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Hazing
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Hazing is a ritualistic test and a task involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a gang, club, military organization or other group. The definition can refer to either physical (sometimes violent) or mental (possibly degrading) practices. It may also include nudity or sexually oriented activities. The word "hazing" is most frequently encountered in the United States and Canada. In some continental European languages, terms with a 'christening' theme or etymology are preferred (e.g.
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Encyclopedia
Hazing is a ritualistic test and a task involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a gang, club, military organization or other group. The definition can refer to either physical (sometimes violent) or mental (possibly degrading) practices. It may also include nudity or sexually oriented activities. The word "hazing" is most frequently encountered in the United States and Canada. In some continental European languages, terms with a 'christening' theme or etymology are preferred (e.g. baptême in French, doop in Dutch in Flanders) or variations on a theme of naïveté and the rite of passage such as a derivation from a term for freshman (e.g. bizutage in French, ontgroening 'de-green[horn]ing' in Dutch) or a combination of both, such as in the Finnish mopokaste (literally "moped baptism", "moped" being the nickname for freshmen, stemming from the concept that they would be barred from riding a full motorcycle by their age). In Swedish, the term used is "nollning", literally 'zeroing'. In Spain, the term is "novatada" from "novato" meaning newcomer.
Often most or all of the endurance, or at least the more serious ordeal, is concentrated in an orgiastic collective session, which may be called hell night, or prolonged to a hell week and/or retreat or camp, sometimes again at the pledge's birthday (e.g. by birthday spanking), but some traditions keep terrorizing pledges (a common term for the initiation candidates; alternative terms include newbie, rookie, mainly in athletic teams, and freshman) over a long period, resembling fagging. Hazing is often used as a method to seemingly promote group loyalty and camaraderie through shared suffering (male bonding in fraternities), either with fellow participants, past participants or both.
History
Francisco de Quevedo includes a scene of students hazing one another in his picaresque novel El Buscón (1626). In 1684, Joseph Webb was expelled from Harvard for hazing.
Scope
Hazing has been reported in a variety of social contexts. Sports teams ranging from amateur junior football leagues to professional clubs have used ritual hazing ceremonies to initiate new members, especially when the new person is younger than the rest of the team. Academic fraternities and sororities have developed a number of complex hazing rituals that range from demeaning tasks to humiliating ceremonies. These practices are most common in, but not limited to, North American schools. Swedish students undergo a similar bonding period, known as nollningen, in which all members of the entering class participate (see fraternities and sororities for more information). College and universities in general, from Ivy league to smaller institutions, such as the officially sanctioned 'Kangaroo Court' at Quincy University, Illinois have also been associated with hazing rituals . Other groups within university life that have hazing rituals include competition teams, fan clubs, social groups, secret societies and even certain service clubs, or rather their local chapters (such as some modern US Freemasons; not traditional masonic lodges). While hazing is less common in high schools, some secondary education institutions have developed hazing rituals. High School and College Marching bands and choral groups sometimes have hazing rituals.
The armed forces in various countries have long had hazing rituals, which often involve violence and punishments. In the US hard hazing practices from World War I boot camps were introduced into colleges. In Poland army hazing is called Polish fala "wave" adopted pre-World War I from non-Polish armies. In the Russian army (formerly the Red Army) hazing is called "Dedovshchina". Police forces, especially those with a paramilitary tradition, or sub-units of police forces such as tactical teams, may also have hazing rituals. Rescue services, such as lifeguards or air-sea reascue teams may have hazing rituals. The senior ranks within Boy Scout and Girl Scout Troops have sometimes developed hazing practices. Some workplaces use hazing to initiate newly hired employees. Inmate hazing is also common at prisons around the world, including frequent reports of beatings and sexual assaults by fellow inmates.
