Portfolio Milestone: Fraternity Hazing

Portfolio Milestone

Fraternity Hazing

CRJ425 Criminal Law

Colorado State University Global

Hazing, as defined by Merriam-Webster (n.d.), is, at its simplest, an initiation process involving harassment. Hazingprevention.org (n.d.), goes further to define hazing, specifically fraternity hazing, as “any action taken or any situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule and risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate”. Though, once seen as a normal right of passage for many organizations, hazing has become a rather serious issue. Even though there have been many deaths, students are still willing to go through with the process because being a member of certain fraternities could give that individual a greater opportunity to land their dream job.

Today, in most states hazing is illegal and violates most university rules, as well as those of national organizations. During initiation, the pledge is subject to humiliation in various forms; they are often pushed to commit criminal acts or perform actions that can be physically, mentally and emotionally scarring. While most of the tasks pledges must complete can be seen as harmless, some tasks have gone awry, causing serious harm or damage to themselves and/or others.

In the case of Morrison v. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity (1999), Kendrick Morrison, a freshman at Louisiana Tech, was interested in becoming a member of the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi. His initiation process stipulated that Morrison was to be beaten by the chapter president, Jessie Magee. The beating took place in Magee’s dorm room. Morrison was treated at the local hospital for injuries to his head and neck; Morrison also reported the incident to the campus police. Morrison’s parents filed suit against Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc.; its insurer, Aetna; Jessie Magee; and the State of Louisiana Through the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities. All parties were found at fault to the injuries and damages sustained by Morrison.

This is one of the few cases where the plaintiff in a fraternity hazing incident came out on top. In the more recent case of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Beta Theta Pi – Alpha Upsilon et al., nineteen year old Timothy Piazza died due to injuries sustained during the fraternity’s rush week. Piazza was observed consuming 18 alcoholic beverages within an 82 minute time frame, falling down the basement stairs leaving him unconscious for several hours and then later hitting his head again; his multiple head injuries caused internal bleeding that led to his death two days later. Eighteen fraternity brothers were very aware of the state of Piazza but did nothing to help him. All 18 faced more than 850 combined criminal charges, some of those charges included jail sentences. Almost all of the criminal charges were dropped and the key players in the event only ever saw minimal house arrest sentences.

When it comes to hazing cases in general, there is a lot of controversy and that is usually because very little is done to punish those responsible. The culture of fraternity life is known to be incredibly toxic (Schomber, 2018); studies have shown that hazing has led to detrimental physical and emotional pain. Additionally, men who are members of fraternities are three times as likely to commit sexual assault (Schomber, 2018). In the last decade there have been more than forty hazing related deaths in the United States, and while many of them have been highly publicized, the punishments given to those responsible have been rather minimal. Many states have passed laws making hazing a felony, even going as far as to ban sororities and fraternities, but unless these laws are enforced properly, very little will continue to be done to right the wrongs committed by these grown children.

Reference

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Beta Theta Pi – Alpha Upsilon et al

Hazingprevention.org. (n.d.). Facts: What Hazing Looks Like. Retrieved April 11, 2020, from https://hazingprevention.org/home/hazing/facts-what-hazing-looks-like/

Morrison v. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, 738 So. 2d 1105 (La. Ct. App. 1999)

“Hazing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hazing. Accessed 11 Apr. 2020.

Schomber, K. (2018, December 23). The Controversy of College Hazing. Retrieved April 12, 2020, from https://shatorch.com/1520/editorials/the-controversy-of-college-hazing/