Mixed emotions were expressed at a workshop highlighting the issue of hazing Tuesday night at the Culp Center’s Martha Street Culp auditorium.
The workshop featured Kristin Chamberlin-Long and a panel of experts from the university and the community.
The panel included Dr. Steve Bader, senior associate vice president of student affairs/dean of students; Rhonda Bishop, district team leader for Alpha Delta Pi; Dr. Gary Petiprin, director of the Counseling Center; Ken Bailey, Sigma Chi alumni, regional advisor for Sigma Chi and a criminal defense attorney; and Michelle Treece, a teacher at Science Hill High School.
Chamberlin-Long addressed the issue briefly before turning the program over to the panel.
“I’m not an expert on hazing,” she said. “We’re not here to convince you of anything, blame you, or embarrass you – just to raise awareness.”
Chamberlin-Long and the panel all agreed that hazing is a type of power – a power that is very easily abused. She illustrated this usage of power by quoting author Lawrence Ross’ book The Divine Nine when she related that “hazing is power.” She continued, “(Hazing is) power of one person over another, power to hurt another both psychologically and physically, power to breed mistrust and disloyalty, power to misrepresent what your organization stands for.”
According to Petiprin, there are reasons why hazing occurs. The first reason is there is a sense of creating an ordeal, which is a normal part of initiation. In this case though, the ordeal is much more intense, and humiliation or pain is usually involved.
Secondly, there is a belief that the more severe the ordeal, the more committed the member will be to the organization. Other reasons Petiprin mentioned were tradition, power, peer pressure, secrecy and a belief that hazing is accepted.
Bader also discussed the history of the hazing statement that is in the ETSU student handbook. It first made an appearance twenty-five years ago and simply stated that there was to be no hazing. Then in 1995, the Tennessee Board of Regents advised ETSU to elaborate a bit more on the issue. In 1998, ETSU was advised once again to elaborate completely on what is prohibited and by whom.
According to Bader, in his 30 years of experience in higher education, he has only seen three instances of hazing on a judicial level. He believes that the reason for this is that the hazing victims think they have only two choices – they either put up with it, or they simply drop out.
They don’t believe the third option of seeking help exists.
Ken Bailey spoke about legal issues concerning hazing, and he stated that there are several possible charges that those caught hazing can face.
One potential charge is assault, which includes hitting, touching, or even putting the victim in fear that they could be hurt. Other charges include aggravated assault, reckless homicide, reckless endangerment, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.
Bailey added that he believes that hazing should not exist in the year 2002 because it is outdated. “Get with the times,” he said.
Various campus organizations were represented in the workshop’s audience since campus groups are trying to raise hazing awareness and educate its members. “The future of these organizations depends on everyone in this room,” said Bishop. She challenged the audience to lead by example.
After an activity allowing volunteers to decide what should be considered hazing and what should not, Chamberlin-Long gave the audience an opportunity to write down questions and comments for the panel.
There were mixed views from the audience on the importance of the workshop and the issue. Some students were angered by the stance that was taken on hazing, while others felt it was an issue that was long overdue in being addressed.
“There is a very fine line between what is hazing and what is not. The gray area is what gets people in trouble,” commented Hub Brown, a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.
Overall, people felt that the workshop served an important purpose in educating students. “I feel that Kristin Chamberlin-Long and members of the panel did an excellent job answering very sensitive questions concerning hazing,” said Stephen Hendrix, president of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity.
The workshop was put together by Chamberlin-Long and organizations including Zeta Phi Beta, Sigma Chi, Lambda Chi Alpha, and Kappa Delta. A large portion of the credit goes to Alpha Delta Pi.
“I was pleased that so many groups co-sponsored this event because it shows that the students at ETSU don’t think hazing is acceptable,” said Chamberlin-Long.
Leah Adinolfi, coordinator for leadership and Greek life, does not believe that hazing is a clear-cut issue. “It is not easily defined,” she said.
Adinolfi and the Greek life office will be having a month of amnesty so to speak until March 5.
During this time, students will have the opportunity to discuss hazing issues with Adinolfi. With this opportunity, students may obtain clarification on what could be considered hazing without the threat of being penalized by peers or the institution.
For more information on hazing, Adinolfi can be contacted by calling 439-5675 in the Student Life and Leadership office.

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