Hazing suspension raises issues about fraternities
TCU should do more to investigate instances of fraternity hazing at all times to prevent further incidents.
COMMENTARY
Jeff Dennis

With the recent suspension of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, the issue of hazing has been brought to the forefront for a short time.

I am not aware of what exactly went on with the Kappa Sigs that led to their suspension. The university has reportedly dealt with the matter, so there is little reason to pursue that issue any further.

The more important issue at hand is how often hazing happens within other campus organizations.

Understandably, most campus organizations have initiation rituals, most of which are harmless. However, for those of you who are in or have good friends in fraternities, you likely know a different story.

I have no first-hand knowledge of being a pledge, but I know many people who are fraternity members, both at TCU and at other schools. There is no doubt in my mind that hazing takes place more timesthan any of us are aware, yet due to loyalty within the organization, very few details of these practices are likely to come out.

In the Greek system, it’s difficult for a pledge to come forward and speak out when hazing rituals get out of hand. There is strong pressure from within the group to tough it out and stay loyal.

Is TCU doing anything to investigate hazing, or do they merely wait until something bad happens and then decide to deal with the situation? Clearly many fraternity members have parents who are alumni and donate to TCU, so you decide whether TCU is going to investigate fraternities unless they are forced to once some hazing ritual goes wrong and becomes public knowledge.

Having heard first-hand stories about hazing practices, I am still dumbfounded as to what the attraction to Greek life is. Sleep deprivation, being urinated on, and being beaten are just a few of the practices I’ve heard associated with pledging.

Pummeling new members to promote brotherhood sounds a lot like rationalizing spousal abuse as a way to build marital stability.

We have to make sure out fraternity system is not a neverending cycle in which freshman pledges are hazed, and, rather than quit because they realize the ridiculousness of it all, they just wait until next year when they get to do the hazing.

The Greek system has many positive aspects, and provides excellent opportunities for its members, yet somewhere along the way the process of instilling loyalty in new members got mixed up with flat out torturing them.

For now, there is little that can be done about hazing in the Greek system. Members will no doubt tell you that they avoid such practices completely. Just like any other secret though, certain stories will leak out and become common knowledge among students.

Until something drastic happens, Greeks at TCU and other schools will continue to humiliate and degrade the newest members in their fraternities. They will in turn do the very same thing next year. I guess that’s one way to make friends.

Jeff Dennis is a senior sociology major from Gail.