http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/648449 Aug. 28, 2000, 10:31PM Survey finds hazing has deep, early roots -- High schoolers tell of abuse, illegal acts WASHINGTON (AP) -- Almost half the high school students who answered a nationwide survey said they were made to eat disgusting things, abuse alcohol or drugs or perform humiliating or illegal acts to join athletic teams, the band, even church groups. Researchers at Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. -- known for studies of hazing among college sports teams, fraternities and sororities -- said Monday that the report shows a willingness among youths to commit violent acts and break laws to achieve a sense of belonging. It also demonstrates that young people's social activities should have greater adult supervision and gives proof that no group is immune. "Students may already be deeply immersed in the culture of hazing before they arrive on our campuses as freshmen," said Charles Edmondson, president of the private liberal arts university in western New York. "Our challenge is much greater than anyone appreciated." In the survey -- a two-page mail-in questionnaire sent to 11th- and 12th-graders this spring -- students said they were most likely to be hazed by a sports team or gang. They also reported being hazed for music, art and theater clubs and church groups. Every high school organization except school newspaper and yearbook staffs had high levels of hazing. The university-funded survey did not represent the teen-age population at large. Only 1,541 students who were mailed surveys returned them, slightly more than 8 percent. Lead researcher Nadine Hoover said further studies could build on the findings. The results fueled a debate over whether hazing is more a time-honored rite of passage or a dangerous trend that sends increasing numbers of children to hospitals and jails. In Winslow, Ariz., six of eight high school athletes charged in a sexual assault of basketball and track team members accepted plea bargains. The basketball coach, accused of knowing about some of the abuses and failing to stop them, also was indicted. In Trumbull, Conn., high school wrestlers were charged after a 15-year-old wrestler was sexually assaulted with the handle of a plastic knife. Schools need to do more, said Linda Murtie, an Essex, Vt., parent who campaigned against hazing after her 16-year-old daughter, Lizzie, was hazed by members of the school gymnastics team. They progressed from having new members dress in unconventional clothing to forcing Lizzie Murtie to eat a banana protruding from a boy's pants zipper, Linda Murtie said. "They think their harassment policies cover hazing, but they don't," Linda Murtie said. "There is such an issue about whether the kids are consenting to the hazing or not." Some schools have cracked down on hazing and created strict policies and punishment. More than 40 states have anti-hazing laws, although experts said laws do not limit hazing significantly. The study defined hazing as any humiliating or dangerous act expected of new members, regardless of willingness to participate. Students said they were asked mostly to do humiliating things. One in five respondents said he or she was put in harm's way or asked to break the law. Researchers said such acts go beyond contentions of innocent fun. Dangerous or illegal acts included being beaten, raped or sexually assaulted or assaulting others, destroying or vandalizing property and drinking alcohol until passing out. ------------------ Stay Cool...
Tough call.... depends on what exactly the individual is being asked to do, and whether or not it is intended in fun and not to be hurtful. I think some hazing, as long as it is not intended to be hurtful, creates a bond between everyone involved. ------------------ Sometimes I think I'd be better off dead. No, wait, not me...you.
I remember as a senior in high school, I was walkining past the men's locker room after football practice. There was screaming, crying, shouting in the high pitched sound only freshman could make. It was a sweet sound at the time. Now, I think people have lost some sanity in what is good clean fun in hazing. The fish only lost their hair back then. I have heard many horror stories. One, a female volleyball player had a dildo forced apon her. Belts are used for more than whipping someones behind. ------------------ "You've got 6 fouls, use them well" -Derrick Coleman
