EDITORIAL – Knowing your limits when you pledge

Hazing can render serious consequences for the individuals participating in it and those… Hazing can render serious consequences for the individuals participating in it and those administering it.

An incident of hazing that resulted in the death of a California State University student has led to four members of Chi Tau fraternity serving time after plea bargains were finalized last Friday.

An article in the Associated Press reported that 21-year-old Matthew Carrington and another student were forced to consume – and douse themselves with – exorbitant amounts of water while fans blew cold air on them in the basement of the former CSU fraternity.

This ridiculous act of hazing led to the eventual water intoxication and heart failure of Carrington. And while this isn’t the first death at the hands of hazing, authorities and some universities – even our very own – pledge that they will do everything in their power to ensure that this death is the last, with a zero-tolerance attitude regarding hazing.

This stringency can be observed in the recent sanctions Indiana University of Pennsylvania imposed against cheerleaders, who don’t expect to wave their pom-poms until May at the earliest, after they allegedly hazed a member with alcohol.

This also goes to show that you don’t have to be pledging a fraternity or sorority to experience hazing; people are exposed to the very ideas of hazing at very young ages in the form of bullying. There are deans of pledges lurking behind the snots in middle school stealing lunch money and unjustifiably harassing and demeaning peers.

Looking at contemporary fraternities and sororities, there is a big difference between being hazed and engaging in activities that sincerely foster sisterhood and brotherhood. Obviously, wearing a sorority pin or carrying a brick isn’t the same thing as drinking five gallons of water. Instead of being overly concerned with such trivialities, universities should pay more attention to some of the fatal activities that pledging includes and is not limited to.

It is entirely possible for initiates to establish bonds similar to the camaraderie established in the military – without killing someone. Pledging doesn’t mean putting your life on the line or being tortured to see if you survive. But a large part of hazing boils down to secrecy. Greek organizations should let their candidates know up front what exactly they are getting themselves into. They should be made aware and not left to speculate because members of an organization assume that their decision to join an organization is a decision to be hazed.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” Sometimes people allow others to put them into situations where they are compelled to pledge because their self-worth is tied to admittance into an organization.

People should want to join organizations for the service that they give to the community and the connection that can be fortified with their members. Sometimes, other reasons drive individuals to seek this highly coveted membership. And, in those reasons there exists an unfounded, ingenuine desire to join and pledge an organization at all costs. For some it is acceptance, elitism or even the duress of family members that drive them to go to great lengths to achieve something that almost doesn’t compare to life’s monumental milestones.

Just think about all the rites of passage life has to offer: becoming a parent, getting married and advancements in your career or even – potentially – becoming a millionaire. The fact is, life is filled with moments which will outweigh by 10-fold a membership card for any Chi Tau fraternity. No person or organization is worth compromising your morals or risking the one thing we are all entitled to: life.