It is a subjective matter where to draw to line between "normal" hazing (somewhat abusive) and a mere rite of passage (essentially bonding; proponents may argue they can coincide), and there is a gray area where exactly the other side passes over into sheer degrading, even harmful abuse that should not be tolerated even if accepted voluntarily (serious but avoidable accidents do still happen; deliberate abuse with similar grave medical consequences occurs, in some traditions rather often). Furthermore, as it must be a ritual initiation, a different social context may mean a same treatment is technically hazing for some, not for others, e.g., a line-crossing ceremony when passing the equator at sea is hazing for the sailor while the extended (generally voluntary, more playful) application to passengers is not.
Controversy
The practice of ritual abuse among social groups is poorly understood. This is partly due to the secretive nature of the activities, especially within collegiate fraternities and sororities, and in part a result of long-term acceptance of hazing. Thus, it has been difficult for researchers to agree on the underlying social and psychological mechanisms that perpetuate hazing. In military circles hazing is sometimes assumed to test recruits under situations of stress and hostility. Although in no way a recreation of combat, hazing does put people into stressful situations that they are unable to control, which allegedly should weed out those weaker members prior to being put in situations where failure to perform will cost lives. A portion of the training course known as SERE (Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape) simulates as closely as is feasible the physical and psychological conditions of a POW camp. Part of the purpose of SERE training is to train and test soldiers on their ability to resist methods of interrogation.
The problem with this approach, according to opponents, is that the stress and hostility comes from inside the group, from the assumed "good guys", and not from outside as in actual combat situation, creating suspicion and distrust towards the superiors and comrades-in-arms. Willing participants may be motivated by a desire to prove to senior soldiers their stability in future combat situations, making the unit more secure, but blatantly brutal hazing can in fact produce negative results, making the units more prone to break, desert or mutiny than those without hazing traditions, as observed in the Russian army in Chechnya, where units with the strongest traditions of dedovschina were the first to break and desert under enemy fire. At worst, hazing may lead into fragging incidents.
Outside of the criminal context, a form of the syndrome may take place in military basic training, in which "training is a mildly traumatic experience intended to produce a bond," with the goal of forming military units which will remain loyal to each other even in life-threatening situations. It would be more difficult to make such a case in favour of hazing ceremonies in academic bodies and social clubs, where the origin is imitating educational (parental and school) discipline in substitute households and internal teaching.
In a 1999 study, a survey of 3,293 collegiate athletes, coaches, athletic directors and deans found a variety of approaches to prevent hazing, including strong disciplinary and corrective measures for known cases, implementation of athletic, behavioral, and academic standards guiding recruitment; provisions for alternative bonding and recognition events for teams to prevent hazing; and law enforcement involvement in monitoring, investigating, and prosecuting hazing incidents.Hoover's research suggested half of all college athletes are involved in alcohol-related hazing incidents, while one in five are involved in potentially illegal hazing incidents. Only another one in five was involved in what Hoover described as positive initiation events, such as taking team trips or running obstacle courses.
"Athletes most at risk for any kind of hazing for college sports were men; non-Greek members; and either swimmers, divers, soccer players, or lacrosse players. The campuses where hazing was most likely to occur were primarily in eastern or southern states with no anti-hazing laws. The campuses were rural, residential, and had Greek systems," Hoover wrote. Hoover uses the term "Greek" to refer to U.S.-style fraternities and sororities. Non-fraternity members were most at risk of hazing, Hoover reported. Football players are most at risk of potentially dangerous or illegal hazing, the study found. In the May issue of the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, Michelle Finkel, MD, reported that hazing injuries are often not recognized for their true cause in emergency medical centers. The doctor said hazing victims sometimes hide the real cause of injuries out of shame or to protect those who caused the harm. In protecting their abusers, hazing victims can be compared with victims of domestic violence, Finkel wrote.
Finkel cites hazing incidents including "beating or kicking to the point of traumatic injury or death, burning or branding, excessive calisthenics, being forced to eat unpleasant substances, and psychological or sexual abuse of both males and females". Reported coerced sexual activity is sometimes considered "horseplay" rather than rape, she wrote. Finkel quoted from Hank Nuwer's book Wrongs of Passage which counted 56 hazing deaths between 1970 and 1999. Even in the modern western military, which combines discipline with welfare priorities, initiation practices can cause controversy. Although not a part of the training programme of the British Royal Marines, there is a tradition (in many military - especially elite - corps) of subjecting the newly trained ranks to a hell night-like "joining run", a macho preparation of men in the prime of their lives for the ordeals of warfare, going beyond what most civilians (and even many service personnel) would find acceptable; it usually combines humiliation (such as nudity) with physical endurance.
