hazing

The National INter Fraternity Council defines Hazing as the following:

Any instance of physical abuse, psychological abuse, or improper obligations, requirements, or time restrictions associated with or involving new members (commonly known as pledge/associate members) or their activities or associated with or involving any improper continuing obligation for membership. Violations described below shall therefore be understood to be incidents of hazing.

Meeting and Time Restrictions (General Program Restrictions)

All students are recognized to have academic and collegiate obligations which must not be unduly restricted or constrained. Examples of improperly restrictive time requirements include but are not limited to the following:
Any activity or requirement which is so time consuming as to significantly interfere with class work or study time. This includes but is not limited to pre-initiation and initiation periods.
Conducting any non-academic pledge/associate activity within one complete week prior to final or midterm examinations each semester.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse is understood to be any action taken or situation created which may foreseeably cause pain, injury, or undue physical stress, or fatigue. Examples of physical abuse include but are not limited to the following:
Forced or required consumption of alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages or substances
Forced or required consumption of spoiled foods, raw onions, goldfish, or any unpalatable foods which an individual refuses to eat
Dropping food such as eggs, grapes, liver, etc. in mouths
Tying individuals to chairs, poles, or other objects
Simulated or actual branding of individuals against their will
Causing excessive fatigue through physical or psychological shocks, such as forced participation in extreme exercise beyond normal ability
Paddling new members
Pushing, shoving, tackling, or any other kind of physical abuse not associated with events of an athletic nature
Throwing any toxic or otherwise harmful at an individual

Psychological Abuse

Psychological abuse is understood to be any action taken or situation created which may foreseeably produce embarrassment, ridicule, or harassment, or be threatening in nature. Examples of psychological abuse include but are not limited to the following:
Line-ups, any form of verbal abuse, or any other activity which serves no constructive purpose
Deception of new members prior to the ritual which is designed to convince a pledge/associate member that he will not be initiated or that he will be injured during the ritual ceremony
Any individual or group interrogations of a negative nature
Creating areas that are extremely uncomfortable due to temperature, noise, size, or air quality

Improper Requirements or Obligations

All membership requirements or obligations must in some way enhance the individual's emotional, spiritual, or intellectual development. Examples of improper requirements or obligations include but are not limited to the following:
Assigning or endorsing pranks such as panty-raids, harassing another organization, etc.
Assigning or endorsing an activity that is illegal or unlawful, that would constitute theft, burglary, or trespassing, or that would be morally objectionable to an individual
Defacing trees, grounds, buildings, or objects
Conducting quests, treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, paddle hunts, big sister hunts, or little sister hunts that include illegal activity, physical abuse, or psychological abuse.
Requiring pledge/associate members to march in formation
Carrying useless items such as coconuts, helmets, swords, burlap bags, shields, paddles, rocks, dog collars, bricks, etc.
Assigning or endorsing the wearing of apparel in public which is conspicuous and not normally in good taste
Requiring or endorsing the pledge/associate members to yell or chant when entering or leaving the chapter house
Requiring memorization of non-fraternity and non-academic related materials
Assigning or endorsing public stunts or buffoonery
Requiring or encouraging pledge/associate members to act like animals or other objects
Requiring pledge/associate members to participate in the act of flouring and/or showering other members

RESPONSIBILITIES

Any person (pledge/associate member, active member, guest, alumni/ae, university staff/faculty member) suffering or witnessing a hazing abuse has the responsibility to report the incidents to appropriate Greek Affairs officials.

The appropriate chapter officer (president, pledge/associate educator, etc.) must approve all new member-related activities prior to the event.

Membership-related activities should be kept within the properly reserved space. The activity must not interfere with the rights and activities of others, and should always reflect the best interest of the members of the chapter it represents and the university community as a whole.

All chapters which are members of the Interfraternity Council and their individual members will abide by this policy.

Chapters shall be held responsible for any action or situation in violation of this policy, whether incurred by pledge/associate, active, alumni/ae, or guest.

Any reprisal or threat of reprisal taken against a person for reporting a violation of this policy shall be considered a violation of this policy, even if the chapter is found innocent of the initial alleged charge.

Any violation of this policy shall be reported. If referred to the IFC Judicial Board, the board will have the responsibility to determine violations and shall choose from a broad array of possible sanctions those appropriate to the misconduct.

IMPLEMENTATION

The officers, principally the President of each chapter, are responsible for informing members (pledge/associate members, active members, alumni/ae, and guests) of the above policy. The policy shall be read by the President to the membership at the first chapter meeting of each semester and shall be posted in a prominent place for the members to see for no less than two weeks at the beginning of each semester.

Any individual or group who wishes to discuss with Greek Affairs officials any questionable activities which may be in violation of this policy shall have complete anonymity if so desired until or unless that individual or group decides to file formal charges.

The chapter is responsible for any group or individual activity determined to be a violation of this hazing policy. Violations may result in University, Greek Affairs, IFC and/or legal action.

In all cases of alleged violations of this policy, faculty and/or alumni advisors will be notified of the alleged violations. In addition, the international/national headquarters of any chapter found to be guilty of hazing will be notified of the alleged violations.

According to the IFC Constitution (Article VII, Section I), the judicial powers and authority of the IFC shall be vested in the Judicial Board. The Board may investigate and judge charges of members of the IFC involving the alleged infractions of University or IFC policies. The Board may also designate an investigative body which shall report back to the judicial board.

The Interfraternity Council will evaluate each case on its own individual merit.

In the event that formal written charges are brought against a chapter for violating the provisions contained herein, they shall be entitled to notice, hearing, and appeal in accordance with those rules outlined in the hearing procedures.

5 Questions to Ask to Determine if it's Hazing?
To help you determine if an act is hazing, simply ask the following questions.
Would you be in lots of trouble if a Reveille reporter were to see and report what you are doing?

Would you tell prospective members what they will go through?

Would you tell the parents of your members what you are doing?

Would you let Greek Affairs know what you are doing?

Would you let your national headquarters know what you are doing?

If you hesitate, that is telling you something!

You should be proud of all the activities you ask your new members to do. Therefore, you should not hesitate to let others know.

Remember that there is no such thing as a secret in the Greek Community. It is usually only a matter of time before what your group is doing gets out!

Finally, ethics teaches us that we should not write or say anything that we do not want repeated on the evening news or in our local papers.

Also, we should not want to do anything that we would not want video-taped and shown on the evening news.

It should be noted that I, personally enjoyed some of these things when I did them as I "pledged" under a bunch of guys who where former military...

I think that the final key point in the policy is: DON'T WRITE OR VIDEO TAPE THIS SHIT IF YOU DO IT AND DON'T TAKE PICTURES. Perhaps a lesson can be learned from this?