<p>[22</a> NIU frat members charged in freshman’s hazing death - chicagotribune.com](<a href=“http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-charges-filed-in-niu-hazing-death-20121217,0,2064711.story]22”>http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-charges-filed-in-niu-hazing-death-20121217,0,2064711.story)</p>
<p>This is so sad. Dead, so young, for something as stupid as this.</p>
<p>I’m trying to understand the mentality of hazing with alcohol. Is the goal to make the pledges sick or to have them pass out? Is it a “test” of their manlihood to see how much they can drink? Are the ones doing the hazing just as out of it as the pledges, so they can’t tell when a kid has had too much? Or do they egg these kids on to drink past a level any human being could survive? Is it supposed to be funny?</p>
<p>What a tragic loss.</p>
<p>Parents MUST teach their college-bound children there is no earthly reason to pay the price to associate with malevolent mental midgets that lurk in some greek organizations, when that price could lead to serious injury or even death.</p>
<p>Hazing is supposed to be a stressful situation that bonds those who are suffering together and also, bonds them to those who underwent the same hazing before them (even if they are now the issuers of said hazing).</p>
<p>That’s the goal. What we see here is severe (and criminal) negligence in that milieu.</p>
<p>I recall other instances:
– sorority had pledges tread water in full sweats. a few drowned
– hazing was drinking gallon of water (meant to induce vomiting) but instead brought about death by shock to system
– FAMU marching band unintended death by beating going through gauntlet</p>
<p>Unfortunately not uncommon…
<a href=“http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/11/29/top-10-worst-greek-hazing-scandals-stories/[/url]”>http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/11/29/top-10-worst-greek-hazing-scandals-stories/</a></p>
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<p>I went through a lot of hazing in the military. It didn’t “bond” anything or anyone. It just ****ed us all off. If anything it made us want to shoot the guys who hazed us in the back, instead of covering it, in theatre.</p>
<p>I tried to show my next guys that intelligence, practicality, and genuine interest in helping your fellow team or squad members succeed at both their “job” and their personal life will build more camaraderie than what shaving heads, excessive drinking, and beatings ever will.</p>
<p>Getting through a situation that someone you’re supposed to be close with put you in does nothing for you. It’s stuff like that that makes people commit suicide or go on rampages. A true “brotherly” and/or “sisterly” organization would have zero tolerance for this.</p>
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<p>This!</p>
<p>Hazing and fraternities are an ancient useless relic from a bygone age.</p>
<p>Why it is allowed continue to exist on American campuses is beyond me.</p>
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<p>As offensive at this might sound, here is my take:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Despicable lack of courage of the colleges and universities to ban ALL greek activities from the campus, and expel all students who participate in greek activities within 20 miles of the campus. Purchase the houses and build sufficient housing to replace the purported lack of housing. Next move to the remaining groups that are just as cancerous as the frats. The leadership at our college believes in blah-blah-blah and will not change until they are hit repeatedly and DEEPLY in their wallet, and possibly by individual lawsuits for gross negligence in dealing with an issue that IS killing the young. </p></li>
<li><p>Misguided nostalgia by parents who remember the good old days of college. Hoping and praying that all will be well is not enough. Hoping teenagers will do the right thing is not enough. </p></li>
<li><p>And MOST importantly, the complete imbalance of the penalties for actions that caused death and bodily harm and what has been imposed on students so far.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Not until students know they will be held accountable, expelled from school and prosecuted for the death of another will this stop.</p>
<p>Colleges and Universities need to take a stand on this.</p>
<p>crosspost with xiggi</p>
<p>Did anyone notice that the frat in question was only banned temporarily by NIU?</p>
<p>This is typical. I wonder what you have to do to merit permanent banning.</p>
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Maybe if you kill the kid of a major donor.</p>
<p>What will likely happen is the charges will be pled down.</p>
<p>I’d like each of those fraternity members, if convicted, to go through life with a felony record, and have the university go on record as opposing any plea deal. (Fat chance…)</p>
<p>It is NOT a tragic loss; simply a senseless one.</p>
<p>Amen Turtlerock and Amen Sax!!!</p>
<p>I bet it’s a tragic loss to his mom.</p>
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<p>Even then, they can come back…</p>
<p>Read up on the history of the Beta house at Dartmouth. “De-reconigzed” permanently in 1996, but now back on campus.</p>
<p>The punishments rarely appear to be severe. After all, the perpetrators we’re talking about are young, white, middle class, and have their whole lives ahead of them. I apologize for the stench of sarcasm.</p>
<p>Heck–my state (Texas) makes it a crime for a public school student to pledge to join, join or belong to a public school fraternity, sorority, secret society or gang. </p>
<p>It also is a crime for a non-public school enrollee to solicit a public school student to attend a meeting of a public school fraternity, sorority, secret society or gang or a meeting that encourages joining one.</p>
<p>The reality is that nobody wants more children punished. And children they are. And they are just as much victims of a culture that encourage bad behavior through peer pressure. The punishments are light because the kids who end up causing all that carnage are more naive than malicious, more stupid than evil, and lack the maturity to understand the gravity of their actions. </p>
<p>On the other hand, should we continue to absolve the leaders of our universities? What is their excuse to avoid making drastic changes? Our country is (rightfully) outraged by the murders in Newton, and exponentially because they were extremely young. However, to a parent, the news of a child dying at the hand of animals in a hazing “ceremony” is just as cruel as it is senseless. </p>
<p>How many more deaths will be needed to finally DO something about it beyond praying and hoping?</p>
<p>I looked up some incidents in Indiana where college hazing resulted in death or very serious injury. It seems that in at least one case the traditional theories for civil liability of the university/colleges let the institution escape. That may not be the situation in every state or under every set of facts.</p>
<p>A huge civil judgment might bring about some changes.</p>
<p>I;m not a lawyer, but I think in this particular case the university would be found liable, precisely because it does have a program to police fraternity parties. </p>
<p>But it is relatively rare that these cases ever get to a jury -they are almost always settled out of court, but with very large settlements.</p>
<p>mini–the recent Indiana court of appeal case addressed assumption of a duty. That case on the facts found a duty to the injured student did not arise.</p>
<p>Does the college you are adressing actually provide employees at the party or is it only “rules and regulations” concerning the frat parties?</p>