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Hazing was made famous by the movie “Animal House,” but organizations who try it at the University of Maine run the risk of being kicked off campus.
UMaine has not had to reprimand any group for hazing recently but continues to educate students to prevent future incidents, saidRobert Dana, the senior associate dean of Students and Community Life.
Hazing, which has become synonymous with college fraternities, sororities and athletic teams, is an intentional act taken towards a person in and organization by another member of that group that causes public humiliation, emotional discomfort or bodily injury.
“It is absolutely unacceptable,” Dana said.
According to Dana, the problem of hazing is a slippery slope.
“You either are or you aren’t hazing,” Dana said. “We will not tolerate any form of the activity.”
Elizabeth Allan, an assistant professor in Education Leadership, said she agrees with Dana’s stance.
“Hazing is often just a harmless prank, but once you have set up the power dynamic the pranks can easily escalate,” she said.
Allan became involved in the fight against hazing while lobbying for legislation on the problem in New Hampshire in 1993. She is also a co-founder of a leading web site against hazing, www.stophazing.org, which has been featured in Teen People and the New York Times.
“Far more people than imagined have died from hazing,” Allan said. “And many more have been injured and emotionally abused or scarred.”
Dan Chadbourne, the president of Beta Theta Pi, said that the fraternities recognize the seriousness of the issue. “If anyone even complains or makes accusations you pretty much get the book,” Chadbourne said. “Too many bad things can come from hazing so its best just to pull away from it all.”
Aside from the policy, university involvement in student groups discourages hazing and educates groups about the serious risks involved in hazing.
Each student organization on campus was sent a letter warning them about university rules and laws regarding hazing policies.
New pledges in fraternities and sororities have to attend seminars twice each semester to inform them about hazing, as well as other issues. The Greek Leadership Conference, to be held March 3, will also donate time to the issue of hazing
“We are very vigilant and attentive to campus groups,” Dana said. “Every group is exposed to the issue year in and year out.”
The theory behind hazing is that it creates a common bonding experience within groups.
“I call is lazy bonding,” Dana said. “We want to teach the groups more effective, humane and thoughtful ways to achieve a bond.”
E.J. Roach, the coordinator of Greek life for UMaine, said students are reluctant to break traditions.
“Its tough to change attitudes,” Roach said. “Half the battle is convincing the group that traditions can change and then replacing the hazing with something positive.”
Although Dana does not feel hazing is widespread on campus, he finds value in keeping the issue on the forefront. “We deal with [hazing] a lot so we don’t have to deal with greater problems in the future,” he said.
“Hazing only happens in a small minority of organized student groups,” Dana said.
“Beta doesn’t haze at all,” Chadbourne said.
The fraternity does not condone any form of hazing among its members and even asks pledges to remain sober throughout the entire pledging process to further ensure that nothing questionable occurs.
Fraternities and sororities with national affiliations also have strict policies against hazing. According to Allan, lawsuits from hazing cases can be a huge expense that the national boards want to avoid.
“Even if the university punished us for hazing, Beta National would come down twice as hard,” Chadbourne said.
According to Allan’s Web site, hazing victims rarely report the incident, having respect for the people involved in hazing them. Hazing often results in mistrust, apathy and alienation.
“We don’t treat the new guys like kid,” Chadbourne said. “We don’t want to crush anyone’s dignity.”
Allan also makes the point that in abusive relationships, abuse tends to increase over time. “Although there is not enough research on hazing to prove this, I would draw similar parallels between the two,” she said.
The problem facing those who are opposed to hazing is breaking with the group’s traditions.
“A culture develops around hazing. It becomes a part of the experience and the meaning of belonging to the group,” Allan said. “It is hard to change this behavior once it has become entrenched.”
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