The Dangers Of Hazing And What’s Being Done About It
This Nov. 30, 2011 file photo shows a marching band leading a horse-drawn carriage carrying the casket of Florida A&M University band member Robert Champion following his funeral service in Decatur, Ga. Florida A&M University’s famed marching band is suspended until 2013. President James Ammons told the school’s board of trustees on Monday, May 14, 2012, that he will keep The Marching 100 off the field for the upcoming school year. Eleven FAMU band members face felony hazing charges stemming from the death of Champion in November. Two others face misdemeanor counts. Ammons suspended the band soon after Champion’s death, but his death exposed a culture of hazing within the band.
For the past four decades, at least one student a year has died as a result of hazing on U.S. college campuses. Last year hazing claimed the lives of two young people, one at Cornell University and another at Florida A&M. At least 44 states have laws designed to curb harmful rites of induction into fraternities, sororities, marching bands and other campus groups. But those who break the laws are rarely prosecuted. Some anti-hazing advocates call for ridding campuses of the Greek societies that often have a long tradition of initiation rites that sometimes turn dangerous. Others argue these groups and clubs do more good than harm. Guest host Steve Roberts talks with a panel of experts about efforts to stop hazing.
Guests
associate professor of journalism at Franklin College and author of several books on hazing, including “Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge-Drinking.”
psychologist who specializes in conflict and violence in high school and college, and author of “Preventing Hazing: How Parents, Teachers and Coaches Can Stop the Violence, Harassment and Humiliation.”
senior editor of The Chronicle of Higher Education.
president of Cornell University. As a physician, he treated teenagers and young adults with heart disease.