In November 2005, controversy arose over a video showing Royal Marines fighting naked and intoxicated as part of a hazing ritual. The fight culminated with one soldier receiving a kick to the face, rendering him unconscious.
The victim, according to the BBC, said "It's just Marine humour". The Marine who leaked the video said "The guy laid out was inches from being dead". Under further investigation, the Marines had just returned from a six month tour of Iraq, and were in their 'cooling down' period, in which they spend two weeks at a naval base before they are allowed back into society. The man who suffered the kick to the head did not press charges.
Crime
In the U.S. hazing has resulted in several deaths and serious injuries. Matthew Carrington was killed at California's Chico State University on February 2, 2005. As a direct result a number of colleges and parents, as well as sorority and fraternity members are taking steps to bring an end to criminal hazing practices. Colleges and fraternities have also faced civil liability in actions brought for injuries and deaths caused by fraternity hazing. .Hazing is considered a felony in several U.S. states, and anti-hazing legislation has been proposed in other states. SB 1454, or Matt's Law, was developed in Carrington’s memory, and is one bill up for legislation to eliminate hazing in California. There is anti-hazing legislation in several countries, e.g. in France (the French term is bizutage) imposing a punishment up to six months in prison or 7,500 euro. In the Philippines, hazing accompanied by any forms of temporary or permanent physical injuries (from light injuries to injuries resulting to death), sexual abuse (in any form) or any acts that lead to mental incapacity are punishable by law. Penalties vary depending on how serious the offense is.[ The Philippine Anti-Hazing Law. From the Virtual Library of the Chan Robles Law Office (a law firm based in the Philippines)]
In Indonesia, 35 people died since 1993 as a result of hazing initiation rites in the Institute of Public Service (IPDN). The latest is in April 2007 when Cliff Muntu died after being beaten by the seniors. The video of the hazing initiation rites can be viewed on .
In India, ragging has been banned for the last few years (though implementation of the law continues to be a problem since the victims rarely, if ever, speak out). Recently, in a historical judgement, the Hon. Supreme Court of India directed the police to lodge criminal cases against those accused of ragging. State governments have also been ordered to deal with ragging (hazing) strictly. In Russia the victim of a high-profile hazing attack, Andrei Sychyov required the amputation of his legs and genitalia after he was forced to squat for three hours whilst being beaten and tortured by a group on New Years' Eve 2005. The brutal attack on Sychyov, and its horrific consequences highlighted the widespread problem of dedovshchina - or hazing - in the Russian armed forces. The instigator of the attack, Sergeant Alexander Sivyakov, was eventually jailed for four years.
Methods
Before the Great Depression, U.S. hazing achieved an art form status amongst benevolent fraternities such as the Mooses and the Freemasons. The is a catalog of many hazing implements used, most famously the electric carpet.
In many cases nowadays, the hardest abuse is usually only enacted for a photograph (sometimes even posted on the Internet) or video. Reported hazing activities can involve all kinds of ridicule and humiliation within the group or in public — many of which could easily be considered abusive if a candidate were not a consenting adult — while others are quite innocent, akin to pranks. Spanking is done mainly in the form of paddling among fraternities, sororities and similar (e.g., athletic) clubs, sometimes over a lap, a knee, furniture or a pillow (pile), but mostly with the victim 'assuming the position,' i.e., simply bending over forward. A variation of this (also as punishment) is trading licks. This practice is also used in the military (where a new round of hazing can follow a promotion, etc.). Alternative modes (including bare-buttock paddling, strapping and switching, as well as mock forms of antiquated forms of physical punishments such as stocks, walking the plank and running the gauntlet) have been reported in the US and other countries, even though all hazing is officially illegal in many states.
