Horrors of Hazing?

Just this week, on Court TV, Al Roker of Al Roker Investigates, showed us the "dark side" of the collegiate Greek system.

First, I would like to say that I was a sorority girl. My sorority is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, a nationwide governing body of recognized sororities. I say "recognized" because that is one little tidbit of information that Roker didn't mention until after the first half-hour of his report.

Roker interviewed two women, both of whom claimed they were hazed by members of the unrecognized Tri Phi sorority at Loyola University. Apparently, there was a big scandal at Loyola because of it, with student suspensions and counter-suits. This paragraph of the story from the student newspaper is most telling:

But the women contend that they were not an officially recognized student organization at Loyola. Because of their unrecognized status, the suit contends that the university "was legally precluded from charging any of Tri Phi's members with violating the university's Hazing Policy."

Roker didn't mention that the sorority was unrecognized by the school, and therefore, probably not subject to any school policies, in his report. He painted ALL Greeks with the same brush--at least, he did not present the entire picture of Greek life on college campuses. He did not talk about the service work for charities they perform or any of the other more significant and important elements of Greek life.

As far as I know, hazing is not allowed in any recognized Greek chapter. National organizations have stiff penalties, and if your sorority is recognized by any national body such as the National Panhellenic Conference, it also has rules regarding hazing. Your chapter can be put on probation or even disbanded by these bodies, not to mention whatever penalties may be imposed by the university you attend.

Now, I am not about to say that some hazing does not go on in some Greek organizations. I personally never witnessed any in my own sorority chapter, and if I had, you can bet I'd be the first to go to our national organization about it. I did not close my eyes to something that may have been going on, either. There was nothing going on, period, end of story. I suppose my Greek experience may have been different than most women's. I was lucky to to get in on the ground floor of a recolonization of my sorority at my college, so there wasn't a lot of pressure. The most we had to do was make sure we had a number of study hours per week, and we were supposed to get to know our sisters.

I joined a sorority for many reasons. One was because it was being recolonized and I could help make something of a new organization. Two, a friend of mine was pledging. Three, I missed the leadership I had when I was on my high school student council, and I thought that a sorority would be a similar type of organization. Four, I wanted to meet new people. However, I knew from the beginning, in my own mind, that members of a sorority would NEVER take the place of my non-Greek friends. I had known several people who I ended up falling out of touch with because they joined sororities. I did not want that to happen to me. Everyone was equal.

I did happen to meet one of my best friends in the sorority. But she and I also met our other best friend through a sorority member who later de-activated. Our other best friend was not Greek, and it's a little funny because we don't even talk to the person who introduced us anymore. The non-Greek friend was even our roommate in the area of a dorm set aside for the sorority.

Nor did our sorority discriminate. We were of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. We even had foreign students in our sorority. One woman was French Canadian, and others were from Asia. We also had black members. If anything, we all encouraged each other, because we were all in the recolonization effort together.

I won't say that there weren't some difficult times. You put 50 women in a room and see what you get them to agree on without complaints. :) All in all, it was a great experience, and I am glad to be an alumna member of my sorority.

National Hazing Prevention Week is set for September 26-30, 2005.

Stories like this mislead the average person. Most people have no idea what Greek life is like. They only know what they've seen in movies like "Animal House," or "Revenge of the Nerds." Greeks have enough of an image problem without adding misleading news reports to the mix. TV shows like the MTV series "Sorority Life" try to show a real picture of the life, but yet it's edited to show only the drama, and not the mundane reality.

If you're a female who might be thinking of joining a Greek system when you're in college, don't be afraid to rush a sorority. Sororities aren't just "party all the time." They support philanthropies, offer scholarships, and promote reaching for your dreams. I often think of my sorority's motto: "Aspire, Seek, Attain."