In Defense of Hazing

Written by Chris Lenz | 06 January 2008

In Defense of Hazing

Meritocracy isn't easy, folks

By Christopher R. Lenz

We’ve all heard the aphorism you can’t get something for nothing, or as Economics 101 grads tend to prefer, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The idea seems rather simple; you work hard for something, and then you reap the benefits. In practice, however, this kind of thinking is more difficult for some to grasp than you might think. (Take my youthful French counterpart, for instance.) A perfect way to illustrate this truly American work ethic is to consider the young man seeking acceptance in a college fraternity.

If you’ve been reading media headlines at all for the last few years, you’ve undoubtedly seen accounts of college fraternities wreaking havoc on university campuses across the country. Reports of wild parties, underage binge drinking, and hazing, while not necessarily exaggerated, tend to cast a dim light on college Greek life. (Never mind that this behavior is undertaken by all sorts of students who are not members of Greek organizations.)

The reason fraternities have taken the largest hit, however, is because hazing has been cited as the cause for a number of drinking related deaths. Hazing, for those of you who do not know, is defined as subjection to harassment or ridicule, but more encompassing, it represents a right of passage for males trying to join a fraternity. It is intended to establish brotherhood and solidarity among members who all must go through the same ordeal.

Following some of these unfortunate occurrences, however, people are sued, lives are destroyed, and as a result, the concept of hazing has been completely denounced by the national chapters of many of the largest Greek organizations. To be fair, I don’t think that hazing was ever wholeheartedly supported by them either; it just wasn’t addressed so strongly and negatively as it is now.

So the backlash comes, and for a lot of fraternities, alcohol is now banned from activities entirely. Of course, alcohol consumption continues in a more clandestine manner for some fraternities, and others decide to get even more creative. As we all know, making something illegal does not guarantee that the practice will stop.

The fear of going to jail after getting someone killed by forced alcohol consumption (or any other form of hazing that can cause excessive bodily harm) is a far greater disincentive to the practice than some bureaucrat sitting behind a desk, signing a few papers, and banning it outright.

So in response to the crisis, some other brilliant pledge educator decided to make the pledges drink vast amounts of water instead of alcohol. And what happened? Someone died from hypoatremia- water poisoning.

My fraternity was actually treated to a “risk management” seminar each semester to help alleviate some of the enormous insurance costs associated with operating a fraternity. But hazing continues as it always has, only with varying degrees of intensity across the country.

Unfortunately, the hypocrisy of regulation only drives a bigger wedge between the individual chapters and the national organization as a whole. As a result, members lose touch with the core values that their fraternity was founded upon, some over a hundred years old.

Typically, the image and popularity of the fraternity on campus rises directly with the strength of its hazing rituals. The harder the hazing, the cooler the fraternity is among students as a result. Comparatively, a fraternity who lets their members in without any effort, thus making the passage to acceptance much less epic, tends to have a lower reputation on campus. Personally, I encourage hazingwithin reason, of course, and for the reasons I have outlined above.

If you can’t handle it, the answer is simple: Don’t join a real fraternity. Join one that better suits your tastes. Attend a university where your social life isn’t contingent on your Greek affiliation. A fraternity without hazing is merely a club. And I’d rather party with my brothers than with the French department. You can’t get something for nothing. And besides, who wants to be a member of a community that anyone can join?