Hazing Hazards do not advocate real brotherhood

GMA[1] network recently reported again,[2] about a wasted life of an 18-year old, second-year BS Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management student at St. Benilde De La Salle who allegedly died in a hazing incident[3] at a condominium on Taft  Avenue[4], Manila, while three others were injured including a minor.[5]

In the Philippines[6], there have been[7] approximately 22[8] cases[9] of fraternity[10] hazing deaths[11] to date.[12]

According to University of Nevada, Las Vegas,[13] hazing is a means of initiation required as membership with the University community, a student organization, a sports team, an academic association, or other group engaged in by a person, whether on or off campus, that deliberately or irresponsibly endangers another or that damages or removes public or private property.  This includes, but are not limited to paddling in any sort, physical or psychological shocks, late work sessions which burden with scholastic activities, advocating alcohol or substance abuse, endurance test, submission of members or prospectives to potentially hazardous activities which have a probable potential for resulting in personal injury, or any activity which by its nature may have a potential to cause mental distress, panic, human deprivation, or embarrassment.

In the report provided by UNLV, 1.5 million high school students are hazed each year, 47% of students who are already in college experience hazing.  55% of college students engaged in clubs, teams and organizations experience hazing.

Alcohol intake, embarrassment, seclusion, sleep-deprivation, and sexual acts are common hazing practices.

40% of athletes who were reported engaged in hazing behaviors report that a coach or advisor was aware of the activity and 22% report that the coach was involved.

2 in 5 students are aware of hazing happening on their campus. More than 1 in 5 report of witnessing hazing personally.

In 95% of cases of students who experienced hazing did not report the activities to campus officials.

In college, nine out of ten students who have encountered hazing behavior do not consider themselves to have been hazed.

36% of students disclosed that they would not report hazing mainlybecause "there's no one to tell," and 27% feel that adults won't handle it responsibly. 82% of deaths from hazing involve alcohol.

Whether we like it or not, when the students are already out of their individual homes, their personal freewill takes place.  They cannot be blamed if they end up in a decision without their parents’ knowledge because of their vulnerability: peer pressure, competition, sense of belongingness, get away, rebellion, being prone to the mindset “If you never try, you’ll never know,” desire of a perfect camaraderie, etc.

Regardless of intellectual capacity of these students, they still need guidance in all areas of their lives in the form of a reminder in a class set up by injecting such reminder in any subject they attend to, because their emotional quotient are not yet that fully-built up.

However, no matter how extensive the reminders are, if there are educators who are doing it underground instead of playing as the second parent to these students, this type of issue will continue to be existent.

Let us take a glimpse on how this organization is formulated.  In the concept provided by Omegasiphifraternity, “as a fraternity it is an organization of men bound together by friendship, knowledge, brotherhood, common goals and aspirations, a unique group of men that encourage high standards, community service and assist in the building of character and leadership development among men, share a common foundation comradeship that last a lifetime.” 

This is not to endorse this fraternity, in fact, I never involved myself to such when I was in college, but if we’ll try to assess the advantage which they are proud of like “immediate access to a brotherhood of men who share similar ideals, strong presence at the college, university or graduate chapter where they gain admission, becoming a part of an international organization known worldwide which has more than 700 chapters with members engaged in various academic disciplines and professional endeavours, and ‘does not condone hazing in any form,’ then I would personally go into it because this will be a potential community whom I could depend on in the future in times of unemployment, a shoulder to cry on and a brotherhood outside of my family.

However, with this type of fraternity which is based in an exclusive Catholic school which is surrounded by the finest educators who are grounded on spiritual nourishment, then this is questionable.   Who are their advisers? Do they conduct initiation without the knowledge/presence of the advisers to regulate any violent intention to the entrant? Does this kind of initiation in this campus still exist?  Because it could be that the school campus based fraternities have been claiming “anti-hazing practices” but the reality is they’re doing it underground which is evident because the subsequent occurrences of hazing deaths speak about it.  It’s interesting to note that maturity is not dependent on the individual age, social status and education.

Further[14], if it’s similar to what happened to a 2 a.m.  underground pledge meeting for the Omega Psi Phi fraternity[15] (wherein two University of Houston basketball legend Michael Jordan, civil-rights activist Jesse Jackson Sr. and comedian Bill Cosby are alumni members),where students were lashed across the chest, buttocks and calves with a two-by-six-inch wooden board wrapped in duct tape, an aluminum baseball bat and a TV antenna after blowing the quiz about poetry, the Greek alphabet and the history of the African-American fraternity that can boast the legendary members, then expect the same violent concept of  friendship that can be passed from generation to generation of its existence. 

Matthew 5:33 Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.

Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

So how do we help these students to keep them reminded, to educate them about the reality of a genuine brotherhood?

Provided below is a screening tool[16] for the students to assess a potential form of hazing behavior[17].  One or more “YES” answers imply a hazing pattern.

1. Does the movement have the potential to cause any kind of humiliation to partakers?

2. Could the movement cause extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation (e.g. disallowing persons to sleep for at least six consecutive hours) or extended seclusion?

3. Does the movement involve any kind of physical compulsion (e.g. compelled exercises or exposure to extreme weather conditions without proper get-up)?

4. Could the movement risk the health or safety of organization’s members or to any other person?

5. Would you have any hesitations about telling the movement to your parent(s) or guardian(s), advisor(s) or the Office of Student Conduct?

6. Are new members forced or pressured into alcohol intake or any other food, drug or other substance?

7. Would you be anxious if the movement were to appear on the media outfit or any newspaper?

8. If beforehand, you were asked to partake in a similar movement, did you have any hesitations?

 9. Are you inviting others to do something that is illicit?

Of course it’s a common knowledge that everyone will die but that destiny is not embedded into one’s hand that would cause death but in the arms of God who created it beautifully and wonderfully. Everyone needs a niche of friendship that can boost one’s morale, interest, creativity, dependability and competitiveness but not a niche as a final exit of souls when the pain of hazing could no longer be resisted by the victim.

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