2008 Woodie Awards
Hazing on campus is popular, study finds
By: MCT
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Campus
MILWAUKEE - More than half of college students in campus organizations have experienced hazing despite the fact that the practice is banned practically everywhere, a new national survey has found.
The study, released this week, didn't limit its focus to the usual suspects - fraternities, sororities and varsity sports teams. Those are still the biggest offenders, with nearly three-quarters of members reporting hazing. But the study also found hazing in club sports (64 percent), performing arts organizations (56 percent) and even academic clubs (28 percent).
Types of hazing activities ranged from benign to extreme. The four most common were drinking games, singing or chanting in public, associating with specific people, and drinking large amounts of alcohol.
Milwaukee-area students interviewed last week said that by the researchers' definition, they'd been hazed, but in a way they thought was positive.
Marquette University law student Mike Menghini said that as an undergraduate at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, he was awakened by fellow members of the tennis team for midnight practice.
"I would say it's just part of the camaraderie," he said. "It wasn't something I was forced to do. ... It was just a team thing."
The study, released this week, didn't limit its focus to the usual suspects - fraternities, sororities and varsity sports teams. Those are still the biggest offenders, with nearly three-quarters of members reporting hazing. But the study also found hazing in club sports (64 percent), performing arts organizations (56 percent) and even academic clubs (28 percent).
Types of hazing activities ranged from benign to extreme. The four most common were drinking games, singing or chanting in public, associating with specific people, and drinking large amounts of alcohol.
Milwaukee-area students interviewed last week said that by the researchers' definition, they'd been hazed, but in a way they thought was positive.
Marquette University law student Mike Menghini said that as an undergraduate at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, he was awakened by fellow members of the tennis team for midnight practice.
"I would say it's just part of the camaraderie," he said. "It wasn't something I was forced to do. ... It was just a team thing."
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