There is this false consciousness that exists within the Greek community that hazing strengthens the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood. Fraternity and sorority chapters that adhere to this belief don’t realize that they are doing themselves a disservice by promoting and practicing hazing. The support of hazing practices has lead to unfair stereotypes of Greek life in the media. Check out the clip below from ABC Family’s GREEK to see just how media reinforces the idea that Greeks haze their members. Being in a sorority myself, I have to constantly challenge these stereotypes in order to prove to people outside of the Greek community that Greeks actually participate in community service, have high GPAs, and hold prestigious jobs and internships. I have actually had arguments with people who didn’t believe me when I told them I wasn’t hazed. Another challenge we face is convincing other Greeks that they don’t have to live up to the stereotypes the media has labeled us with. Many people join Greek life and expect to be hazed because of what they have seen on television and in film. Even news outlets help promote these negative images of Greek life. How many of you have ever heard a story on the news or read in the newspaper about a fraternity or sorority helping the community? Yet, I’m sure you can all think of at least one time when you heard about a hazing practice that lead to death or serious injury. It’s especially difficult to battle these stereotypes when there are Greek organizations that have this false consciousness about the benefits of hazing. The Media isn’t helping, but we have to fix the problem ourselves also. (I would also like to say that I am not suggesting that any organization on this campus hazes, but rather that hazing is a nationwide problem the Greek community is faced with.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGWyRspiJF4#watch-main-area
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