Final speech

Hazing is an extraordinary activity that when it occurs often enough,

becomes perversely ordinary as those who engage in it grow desensitized to

its inhumanity. Hank Nuwer. Hazing is a word that most people are somewhat

familiar with, but do you really know the full extent of it? Hazing is defined by

the imposition of strenuous, often humiliating, tasks as part of a program of

rigorous physical training and initiation. If you take a look at this poster I

have given you a few facts about hazing that I thought were interesting.

Every year thousands of college students join sports teams or go through the

process of rushing a fraternity or a sorority. As a result of that every year there are

hundreds of students being harassed, seriously injured and some that even result in death.

According to hazingprevention.org on their facts page by the editorial staff retrieved on

December 10th 2016, Two in every five students say they are aware of hazing taking place on

their college campus, but have done nothing about it. Hazing can occur in Greek organizations,

sports teams, and even in the army; but today I am going to focus predominantly on hazing

within fraternity and sororities. College officials are no longer taking hazing lightly. Majority of

universities with Greek communities now have an entire page on their school website dedicated

to what hazing is and what to do if you are experiencing it. Every year sororities and fraternities

at universities around the country are being suspended from campus and losing their charter due

to hazing their pledges. You may be wondering what the term pledge is that I just referred to.

According to sororityeverafter.com in the article titled Greek terms by the editorial staff

published by sorority ever after retrieved on December 10th 2016, a pledge is a derogatory term

that refers to the men or women that have accepted a bid to a particular fraternity or sorority
chapter but are not yet initiated. The most common form of hazing is forced consumption of

large amounts of alcohol due to drinking games. If you will take a look at the visual behind me,

you will see a few mild forms of hazing. The yellow is the percentage of people who experienced

forced alcohol consumption from drinking games and the red is the percentage who did not. If

you are curious of the percentages of these other forms of hazing, you can go to stophazing.org

to learn more. *go extempo about other forms of hazing* according to greekgear.com in the

article titled the history of the Greek paddle by the editorial staff published by Greek Geer and

retrieved on December 10th 2016, The paddle is the oldest tradition dating back to 1776 and is

one of the most visible and predominant symbols of Greek life. *pass outs and explain what

paddles are used for* The question now is, why exactly do these organizations find it necessary

to haze? According to pledgingsucks.com in the article titled Why We Haze by the editorial staff

published by pledgingsucks.com and written on February 2nd 2011, The answer is simple, to

follow tradition, to create unity and a brotherhood/sisterhood, to give reality checks and lastly for

the pointless laughs you have when looking back on it. All older members have the same thought

of we had to do this so were going to make them do it as well. When joining a Greek

organization, the members feel the need to keep traditions alive and to know that these potential

brothers/sisters can handle the pressure and what they are willing to go through to prove they

are worthy to be apart of their prestigious organizations. Fraternity and sororities have gained a

very bad reputation for these constant allegations against them. Greek organizations have learned

to tone down the hazing a great deal, or else they will face serious consequences. I had the

chance to speak with Erika Allen who graduated with a bachelor of science and engineering

technology but was also in a sorority her four years of college. I asked her many questions like,
how would you saying hazing was back then compared to now? Erika then told me that

hazing used to be the norm in Greek life about 10 years ago, it wasnt such a big deal if your

chapter got caught doing it and you sort of just expected it. I would also say it was more extreme

then, it has become a lot milder and discreet because people are actually realizing the dangers of

it. Going off of what Erika said, hazing is now illegal in 44 states including Michigan. According

to Legislature.mi.gov in the article titled Garrets Law: Anti hazing by senator Michelle

McManus and Senator Nancy Cassis, published by House Fiscal Agency on April 19th 2004

Michigans hazing law is known as Garrets Law: Anti Hazing. and the bill prohibits hazing

activities at any educational institutions and provides penalties. These penalties include a fine

ranging from $1,000-$10,000, either a misdemeanor or a possible felony and could result in 93

days or up to 15 years in prison all depending on what the acts of hazing resulted in. Hazing is a

hazardous crime that is often overlooked. If you or someone you know is experiencing some sort

of hazing contact this number 1-888-NOT-HAZE. Hazing appears in more places than just

Greek organizations. Although hazing is slowly being diminished by university officials because

of its dangers, it is important that people, college students especially, are aware of what hazing is

and how to react if they are experiencing or witnessing it. As Desmond tutu once said Hope is

being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness