The joy and excitement of getting into new clubs, performing arts groups and sports teams can sometimes overshadow the potential dangers associated with what some clubs like to call “initiation.” For many, it’s easy to turn their eyes away from actions that may or may not be deemed hazing — for me, not so much.
When I was 14 years old, my older brother, Antonio, passed away in a hazing-related incident after attending a party during his first year at Cornell University. Due to the secrecy surrounding my older brother’s passing, my family and I never got answers as to how he went from the party to being found dead. However, we do know that his passing was related to hazing — and it’s not the first. I believe that Georgetown University organization leaders should be wary of implementing hazing practices when welcoming new members, because they are demonstrably dangerous, useless and harm those that these groups have a responsibility to include.
Hazing is any practice that occurs in a group and aims to ridicule or harm individuals joining that group. Importantly, hazing can take place regardless of whether a participant has consented to it. These behaviors can be seen in all sorts of organizations: from sports teams and clubs to Greek life and performing arts groups. Hazing can include but is not limited to: forced alcohol consumption, being asked to perform extraordinary tasks or wear ridiculous outfits, degradation, sexual misconduct and physical abuse.
While hazing might sound strange to some, it is shockingly common. According to StopHazing’s database, approximately 55% of college students involved in organizations on their campus have experienced some form of hazing. Harming those set to become your fellow club members seems contradictory in theory; however, reality suggests otherwise. Despite the victims it harms, the families it destroys and the fact that it is illegal in almost every state, people still continue to haze under the false pretenses that it strengthens organizations.
Many people who justify hazing rituals claim that it promotes greater group cohesiveness. Analysis of this phenomenon in the U.S. military revealed that painful experiences can help bond those who experienced them together. However, this phenomenon does not justify hurting others. Furthermore, although hazing rituals may bond the individuals who were harmed, they do not necessarily promote the bonding of the whole organization if it is other members who inflict this harm. Other studies have even revealed that there are little to no benefits to performing these activities. After compiling responses from more than 150 college student-athletes, researchers from Springfield College revealed that athletes who had seen or experienced hazing on their teams tended to report lower levels of team cohesion when compared to athletes who experienced acceptable group bonding activities. From this data, the negative effects and futility of hazing are clear for all to see.
If its uselessness is not enough to convince you, hazing is also extremely dangerous. In the case of my older brother, it led to his death at only 18 — and he is not the only victim. Since 2000, there have been more than 100 hazing-related deaths in the United States. In other cases, victims have been left severely injured. One such case is Danny Santulli, who rushed a fraternity at the University of Missouri in 2021. At a hazing event, due to forced alcohol intake, Santulli sustained brain injuries leaving him blind and unable to talk or walk.
Not all hazing victims are left with physical scars; hazing has also been associated with a decline in mental health. A study from Ramapo College of New Jersey revealed that students who had been hazed reported lower self-esteem than those who had not. In some instances, hazing has been linked to suicide. In 2019, Jordan Hankins, a sophomore at Northwestern University, decided to pledge a sorority. In a lawsuit against the sorority, her mother claimed that the intense and physically abusive hazing triggered Hankins’s post-traumatic stress disorder, which led to anxiety and depression. Soon after, she was found unconscious in her dorm and her death was ruled a suicide. Some may argue that these tragic stories are exceptions. But these people disregard how easily seemingly “harmless” hazing practices can escalate into serious danger.
Five years after Antonio’s passing, it pains me to see hazing persist. The collective suffering these practices cause is unacceptable yet socially normalized. As a student at Georgetown, I believe it’s the responsibility of club members and leadership alike to recognize the dangers of hazing and eradicate these practices from their initiation processes. Instead, leaders should plan positive group bonding activities where all members feel safe and at ease. Current members also share the responsibility of ensuring that their organization is a welcoming environment for newcomers. This is the only way for Georgetown to become a safe and inclusive space for all.
Athena Tsialas is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.