The hazee may be humiliated by being hosed by sprinkler, buckets or hoses; covered with dirt or with (sometimes rotten) food such as eggs, tomatoes and flour (also as a food fight etc.), even urinated upon. Olive or baby oil may be used to 'show off' the bare skin, for wrestling or just slipperiness, e.g., to complicate pole climbing. Cleaning may be limited to a dive into water, hosing down or even paddling the worst off. They may have to do tedious cleaning including swabbing the decks, cleaning the toilets with a toothbrush. In fraternities, pledges often must clean up a mess intentionally made by brothers which can include fecal matter, urine, dead animals or "road kill", and other disgusting items.
Servitude such as waiting on others (as at fraternity parties) or various other forms of housework, often with pointless tests of obedience. In some cases, the hazee may be made to eat raw eggs, peppers, hot sauce, or drink too much alcohol (in the form of beer, wine, or spirits). Some hazing even includes eating or drinking vile things such as bugs or rotting food. The hazee may have to eat food and/or drinks from an absurd container (frisbee, dog bowl, glasses tied to a ski for a collective gulping...) or through a straw, food fights, finding something in a messy dish without hands.
The hazee may have to wear an imposed piece of clothing, outfit, item or something else worn by the victim in a way that would bring negative attention to the wearer. Examples include a uniform (e.g. toga, especially in Greek societies); a leash and/or collar (also associated with SM bondage); infantile and other humiliating dress and attire (e.g., diapers, underwear (sometimes of the opposite sex; sometimes wet to make it see-through) or a condom on the head); cross-dress or fake breasts; wearing just a box or a barrel; bunny costume; a phallus or dildo, even in explicitly homo-erotic poses.
In some cases, the hazee may be completely or partially in a state of nudity (with or without cupping of the genitals). In the case of partial nudity, victims are sometimes allowed just an apron, jockstrap, loincloth or improvised version, thongs, towel, (under)pants torn or altered to expose the wearer's genitals, a strategically placed sock or tie, a tool belt, cardboard box, wrapping paper, foil or duct tape. Duct tape can be applied to the mouth, crotch and/or nipples. Sometimes the rule is 'anything but clothes', or victims are made to hold their crotches. A variation in use in Germany is the 'clothesline', i.e., contributing garments (usually remaining decent, e.g., in swim suit) to form a long line. In Sweden, gymnasium (high school, 16 to 19 years old) and university also use the clothes line. Girls strip to their thong, but may keep their bra on if they wish; boys are always expected to finish up naked, thus being jeered at and humiliated by the crowd. Holding lowered trousers, shorts and/or underwear up 'revealingly'. Forced mooning, sometimes accompanied by smacking by a senior or mutually. Wedgies or things put in the underpants
Markings may also be made on clothing or bare skin. They are painted, written, tattooed or shaved on, sometimes collectively forming a message (one letter, syllable or word on each pledge) or may receive tarring and feathering (or rather a mock version using some glue) or branding. Being tied together by the underwear, thus complicating/rendering any ridiculous task, e.g., eating together while all participants hands or food containers are tied to a long stick. Quizzes relating to their school, fraternity or club history, rules and traditions and then tested on it. Such “exam” may however also be given unannounced or even on 'general knowledge'. As the punishments for wrong answers can constitute the "real fun", trick or nearly unsolvable questions are likely.
Slave-like veneration of the seniors and thus verbal or physical submission to them, is common. Abject 'etiquette' required of pledges or subordinates may include prostration, kneeling, literal groveling, kissing/licking/washing/worshiping/massaging/rubbing/sucking/ body parts. This is usually to portray the pledge as a slave to the pledge is stripped at least to the waist, tied or held down and subjected to intense, prolonged tickling on the sides, ribs, feet and other sensitive spots, often by several ticklers at once.
