To Haze or Not to Haze?

Hazing is an interesting topic in the Greek Community. While its interesting in our community, I feel like a better word for it from eyes of administrations would be taboo. Administration likes to, in my opinion, pretend that absolutely nothing is happening at times because of how intense the consequences can be for hazing.

Where I personally stand? Its hard for me to say because I was never hazed so I never really got to see if there are any benefits to it happening. What I do know, however, is that I am a brother of Phi Gamma Delta who respects my spot as a brother and earned my spot through what I did during my pledging process. Another thing I do know, is that hazing can distract individuals in our community from many things, including academics, which is a priority of our Greek System. On many occasions I have seen pledges in the community exhausted and having negative feelings about their pledging experience... this is not healthy, and definitely not a good representation of our community. I think its pretty bad that somebody needs to prove themselves worthy of brotherhood by being hazed. At the same time, I don't think things like scavenger hunts and having to clean up after parties should be considered hazing. Scavenger hunts are playful and cleaning up after parties in considerate. I don't think chapters should be in trouble for things like that because they really do not cause any harm. Its the harmful hazing that I really see as being a problem.

I think some pledges weirdly want to be hazed. From the mouth of one of the pledges in my fraternity: "Feel free to haze me!" While this statement confused the hell out of me, I think this shows how fraternity culture has really bred a culture of hazing and an expectation of hazing.

I obviously have a mixed stand on the topic and I don't know if this blog post leads you to a defined answer on what I feel about hazing, but that's what is on my mind.

AFLV. Now what?

"Motion is unstoppable. Action is a choice."

Being back from the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values Conference, I have a new push to do more with my position. I'm not going to lie, it has been a discouraging start to my term, realizing that community service and philanthropy is not necessarily a community value. Communication was tough, and motivation was even tougher. Now, I have a rejuvenated energy and I am ready to get to work... again.

So I'm letting the quote above be the mantra for my term. It is an every day reminder that the issues in our community are still going to exist and the motion of these issues will keep going, unless there in an action we choose to take that makes it better. With that being said, I have already created my facebook groups to stay in contact with the service and philanthropy chairs within IFC to better communication. We are building a bigger and better "Week Without Smack" that will be able to take place in the fall, and I am working on bringing a poverty campaign to campus. I am going to be starting the Chapter of the Month award as well for community service and philanthropy to hopefully add some friendly competition to the greek community. Not to mention, I have already started to improve the way I function within my own fraternity. 

Needless to say, I am going to put all of my efforts into this position, and being the best Vice President of Civic Engagement that I can be. I am going to motivate "the middle" through personal relationship building, and help our community rise to the occasions in front of us.

Anooj