Hazing

Student death in hazing at Florida A&M University is declared a homicide.=This guy who goes to my church actually knew the guy who died and goes to the same university. Also, I know people who go to the high school where he went to. This is just sickening. Discuss.

That's pretty damn awful, however what if he didn't die but was still injured? Are there laws against hazing? At the very least it's a good thing they charged this as a homicide. Though I would guess it would be manslaughter.

"If there is a hole then it's a man's job to thrust into it" - Ryoma from New Getter Robo

The silver lining in things like this are that we get to find out what kind of people those involved in such hazing really are.

"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon Stewart

I read the article and looked up the definition on Google, and I'm still confused as to what exactly "hazing" is. Also, is the thread talking specifically about the article or about hazing in general?

In before "Oh, look, Florida again. Why am I not surprised?"

Ah, I think hazing is like that weird initiation thing that those fraternities make you do, right?

Hazing what a horrible thing to do.

Why do people need to haze?? To feel supirior??? That is just barbarism and saddism. Sometimes it worries me that such a practice is so widespread.

I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.

Hazing is usually some form of "test" or "passage" clubs, organizations, and frats/sororities have. They tend to include bodily harm, illegal activities, "doing somethin' crazy," or generally embarrassing the people being hazed. They're hardly ever official, never school run, and they're done almost exclusively to have the senior members show off their power.

edited 17th Dec '11 5:54:01 PM by HeavyDDR

I'm pretty sure the concept of Law having limits was a translation error. -Wanderlustwarrior

In any case, hazing is just... just... why? Why? The idea of a fraternity itself is rather idiotic too... why should one have to join a special group of people? University is for education, not for being a dick...

Hopefully this will scare ppl away from physical hazing.

But then I bet they will just go with the physhological arrasment route.

I will always cherish the chance of a new beggining.

I've always found hazing in general to be pretty stupid. Even really minor hazing ("Kick the Freshmen" day, for example) has always struck me as weird. Can't say I understand why people do it, hopefully this will lead to outlawing of such things, though to be honest I'm not sure how much that'll help.

go ahead and do every stupid thing you can imagine

I think the reason that hazing exists is to have a "badge of honor" kind of deal. I am not against some forms of hazing, as long as everyone involved is consenting to it and they don't involve people who aren't involved then I think hazing isn't terrible. Most forms of hazing is simply stupid stunts with a mild chance of injury. Like say drinking a lot of alcohol or running around naked or something like that.

"If there is a hole then it's a man's job to thrust into it" - Ryoma from New Getter Robo

Hazing, from what I can tell, exists as a way to create loyalty in new members by forcing them to over come some ridiculous task.

You can't even write racist abuse in excrement on somebody's car without the politically correct brigade jumping down your throat!

Hazing and bullying are bad. This should be patently obvious.

I am now known as Flyboy.

In my state there are laws against this sort of thing. Can't say the same for everywhere else.

What I'm kind of baffled by, aside from why this even occurs to begin with, is why people kind of take it if hazing involves a beating. Maybe it's just me, but someone throws a punch at me they are getting one back. Most likely to the throat.

Cause really, if joining a group requires you be assaulted, is it really worth it? But yeah, hazing needs to die in a thermite fire.

It sort of depends on what they were doing - AFAIK, most of the "common" hazing activities would fall under one criminal statute or another: assault, theft, kidnapping, indecent exposure; though to be fair some of those would be aimed at the hazees instead of the hazers. Some of it is mostly harmless, like making the freshmen run across campus in their underwear; some of it is dangerous and potentially deadly, like beatings or duct taping someone to a wall. The dangerous stuff is why hazing is now one of the things the military prosecutes people for.

Well, yes, that's sort of the point - you don't have to join their special group, but if you want to be part of the cliqueelite, then you've got to pass their tests. Psychologically, it can bring the group closer together, since they've all been through the same (or at least similar) initiation behaviors, but the military bans it because it's not worth the injuries/deaths that accompany it. As for being a dick, well, that's sort of humanity's specialty.

One hazing thing that was really, really big in the Navy*

^{probably other branches, too}

before was "tacking on" of your new rank - essentially, when you got a promotion, everyone of your new rank or higher who saw you at/after the ceremony, would punch you in the arm/collarbone on top of your new rank badge. It's not getting a beating, so much, because nobody's supposed to hit you more than once, but I've heard some of the saltier-than-I sailors talk about having their whole arm bruised from shoulder to elbow from it.

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw

And what if they then go to the police and claim you started it? It's the same tactic bullies use with teachers, and there's no reason to think they'd suddenly abandon it.

"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon Stewart

Teachers are aware of that; both sides get in trouble to some extent, as a fail-safe.

I've heard about hazing incidents leading to deaths and closed chapters, and it's even happened on our campus. Common sense is needed here.

Now using Trivialis handle.

It's horrible that such events go on at all.

When I was in college, I was a member of a fraternity that was against hazing, and never practiced it

.

Hazing is now, generally speaking, "rites of passage" taken Up To Eleven. Sadly, nothing is done about hazing due to ignorance and apathy. A student can usually go to a student council or Greek center located in a school and report an incident of hazing, as hazing of any kind is grounds for a fraternity, or any other organization, to lose their ability to be recognized as such an organization and receive the benefits they're given. Unfortunately, said councils or centers aren't responsible for the welfare of the student that makes such a report, and if the organization finds out about it, they'll make their life hell, and most students at that point don't know what to do or how to act in a situation like that.

The only way hazing would vanish quickly would be if new pledges or recruits would all stand against hazing, and refuse to join any organization that supports it, thereby effectively removing those organizations that do support hazing after the members graduate and move on. Unfortunately, many of an average student just wants to feel like they belong, or receive the obvious benefits of being in a prestigious organization, whatever the cost.

edited 21st Dec '11 4:09:24 PM by Newfable