Physical feats may be required, such as calisthenics and other physical tests, such as push-ups (sometimes a hazer keeps his/her foot on the pledges’ back), jumping jacks (under near impossible conditions), sit-ups, mud wrestling, forming a human pyramid or dog piling, climbing a greased pole, skinny diving, leap-frog, human wheel-barrow etc., often with some twist. Exposure to the elements may be required, such as swimming or diving in cold water or snow. Holding ice water and/or having snow poured over a person or even sitting on ice in an open fridge holding more frozen objects. One variation involves a victim's arms tied to a shower head, where the shower is turned on leaving the victim drenched in cold water for long periods of time. Another example may involve a topless male whose lower torso is submerged under cold water with his bare chest and face exposed. Degrading positions and tasks include being locked up in a cage or barrel, commanded to move on all fours or crawl on their bellies, eat or fetch "doggy style", kiss or urinate in public).
Orientation tests may be held, such as abandoning pledges far or fettered without transport, in the dark and/or in a public place. Dares include jumping from some height (bungee or in water), stealing from police or rival teams and obedience. Blood pinning among military aviators (and many other elite groups) to celebrate becoming new pilots by piercing their chests with the sharp pins of aviator wings. Burning desire tests involve fireworks or burning objects (especially in mesh-form) fixed in the buttocks or on the testicles, remaining in position or running a distance. The elephant walk is a moving line of male pledges, often naked or at least pant-less, that imitates an elephant herd (holding each other by the tail in nature).
Fund raising involves collecting money for the club or some charity, either by begging, selling a product, or performing services (such as washing cars). Lineups involve lining all of the pledges up shoulder to shoulder. The pledges are sometimes blindfolded and placed in a dark room. They are then forced to stand "at attention" while enduring several minutes, sometimes hours of verbal abuse from the brothers. Treasure hunts or scavenger hunt are sometimes used as a hazing ritual; the hazee is often instructed to steal items or move heavy objects. For example, a fraternity pledge who wishes to join the group may be asked to steal a desk from a university official's office, as a way of proving their commitment.
On his first crossing the equator in military and commercial navigation, each 'pollywog' (sailor; sometimes even passengers) is subjected to a series of endurances usually including running and/or crawling a gauntlet of abuse (soiling, paddling, etc.) and various scenes supposedly situated at King Neptune's court. A pledge auction is a variation on the slave auction, where people bid on the paraded (often exposed) pledges. It is held either as an open fund raiser where the general public (or just an invited sorority) can bid, or internally to decide which brother can impose his fantasies on which pledge. Sometimes, male pledges' prices depending on how little clothing the boy is allowed to wear. The "slaves" must do whatever the master orders, such as bringing drinks or preparing food.
The Happy Corner, known in Taiwan as aluba ("hitting the tree"), Hongkong (as corning or being corned), and Norway (as stolping ' poling' or gjelling 'gelding'), involves rubbing a lifted boy's groin against a tree or pole. Treeing is binding up with ropes, chains, handcuffs or other means, to a tree or pole, or in some variations on a cross (mock crucifixion) wearing only a loincloth, underwear, a diaper, or sometimes even nothing at all, to be helplessly abused and/or bound.
The term tunnel seems to have various meanings in different traditions, such as a spanking tunnel or belt-line. It may be appealing as a symbolic rite of passage: one goes in as a rookie and emerges as something of a brother or teammate.
Blanket parties are most frequently conducted by groups within the military or military academies. In a blanket party, the victim is restrained by having a blanket flung over him and held down at the corners while he sleeps, then the remaining members of the group strike him repeatedly with improvised "flails" (a sock or bath towel containing something solid, most commonly a bar of soap). The act of the blanket party became widely known within pop culture by its portrayal in the Stanley Kubrick movie Full Metal Jacket. The use of blanket parties and other forms of corporal punishment are now illegal within America's military. In various trades hazing for apprentices when finishing their apprenticeship: in printing, it consisted of applying to the apprentice's penis and testicles bronze blue, a color made from mixing black printers ink and dark blue printers ink which takes a long time to wash off; similarly, mechanics get their groin smeared with old dirty grease.
See also
Sources and references
- Corporal punishment as initiation
- IMDB references by the and
External links
- Non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the dangers of hazing.
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- — "Educating to Eliminate Hazing"
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