Fraternities - Last Part

5 Steps to Preventing Hazing During the Pledging Process at Your College Campus

Fraternity hazing has become a serious problem through out the world. Hazing on a college campus usually occurs during the pledging process. Hazing is defined as an act that is required of an individual who wants to join specific group. These actions are usually humiliating and can lead to serious injury or death. It is important to remember that while a pleading process is normal it is not normal or acceptable to make anyone do something they do not want to do or something that could end up hurting or even killing them. Pledging a fraternity or sorority is supposed to be a fun experience. Something to look back on and laugh. The ritual of hazing during the pledging process has become grossly unacceptable and dangerous. There are a few things you can do to help prevent this type of hazing from being done on your college campus during pledging.

The first thing you can do is educate yourself and those around you about the pledging process and the hazing rituals of your campus. A lot of people don’t think of hazing as a serious problem. So it is so important to learn as much as you can and help those who don’t understand how the pledging process can turn very ugly, due to dangerous hazing rituals.
The next thing you can do is Research, read, and join hazing prevention groups. Most colleges and universities have anti-hazing groups associated with their Student Affairs Department. Stop Hazing is a national website dedicated to just that The last week of September is recognized as National Hazing Prevention Week and this would be the perfect time to get people involved. Get them to join some groups with you and learn more about pledging a fraternity or sorority.

Also recognize hazing. After you become educated, recognizing hazing will be much easier. You will be able to recognize hazing as any action that involves humiliation or injury to a person who is attempting to join a group. Hazing ranges from beatings, being urinated on, placed in a coffin, or forced to drink alcohol against their will. Start to become familiar with pledging schedules that way you’ll be able to know when you should be looking for any suspicious acts on your campus.
Also view hazing as a serious problem. Don’t just shrug it off as something that happens everywhere. There are plenty of fraternities and sororities who don’t have extreme hazing rituals during pledging. Most individuals believe if they can get away with dirty hazing practices once, that they can get away with it again. This maybe true, but what about the next time when something goes wrong, and the person pledging ends up seriously injured or dead.

The last thing you can do is report anything you think is not right. If you witness a hazing situation, report it to your to the proper person, like campus police or the school president. You are helping to potentially save someone’s life. Don’t hesitate to report anything that makes you uncomfortable or something you know is making the person pledging uncomfortable.