Hazing is often cited as one of the most harmful aspects of fraternities and sororities and poses a major threat to their existence, drawing great criticism from educators and administrators.
[4] For example, the Arizona Revised Statutes provides the following definition:[5] "Hazing" means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, whether individually or in concert with other persons, against another student, and in which both of the following apply: (a) The act was committed in connection with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in any organization that is affiliated with an educational institution.
Things like physical activity will be condoned if there are fraters that are in the US Army or other armed forces present, whereas if those members weren't there it would be considered hazing.
Unfortunately for multitudes of members of Greek organizations, "Sororities and fraternities have come to be synonymous with elitism, sexual assault, high-risk hazing (initiation ceremonies) and other bad behavior on American university campuses".
[2] Additionally, hazing has become a central focus of programs designed to help Greek letter organizations become more value congruent through institutionalized standards and expectations.
Cobb & McRee (2007) note the important role of culture change within the North American fraternity and sorority movement and even encourage the closure of chapters that consistently partake in illegal and risky activities and pose threats to their local and university communities.
DeSousa, Gordon & Kimbrough (2004) propose the creation of a recognized pledge program in which national fraternity and sorority leaders participate, under the recognized supervision of university officials, as well as the yearly evaluation of fraternities and sororities to determine their eligibility for continued recognition and sponsorship.
Additionally, there are individual national Greek Letter Organizations taking the initiative against activities related to hazing.
Nuwer talks about the aspects of hazing that make the pledge keep coming back to the fraternity and the ramifications of dropping out.
Nuwer consulted with a professor in psychology, Margaret Thaler Singer, to get a better understanding of the characteristics of cults to relate those behaviors with fraternity hazing.
This reassurance keeps the pledges coming back, reliant on the people who are hazing them; relating to the next aspect of "family".
The purpose of hazing was perceived as a way of providing young males an outlet to prove their manliness through rites and trials, showing themselves to be men and not boys.