Hazing continues on campuses, in organizations

Chuck Eberly was recently interviewed about continued hazing on college campuses:

Despite widespread efforts to end the practice of hazing, the activity continues to take place in afar-reaching range of organizations and teams.

Hazing is not something that is limited to college campuses either, as instances of it are occurring more and more at high schools or even younger grade levels, said Chuck Eberly, professor of counseling and student development at Eastern Illinois University.

Eberly is the chapter adviser of Sigma Alpha Epsilson[sic] at Eastern, a member of the Association of Fraternity Advisers and has done research on the American college fraternity.

[Note: Dr.Eberly is the Sig Ep advisor, brother from BGSU, and order of the Golden Heart. (courtesy of Rick St. John)]

“Hazing occurs across all organizations,” Eberly said.
[...]
Athletic teams have hazing tactics that are similar to those of fraternities, such as alcohol abuse, physical abuse like paddling, or depravation of food and sleep, Eberly said.

Hazing was a popular topic at the NCAA convention just two weeks ago, when attendants heard a report that 80 percent of all male and 50 percent of all female NCAA athletes are hazed, according to the Associated Press.
[...]
One way that people on college campuses can now report instances of hazing is to call the Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline, which can be called by people who are not a part of a Greek organization.

Some Greek organizations will have their own hazing hotlines, but the Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline was developed so that a member of any fraternity, sorority or campus group who has been the subject of hazing would have a number to call.

How the hotline works is that a person can call the hotline number, 1-888-NOT-HAZE, and it will record an audio file of the person’s allegation of hazing.

The message can either be left anonymously or the caller can leave a name and a telephone number to be called back.

The message is then forwarded on to the national chapter of the related organization along with a copy of the hazing law for that state.

If the hazing allegation is not against a Greek organization, but rather against a group like a band or an athletic team, the information is forwarded on to the university, Burke said.

JG-TC.com > News > Hazing continues on campuses, in organizations

Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline Available

COLLEGE HAZING HAS A NEW ENEMY

As part of the ongoing attempt to end hazing on college campuses and particularly within Greek organizations, 20 international fraternities and sororities have joined together to establish a Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline. The toll-free number is 1-888-NOT-HAZE (1-888-668-4293). The line is available to those who think they, or students they know, have been or may become victims of hazing. Callers may remain anonymous or they can provide personal information so that their concerns can be responded to directly.

The Hotline connects to a dedicated Voice Mailbox at the Cincinnati law firm of Manley Burke, the publisher of Fraternal Law. Manley Burke will monitor the Hotline daily basis and will forward all messages to the appropriate fraternal organization, along with the hazing laws from the relevant jurisdictions. In states in which the law requires notification of other authorities, this will be done. A hazing alert for an organization not a sponsor will be handled as though that organization were a sponsor. A voluntary invoice will be sent to cover costs.

“Fraternities and sororities take hazing very seriously and have worked hard to see that hazing is eliminated,” said Tim Burke, the President of Manley Burke. “They recognize that too many people have been hurt or died as a result of hazing incidents and that today more than 45 states make hazing a crime. Officers of Greek organizations are consistently teaching their members that hazing is antithetical to the high ideals of brotherhood and sisterhood embodied in the fraternity movement,” he continued.

Norval Stephens, Chairman of the Delta Tau Delta Educational Foundation and former International President of the fraternity, led efforts in establishing the Hotline. Stephens worked to grow the Hotline from the time it was first mentioned as an idea in January 2007, through recruitment of sponsors and participating organizations and finally to its implementation. Stephens explained the goal: “Our experience in the Greek world on hazing and alcohol abuse is that behavior is not changed by research. Only educational programming and action change behavior. Research illuminates the problem but does not solve it. We hope the Hotline helps to eliminate hazing.”

The Hotline is a crucial new tool for Greek organizations to use to fight hazing. The 20 founding sponsors, which represent in excess of 35% of all fraternity and sorority members, invite other fraternities and sororities to join as official sponsors of the Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline. For more information, please contact Dan McCarthy at Manley Burke at (513) 721-5525.

The sponsors are:

Fraternities
Alpha Sigma Phi
Delta Chi
Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Upsilon
Kappa Alpha Order
Lambda Chi Alpha
Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Kappa Psi
Sigma Pi

Sororities
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Sigma Tau
Chi Omega
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Zeta Tau Alpha