Movies and T.V. shows about college often depict Greek life as organizations filled with rich kids, dangerous partying involving heavy drinking and drug use, and hazing. This causes many people to have negative stereotypes about Greek life in general. People wonder what would compel someone to rush and go through “Hell Week” or whatever it may be, in order to gain membership into the elite organization. Cases of hazing, such as the one that occurred recently at Penn State, reflect poorly on the overall image of American Greek life. The reality is that the majority of fraternities and sororities do NOT haze and would never think of putting their pledges through such cruel and dehumanizing acts in order for them to gain membership. Cases like the one that occurred recently at Penn State University remind all of us in Greek life that we must work tirelessly to prevent hazing of any kind from ever happening in the first place, let alone becoming the norm in our organizations.

Firstly, hazing is defined as: "any action taken or any situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment or ridicule and risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate."

As someone who considers herself to be a representative for the vast majority of members Greek life that are very against hazing, here’s some ways we can prevent hazing incidents from happening in the future:

Title IX Coordinators can work with students to help define hazing, explain in detail how to report incidents they suspect may be hazing, conduct in depth investigations into such reports and have strict punishments for organizations that haze, such as losing their charter, as well as legal consequences and expulsion from the university.

Greek organizations can appoint an officer to facilitate an open dialogue to define hazing, etc., as listed above and ensure it is a standard of the organization to never haze any members. They can work together with the university’s Title IX Coordinator to have mandatory anti-hazing training workshops. They can also instruct their members on how to report hazing without fear of being reprimanded by other members for making the report.

Members of Greek organizations can participate fully in such dialogue and training and report incidents without fear of retaliation. They can be educated on what hazing is and how to prevent it.

My experience with Greek life has been enriching, loving, and 100% completely without hazing of any kind. I can say honestly that if I had to report an incident, I’d know exactly who to talk to and how to report it. Greek life is not about hazing, it’s about having a support system, philanthropy, and the personal enrichment of the member.

For more information, visit: http://hazingprevention.org/ or talk to your Title IX Coordinator. Hazing in UNACCPETABLE.