“The Office of Greek Life Programs along with the Department of Student Life welcomes you to join them in the fight against hazing, the Sept. 21 Zipmail declared. However, their approach to dealing with the problem doesn’t appear to be as enthusiastic as the Zipmail posting.”
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The Office of Greek Life Programs along with the Department of Student Life welcomes you to join them in the fight against hazing, the Sept. 21 Zipmail declared.

However, their approach to dealing with the problem doesn’t appear to be as enthusiastic as the Zipmail posting.

Awareness and prevention of problems, social or otherwise, is always important; for this reason, it is patently inane to declare an arbitrary period of time _____ Awareness Week or _____ Awareness Month.

It makes sense to organize a week around an important historical event, but in most cases, this does not apply.

This week is ‘National Hazing Prevention Week,’ as anyone who read the Zipmail for Sept. 21 will know. Those who read the Zipmail may have been surprised to see no signs posted in the Student Union on Monday.

Stop by the Student Union and check out the many different informational signs that will be posted around the building, the Zipmail said.

Perhaps the people responsible for posting the Zipmail, or for posting information in the Student Union, were thinking that no one reads Zipmail anyway. For the most part, this is true.

Hazing Prevention Week should not be confused with ‘Alcohol Awareness Week,’ which is the last week of October, according to a Greek Life calendar.

It doesn’t seem right to schedule Alcohol Awareness Week at the end of October. Alcohol-infused debauchery is guaranteed to begin during the first week of classes, and events organizers ought to adjust for this.

Certainly, parents moving their impressionable young freshmen into the dorms might be dismayed to see signs on campus during the first week telling them to beware of the dangers of irresponsible alcohol consumption.

Regardless, students should recognize the dangers of alcohol abuse. Pi Beta Phi, a national Fraternity for Women, states that 82 percent of hazing deaths involve alcohol.

The Ohio Revised Code defines ‘hazing’ as doing any act or coercing another, including the victim, to do any act of initiation into any student or other organization that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any person.

The law enables a victim to file a civil suit against those guilty of hazing, and against any members of an organization that allowed hazing to occur. If an organization had an active anti-hazing policy when hazing occurred, this is a legitimate defense of the organization.

Students who believe they have been victims of hazing can call the Greek Anti-Hazing Hotline toll-free at 1-888-NOT-HAZE.

Meanwhile, students can puzzle over how seriously the Department of Student Life takes this problem.

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