Frat Members Should Not Have Been Punished for Hazing
By Dominic Hunter
Black College Wire
When athletes get injured at practice, are the players allowed to sue the team?
When drug dealers have a sour deal and it results in one party not getting what was intended, is that party allowed to press charges?
Well, that is what is being stated in the ruling against the two Kappa Alpha Psi brothers at Florida A&M University sentenced Jan. 29 for violating Florida's anti-hazing law.
Dominic Hunter
If you haven't been following the case, Marcus Jones, a former pledge, had the state press charges against the entire Alpha Xi chapter after participating in its pledging process. As a result, the chapter was suspended indefinitely, two brothers were sentenced to two years and other members of the intake team are being required to go through another trial.
This is an injustice that does not sit well in my heart. Let it be understood that I am speaking neither for my chapter brothers nor Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. This comes strictly from the distraught mind of D.J. Hunter.
In the hazing process, one subjects himself to whatever happens to him. Therefore, he chooses to remain around for the abuse. To receive the abuse Marcus Jones did, an individual had to sit still and let someone beat on him, meaning the fault should be no one's but his own. A young man assisted in illegal activity, found he wasn't strong enough to withstand the whole process and wants justice.
I do not deny that the law states that hazing is wrong. But does justice mean turning a blind eye to one's actions just because one has a pitiful, sad story? If hazing does occur — and yes, Kappa Alpha Psi frowns on hazing — it is still voluntary. If the new initiates, who normally outnumber the intake team, took a stand and said they would not subject themselves to the abuse and would all quit together, no hazing would occur.
Why, then, do pledges allow this behavior?
Maybe it is because they understand that the fraternity wants to tear down their old image and build them up with a new, more powerful one. Becoming a member of my noble clan is a resurrection for each brother.
Maybe it is because initiates understand that the fraternity wants to make sure all of its original principles are kept. Each of the Divine Nine organizations was founded on a predominantly white campus or because of racial abuse. The founders were subjected to the same hardships and abuse that pledges withstand on line, so I've heard. By going through the same oppression, new members can see what led to the formation of the organization and to the necessity of the brotherhood or sisterhood.
Or maybe, just maybe, the pledges realize they can't truly appreciate their distinction until they have proved they are as worthy as every member before them.
Why is it that whenever society doesn't understand the practices of a culture, the practice is negatively labeled?
New Orleans natives were considered savage and barbaric for trying to survive during the flood, and fraternities are labeled barbaric for pushing members to their physical and mental limits to see if they are worthy.
What disturbs me as much as the betrayal by Marcus Jones is the decision by Leon County, Fla., Circuit Judge Kathleen Dekker. She admitted to being disturbed by Jones' testimony, but was still allowed to issue a ruling.
And she admitted her decision was more about making an example. "I want to save the victims who will quietly go along, because they want to belong," she said. "I hope that somebody out there says, 'Those two guys got two years, oh my God, it's not worth it.'"
This is not a superhero world. You cannot save people who don't want to be saved. At the same time, Dekker has just ruined the lives of two powerful students who were weeks away from graduating at the top of their classes, even after the pleading of other pledges, FAMU faculty and community leaders.
Judge Dekker was not satisfied with holding these two accountable. She set a trial date for three other fraternity members whose case had ended in a mistrial. One of these brothers, Brian Bowman, has been a lifelong friend. We grew up together and were on the same baseball team when we were 6, so I know him well. He is a recent FAMU graduate, and now his future is in jeopardy because a judge can't understand the old ways and traditions of a fraternity.
How would you feel if a stockbroker could be sued just because someone's money was lost in the market? How would you feel if a man robbed you, but tripped over your dog in your house and broke his leg, and you had to pay his doctor's bill? And his crime went overlooked?
How would you feel if your practice of praying over your meal was suddenly considered barbaric and subjected to ridicule? Well, that is what this case is paving the way toward. Pretty soon, freedom of choice will merely be a faint memory.
Greeks, we need to stand together and oppose this.
Dominic Hunter, a student at Southern University, writes for the Southern Digest. To comment, e-mail bcwire@hotmail.com.
Posted Feb. 14, 2007
Greeks Need to Stand Together — Against Hazing
To the editor:
I am completely aghast by Dominic Hunter's column, "Frat Members Should Not Have Been Punished for Hazing."
I am also a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and one of the first things we teach all members is our five objectives. One of these objectives is to assist the aims and purposes of colleges and universities.
Kappa Alpha Psi is not an athletic team, it is not a military organization, and it is certainly not a drug dealing operation. It is a college fraternity.
Kappa Alpha Psi operates on campus at the pleasure of colleges and universities, and part of our purpose is to support their educational mission. If they found we no longer supported their educational mission, they would ban us from campus, and rightfully so.
We all have an obligation to uphold the high standards expected of us, which includes not acting in ways that are immoral, illegal, antisocial, or violate a university's code of conduct. It goes without saying that this includes NO HAZING.
Yes, Greeks do need to stand together. We need to stand together to put an end to hazing.
Allen Pulsifer
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
Cambridge, Mass.
Feb. 14, 2007
Posted By: Jehan Bunch
Wednesday, February 14th 2007 at 10:31AM
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