Criminal
10-02-2002, 11:17 PM
So its finally spring time and everywhere across the nation (and the world) class is back in session. Everywhere young people are back in school. The resumption of class is a time of great excitement to some. Especially for new students who are attending colleges and Universities. For some, it is their first time away from home. It is a chance to meet new people, learn new things, challenge their minds and enjoy life on their own. But we should also remember that there is a more sinister side of college life.
In some colleges there are ether organized or unorganized hazing rituals to which students, usually new students are forced to endure. In some instances this is a requirement to join a club or fraternaty or sorority. With others its a required rite of passage into the college itself (this is more a case in smaller college environments).
Hazing is definded as any form of harassment in an institutionalized setting. Such harassment has long been used in Colleges and Universities. In such places as Oxford and Cambridge manditory hazing rituals have long been enforced. It has been used in such places as the US Millitary Acadamy or Navel Acadamy as a means to build esprit de corps. In US colleges, fraternities have used hazing as a means to seperate out candidates who were of inadequit character to join their organizations.
Many "Greek" societies have since disavowed organized hazing and harassment.
I myself did suffer from a particularly humiliating hazing rite during my first year in a small Catholic college in Illinois. I was forced to dress in womans cloths and run a foot race against another student. All the time, upperclassmen hurled homosexual insults. What was especially humiliating about this ritual was that I was singled out from my other classmates on the basis of me being unpopular with other students. So embarassed was I from this ritual that I chose not to attend that school the following term.
So why do these rituals persist? There are several answers. One, particulary in the service accadamies is to build esperit de corps based on the fact that psychologically, individuals who endure shared hardships build a bond together. The other is the "bullying" factor. This is simply that there are older students who take pleasure in bullying younger ones. To shame or humiliate others gives some people pleasure. Finally among administrators, some see hazing as a matter of controlling students. By allowing older students to focus their attention on bullying others, they can divert dissatisfaction away from themselves.
In the college where I went my first year, there was a genuine mismanagement of the administration. The school was small and had some real problems recruiting new students. Like many liberal arts colleges it had little to offer modern students. Many students there were dissatisfied with the quality of education, which was substandard when one considers the high rate of tuition. By setting students agains students, the administration was able to control much of the anger.
So why do students consent to hazing?
Part of this is simply because they are young.
As many are away from home for the fist time in life they are eger to fit in. They want to be part of the in crowd. They want to be accepted. Being young, much of their self worth is attached to acceptance by others. When many of them find that they cannot fit in it can be rather disturbing.
My recommendation to anyone who is a victum of hazing is simple. DONT STAND FOR IT. Dont pretend to be a "good sport". Rather, turn around and tell your tormentors that you dont want to play their stupid games. Stand up for yourselves and dont let yourselves be humiliated for the pleasure of some sick bastards!
In some colleges there are ether organized or unorganized hazing rituals to which students, usually new students are forced to endure. In some instances this is a requirement to join a club or fraternaty or sorority. With others its a required rite of passage into the college itself (this is more a case in smaller college environments).
Hazing is definded as any form of harassment in an institutionalized setting. Such harassment has long been used in Colleges and Universities. In such places as Oxford and Cambridge manditory hazing rituals have long been enforced. It has been used in such places as the US Millitary Acadamy or Navel Acadamy as a means to build esprit de corps. In US colleges, fraternities have used hazing as a means to seperate out candidates who were of inadequit character to join their organizations.
Many "Greek" societies have since disavowed organized hazing and harassment.
I myself did suffer from a particularly humiliating hazing rite during my first year in a small Catholic college in Illinois. I was forced to dress in womans cloths and run a foot race against another student. All the time, upperclassmen hurled homosexual insults. What was especially humiliating about this ritual was that I was singled out from my other classmates on the basis of me being unpopular with other students. So embarassed was I from this ritual that I chose not to attend that school the following term.
So why do these rituals persist? There are several answers. One, particulary in the service accadamies is to build esperit de corps based on the fact that psychologically, individuals who endure shared hardships build a bond together. The other is the "bullying" factor. This is simply that there are older students who take pleasure in bullying younger ones. To shame or humiliate others gives some people pleasure. Finally among administrators, some see hazing as a matter of controlling students. By allowing older students to focus their attention on bullying others, they can divert dissatisfaction away from themselves.
In the college where I went my first year, there was a genuine mismanagement of the administration. The school was small and had some real problems recruiting new students. Like many liberal arts colleges it had little to offer modern students. Many students there were dissatisfied with the quality of education, which was substandard when one considers the high rate of tuition. By setting students agains students, the administration was able to control much of the anger.
So why do students consent to hazing?
Part of this is simply because they are young.
As many are away from home for the fist time in life they are eger to fit in. They want to be part of the in crowd. They want to be accepted. Being young, much of their self worth is attached to acceptance by others. When many of them find that they cannot fit in it can be rather disturbing.
My recommendation to anyone who is a victum of hazing is simple. DONT STAND FOR IT. Dont pretend to be a "good sport". Rather, turn around and tell your tormentors that you dont want to play their stupid games. Stand up for yourselves and dont let yourselves be humiliated for the pleasure of some sick bastards!