In response to your editorial ("Hazing Must Be Taken Seriously," Oct. 4), there always will be hazing as long as you have organizations. On fraternities, sports teams or even in the workplace, a sense of fitting in must occur in order for the group to mesh. I'm not advocating for the beating or torture of all rookies. I'm simply stating that hazing is an issue that can't simply be put to rest by the setting of examples.
The editorial stated that the athletics department should not have been so tight-lipped concerning this incident and that the university must take action and implied that they set an example by punishing these soccer players. First off, why wouldn't the athletics department try to do their part to protect their athletes' reputations within the campus community?
Instead of tarnishing someone's reputation over an incident, they should keep the information and athletes involved in this situation, or any situation such as this, confidential to only those who need to know. The names of these soccer players do not need to be plastered all over, implying that these athletes are criminals and dangerous just because a typical college night got a little out of control. I'm pretty confident that the athletics department would be able to handle this situation without the entire campus knowing details and names.
Second, what good would a harsh punishment for these three do? Will this punishment serve to deter future athletes from hazing rookies? My grandfather once told me of things that the veterans would do to the rookies on his football team, back in the '40s. In order to break the 70-year-old tradition of hazing, I'm thinking you're going to need a little more than punishment to stop any future hazing incidents.
As a former athlete myself, at one point being both the hazed and the hazer, I can honestly say that hazing is part of the game and does indeed build team unity. I definitely do not expect non-athletes to understand this principle, but if you have ever had to parade around shirtless while singing your schools' alma mater, then you understand what I mean.
Now I'm not saying that having teammates drink until they end up in the hospital is necessarily correct. I'm not even saying that hazing, in general, is correct. I am stating, however, that hazing will always exist within these organizations and making information public or handing down harsh punishments to individuals involved as an attempt to make examples out of them, will simply be ineffective and pointless. Next year veterans will haze freshmen and our lives will go on.
