The Danger Of Hazing And Why It Must Be Stopped
Hazing is an initiation or act that has to do with humiliation, abuse or harassment, especially in universities and in the military. Hazing is often about power and control. Hazing is usually the result of a dangerous combination of peer pressure, a need for revenge from old hazed students, the need to be part of a group, and a code of silence that protects offenders. Hazing is very dangerous because it can cause death, sleep deprivation, and physical, emotional, and/or mental instability.
Hazing can cause death to someone. For example, Tim Piazza, a 19-year-old who attended Penn State died in February after supposed hazing ritual called “the gauntlet,” which he was basically forced to drink 18 drinks in less than 90 minutes. Later Tim experienced traumatic injuries falling down a set of stairs by head first. As I watched a video on YouTube about it, the frat guys deleted the video deliberately, and the worst part was after the incident they threw stuff at him and kept hitting him to see if he wakes up, when there was no response, they waited 12 hours later to call it in. A lot of parents have lost their children due to these selfless hazing act. All these rituals these fraternity and sorority are doing, are putting the new members life in danger. I wonder, how did it feel to them when they were the one who had experienced it, and I know they probably have. Why can’t they just be the ones to end these hazing crimes other than to commit them. I know if I was getting hazed, I wouldn’t want what happened to me to happen to others, I’ll be the one to make the change. It’s sad that a child has come to college to experience college life and meet new people and further their education, then the next they must deal with the hazing and a possibility of losing their life, which some has.
Hank Nuwer listed that there were more than 200 college students that have died from hazing related accidents in the United States since 1838-40 in the past 10 years alone. Some death cause from falling or drowning, mostly alcohol poisoning. The most awful college hazing rituals are paddling, pouring boiling hot water on pledges, sodomy by sharpie, use drugs, or masturbate publicly, the elephant walk, water overdoses, threats with objects, binge drinking, exercises in feces and urine, eating dog food, drinking “death”. All of this are terrible, and I wonder why they would make people do these things. How many people must lose their life due to these hazing crimes before they realize this needs to stop.
Secondly, hazing can cause sleep deprivation. Some activities are pledges not getting the amount of rest they should. They are tasked with insane duties and awaked at all hours, pledge sleep is broken, small and non-restorative. For example, Kamil Arringston, 21-years-old, had been forced to stand on one leg and do tasks for hours on end. Another example, Kevin would explain how at some point each night him and the others would be allowed to sleep on a concrete floor with a thrift store sleeping bag, and in a room had huge speakers that were turned all the way up playing the same song over and over. Exhausted pledges lose their judgement. The frontal lobe, where managing decisions are made, is numbed by lack of rest.
Lack of sleep plays a role in tragic accidents involving automobiles and other stuff. Young adults and children are most vulnerable to the negative effects of sleep deprivation. Not getting enough sleep prevents the body from increasing the immune system and building more cytokines to fight infection. A lack of sleep can affect body weight. Not sleeping enough increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Sleep can also appear to be essential to prepare the brain for learning. It is difficult to concentrate and form new memories when the brain is deprived of sleep.
Lastly, hazing can cause physical, emotional, and/or mental instability. Traumatic injuries have been caused by hazing rituals. Hazing has reached a physical extreme, like when someone has been physically injured, or when someone has died. There have been many cases of traumatic brain injuries due to beatings and other hazing rituals, and most hazing victims have been hospitalized. Hazing is exposed when a victim is hospitalized. Binge drinking, alcohol abuse, and alcohol poisoning can lead to physiologic effects such as impaired mental/physical reflexes, inability to concentrate, memory loss, and blocked intellectual functioning, and emotional effects like anger, violent behavior, depression, sexual assault, and suicide.
Physical and mental stress can result in a decrease in immune system function especially when combined with decreased sleep. Some types of hazing that are damaging are physically brutal behaviors like beating, striking, whipping, electric shocks, branding, or placing a harmful substance on the skin. Another type is forcing sleep deprivation, calisthenics, exposure to weather, confinement in a restricted area, or other activity that issues the student to an unreasonable risk of physical harm. Some hazing activities intimidate or threaten students with isolation, that makes the students feel extreme emotional stress, embarrassment, or shame or humiliation that negatively affects the individual’s mental health or dignity. Any student that has gone through these types of behavior could experience physical and emotional trauma.
It’s common for people to want to join groups and fit in with their peers. For college students, they feel the need to fit in and be a part of their campus activities. Those who are exposed to hazing act or actions as teens or young adults may face negative emotional and psychological responses for months or even years, depending on the person trauma they experience. High school and college students can carry on physical injuries and can even die due to the result of hazing. Degradation and humiliation are the most devastating part of hazing. Therefore, hazing is very dangerous because it can cause death, sleep deprivation, and physical, emotional, and/or mental instability. Hazing needs to stop!
