hazing is one of the biggest concerns on college campuses these days. Hazing in universities across the nation has become an increasingly dangerous ritual that is seemingly becoming more difficult to put an end to due to its development into an “underground” activity. The major cause of hazing are the students’ wanting to be accepted, and they will do just about anything to feel that they belong.
Students want a sense of belonging in their new life as a college student, and they will go through many hazing activities just to be accepted by their peers. Though a regular activity in the seventies, hazing, a possible dangerous act of initiation to a group, has now become an activity that is banned in thirty-nine states (Allen, Madden). However, this ritual has not been stopped or become less severe. In fact it is becoming more dangerous. This is due to the fact that students who are being hazed will not go to an official and report what is going on inside the fraternities. Since it has been banned, with many colleges imposing their own penalties against those participating in it, many fraternities and sororities have pursued this activity in an underground fashion. Since these groups have gone underground, some victims of these rituals have been injured and subsequently died. This is due to the “hazers” not seeking medical treatment for the victims; for fear that they may be fined or charged by police or campus authorities (Allen, Madden). This creates a somewhat dictatorship where the “hazers” are able to get anything out of these kids all because they want to be accepted into a group. Hazing humiliates, and degrades individuals. People have heard of hazing recently due to the deaths of many kids
Mr. Coleman
English-102
April 16, 2009
College Hazing Students come into college wanting to have fun and to meet new people. There is no better way to interact and find new friends than to join a fraternity. Fraternities come with a high cost though. Hazing is one of the biggest concerns on college campuses these days. Hazing in universities across the nation has become an increasingly dangerous ritual that is seemingly becoming more difficult to put an end to due to its development into an “underground” activity. The major cause of hazing are the students’ wanting to be accepted, and they will do just about anything to feel that they belong.
Students want a sense of belonging in their new life as a college student, and they will go through many hazing activities just to be accepted by their peers. Though a regular activity in the seventies, hazing, a possible dangerous act of initiation to a group, has now become an activity that is banned in thirty-nine states (Allen, Madden). However, this ritual has not been stopped or become less severe. In fact it is becoming more dangerous. This is due to the fact that students who are being hazed will not go to an official and report what is going on inside the fraternities. Since it has been banned, with many colleges imposing their own penalties against those participating in it, many fraternities and sororities have pursued this activity in an underground fashion. Since these groups have gone underground, some victims of these rituals have been injured and subsequently died. This is due to the “hazers” not seeking medical treatment for the victims; for fear that they may be fined or charged by police or campus authorities (Allen, Madden). This creates a somewhat dictatorship where the “hazers” are able to get anything out of these kids all because they want to be accepted into a group. Hazing humiliates, and degrades individuals. People have heard of hazing recently due to the deaths of many kids
Cited: Allan, Elizabeth J, and Mary Madden. Hazing in View: College Student at Risk. hazingstudy.org. 1 Apr. 2009 . Gorski, Robert, Dr. “The Hazards Of Hazing.” College Health Guru. College.healthguru.com. 1 Apr. 2009 . National Center For Hazing Research And Prevention. RainStorm Consulting Inc. 1 Apr. 2009 . Vannoy, Sean N. Personal interview. 15 Apr. 2009.