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Hazing Hits Middle
School
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By Adam Wilkenfeld
CWK Network
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“They
just took me here, and dragged me down the hill, and then
up the hill, and then dusted me off and said, ‘Welcome
to high school.’”
-Drew, Age16.-
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He was a high school freshman, in the hallway,
when two seniors grabbed him, covered his eyes and mouth, and
brought him to a hill. “I was dragged,” says 16-year-old
Drew.
Hazing is not just a college problem anymore. Here are the numbers:
Nearly half of all high school students … a quarter of
high school athletes … and eleven percent of middle school
athletes go through some kind of hazing, according to two recent
studies.
“They probably will surprise people, these numbers, but
they should also disturb people, because hazing is basically
unhealthy,” says Dr. James Millhouse, a clinical sports
psychologist.
Hazing is often violent and almost always humiliating, says
Dr. Millhouse. “Humiliation is awful. It is very, very
destructive to a person’s feeling of integrity, feeling
of power,” he says. “Those are things that we want
people to have, and it’s destructive to all of that, so
it needs to be terminated.”
But to do that, parents, coaches and schools have got to talk
to kids who like hazing, and
change their minds.
“In a way, in very strange sense, it does create a sense
of togetherness. You might be four years too young to hang out
with these people, but at least you got dragged by them,”
Drew says.
Dr. Millhouse suggests substitutes for hazing: “An alternative
that the group could do, rather than hazing, and the inflicting
of pain or that sort of thing, is to do activities that can
create pride in the new inductee.” Like making all the
freshman paint the hallways, he says. Or getting them to perform
community service together. He says these are healthy
ways to build group spirit. |
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Half of High School Students
Hazed: Study
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By Sally Atwood
CWK Network
Hazing is generally thought of as an initiation ritual found
on college campuses and in the military. However, studies
show that hazing goes on in high school and middle school.
It is commonly found to be part of initiation into academic
and social groups, athletics, gangs, and even in church groups.
Hazing can be defined as any action or situation created during
initiation aimed at embarrassing the individuals or lowering
their self-esteem. The Delta Gamma Fraternity furthers defines
hazing as:
- Any act or tradition that endangers the physical, mental
or emotional well-being of a new member.
- Any act or tradition that requests, encourages or suggests
violation of city, county, state or national law
- Any act or tradition that is mentally or physically degrading.
- Any act or tradition that requires a personal or menial
task of a new member, regardless of location, intent, or
consent of the participants.
A study conducted by Alfred University shows that hazing
is prevalent among high school students:
- 48% old students who belong to groups reported being subjected
to hazing activities.
- 43% reported being subjected to humiliating activities.
- 30% reported performing potentially illegal acts as part
of their initiation.
The greatest numbers of high school students were subjected
to hazing for sports (24%), peer groups or gangs (16%), music,
art, or theater groups (8%), or church groups (7%).
Hazing starts much earlier than previously thought. One quarter
of the high school students who were being hazed in high school
said they were first hazed before the age of 13. Of these,
10% said they were hazed before the age of 10.
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Who’s at Risk?
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All high school students who join groups are at risk of being
hazed, according to the study.
- Both female and male students report high levels of hazing,
although male students are at a higher risk for dangerous
hazing
- The lower a student’s grade point average, the greater
the risk of being hazed
- Almost every type of high school group had significantly
high levels of hazing
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Stopping Hazing
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Hazing can hurt children. Of those students in the study
who were hazed, a majority (71%) reported negative consequences,
such as getting into fights, being injured, fighting with
parents, doing poorly in school, hurting other people, having
difficulty eating, sleeping, or concentrating, feeling angry,
confused, embarrassed or guilty.
The Alfred University study makes several recommendations
to prevent hazing:
- Adopt anti-hazing laws and written policies.
- Educate administration, group leaders, families, and students
on hazing and its consequences.
- Make student behavior part of each group leader’s
evaluation.
- Require behavioral as well as academic performance to
continue on extra-curricular groups.
- Punish offenders.
In addition to these measures, schools should consider substituting
positive rituals as alternatives to hazing.
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Resources
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Alfred University www.alfred.edu
Delta Gamma Fraternity www.deltagamma.org
Stop Hazing Now www.stophazing.org
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