Being a part of Greek Life taught me how to be a leader, to believe in a cause, build lasting relationships and other admirable qualities.

Here is what it did not teach me: respect. Respect for older members, respect for our philanthropy, respect for rules, respect for all my sisters. I never learned respect for my organization because I was not hazed, and I wish I had been.

Greek organizations are widely known and judged for hazing. Just when Greeks are in the clear, another story about a couple of idiots breaks. The bad rap was getting to be too much, so the governing bodies of fraternities and sororities came together. These “head Greeks” decided to make a clear list of what is considered hazing. Individual organizations then made strict punishments if found in violation of any hazing. Many universities followed the trend, complementing the list with strict rules of their own.

If your school is anything like mine, there is a zero tolerance policy with regard to hazing. My sorority also strongly enforced rules against hazing with corresponding punishments.

As a scared, bottom-of-the-totem-pole freshman, I was relieved for the strict policies. I didn't want to face the horror stories of walking on bottle caps or sitting on a dryer naked and be told which parts of my body jiggled the most. I still don't want that.

However, being the DD on a Thursday night or even doing our executive council’s laundry would not have bothered me.

The meaning of hazing has expanded, making hierarchy impossible in Greek organizations. And let me tell you, everyone is not created equal in a Greek organization.

There is a reason interns fetch coffee and live for the moment when they finally have coffee brought to them. Just as you cannot walk onto the bus your freshman year of high school and sit in the back seat, or begin a new job and expect to be treated the same as the CEO, you start from the bottom in a Greek organization. But as a brand new member of a sorority, I am obviously right on top with sisters who have been members for the past three years.

No -- but that's how it was.

I didn't take things super seriously when I entered my sorority. I didn't have to shag balls for varsity or wear the ugly freshman spirit day color. I was given privilege right away.

Not being hazed was a disservice to me and my sorority. Not only did I not learn respect for older members of the organization, but I lost out on building some immediate relationships with members of my own class.

No, I do not support humiliating, harmful or potentially dangerous hazing. I support earning my role as a member, working my way up the ladder and having mutual respect for my older members.

I’ll be happy when hazing rules no longer mean that we cannot hold scavenger hunts or call new members “babies” -- yes, those are considered hazing.