Hazing

I just read an article about hazing in high and middle schools. My initial reaction to the title of the article was "hazing is bad" though as I read more, I realized I don't fully understand the whole scope of the situation.

My first understanding of hazing came when I saw The Lords of Discipline. Rod's time at the Citadel made me further aware albeit after the fact, that hazing was ever present in a military environment. Sadly, I witnessed hazing without even knowing it when I was in high school. What's worse, I wanted to be included in the humiliating process.

Why did my high school have sororities? What purpose did they serve? What did those girls even do? Still, I was hurt when all the cool kids were inducted and of course I was not. I remember Jan Sheldon having to sing "I Love to Love you baby" to a trash can on the smokers patio in an outfit fit for the 50s. Rhonda Kaplan had to kiss 500 sheets of tissue paper (red lipstick necessary) and collect a lock of Hank Erbe's hair. Really, what was this all about?

Flash forward to the present, and I was sort of stunned to realize my own daughter's lacrosse team had its own form of hazing. Making the freshman girls collect the equipment from the field is apparently hazing.

The biggest problems are : people want to be included in something and will do almost anything to garner that inclusion.

we don't really know when to say when. Gathering equipment from the field after practice seems harmless; injuring the newbies on the soccer team as they stand in a goal with no shirts as other players make free kicks to the goal.

Can this be stopped? Not without the masses coming to agreement about appropriate behavior and ensuring the safety of the whistle blower. So, I guess it's unlikely.