Maybe your chapter is confused about or even afraid of how to change “traditional” hazing practices.
Detecting Hazing
Signs & Symptoms of Hazing
Actions and activities which are explicitly prohibited include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Any activity that might reasonably bring physical harm to the individual.
- Paddling, beating or otherwise permitting members to hit pledges.
- Requiring pledges to wear degrading or uncomfortable garments.
- Depriving pledges of the opportunity for sufficient sleep (8 consecutive hours per day minimum) and decent edible meals.
- Activities that interfere in any way with individuals’ academic efforts (i.e. causing exhaustion, loss of sleep, or loss of reasonable study time).
- Activities that interfere with an individual’s employment or family obligation.
- Requiring or encouraging pledges to consume amounts of alcohol or other drugs.
- Forcing, coercing, or permitting students to eat or drink foreign or unusual substances such as raw meat, raw eggs, salt water, onions, etc.
- Having substances such as eggs, mud, paint, honey, etc. thrown at, poured on, or otherwise applied to bodies of pledges.
- Morally degrading or humiliating games or any other activity that make an individual the object of amusement, ridicule, or intimidation.
- Kidnaps, road trips (a mandatory/forced off-campus trip as part of a pledging activity). Note: Kidnaps performed by actives or pledges are banned.
- Subjecting an individual to cruel and unusual psychological conditions for any reason.
- Any requirement which compels an individual to participate in any activity which is illegal, perverse, publicly indecent, contrary to the individual’s genuine morals and/or beliefs, e.g. public profanity, indecent or lewd conduct, or sexual gestures in public.
*There ARE ways to change from a hazing to a non-hazing chapter, and this can be achieved with the assistance of many resources available to you including Inter/National Headquarters Staff, Alumni Volunteers and University Advisors.
Alternative Activities
- Ropes course and team building activities
- Organizational retreats
- Community service with all members
- Mentoring with alumni and new members
- Faculty meetings and events
- Educational workshops and focus groups
Providing alternative programming is a first step in the right direction but not the whole solution to rid your chapter of hazing. To effectively deal with hazing, you need to:
- Increase the awareness of ALL members
- Educate ALL members
- Detect violations by your members
- Take corrective action