In 2013 we are fortunate to attend school at a time when hazing is finally under strict scrutiny; its abhorrence by students, faculty and parents has spurred our organizations and administration to banish it from our community. Similarly, we recognize that the irresponsible use of alcohol can have serious health consequences and that we should encourage safe behavior by working to prevent coerced consumption. We as students, as well as the administration, have aggressively addressed these issues during fraternity rush, pledging, and normal social activities and work to punish any organization that violates the safety and moral standards of our community.
Well, there are some exceptions. You may have heard — though certainly not from the reporting of this paper — about a recent event by the University Guide Service that ended with five of our fellow students in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. This occurred over the course of an event that was intended as a welcome for new members in which some of the new members were encouraged to over-consume. According to the state of Virginia, hazing is an activity that “recklessly or intentionally endanger[s] the health or safety of a student…for the purpose of initiation, admission into or affiliation with or as a condition for continued membership in a club.” According to my reading of the law and my understanding of hazing as a member of the fraternity system, the actions of the Guide Service constitute hazing.
Most students might recall a similar event last spring when our fraternity and sororities sent a number of students to the hospital during rush. This terrible outcome was a jarring wake-up call to our Greek men and women who subsequently worked earnestly to improve the safety of our recruitment processes and ensure the safety of our members. Our councils and chapters agreed to impose rules on fraternities and sororities to prevent such outcomes from occurring again. We have continued that work throughout the semester and into this year by carefully restructuring spring rush for 2014, rebuilding from the ground up our system of patrolling social events and by working with our chapters to build awareness of the gravity of the risks we face. A hazing summit will be held Friday and Saturday with representatives from all of our Inter-Fraternity Council chapters. Throughout this process both the administration and our student community, including this newspaper, have sought to hold us accountable and ensure that we are doing our best to improve the safety of our fellow students.
Unfortunately, it seems we are unique. The lack of a public response to the Guides incident from the administration, the Guide Service and this newspaper is reprehensible. Hazing should be unacceptable regardless of who perpetrates it and we should not shy away from holding some institutions accountable for the sake of tradition or discomfort. I do not wish to harm the University Guide Service, as they serve as invaluable representatives of our University. Instead, this incident should act as a wake-up call, as last spring did for the Greek system, that hazing is a problem not just for fraternities and sororities, but across our community. I for one, do not want our University to be represented by any organization that condones a disgusting practice. It is time for the administration and our community to hold all of its members to the same standard.
Jordan Minot is the vice president for risk management on the Inter-Fraternity Council.
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