PLYMOUTH – “I know as much about brain surgery as a drunk person knows about safety.” This is the message Judge Mitch Crane conveyed to PSU students on September 22.
In the HUB Courtroom, Plymouth students gathered to listen to a hazing workshop. All members of Greek life and sports teams attended and every recognized club or student organization had to send a representative as well.
Judge Mitch Crane spoke about the dangers of hazing, alcohol, and the public perception of Greek life as a result of these activities. As a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, Crane has a vested interest in the perception of Greeks and how student organizations should be run.
Crane opened with a story about a Delta Kappa Epsilon brother who killed himself after being initiated into the fraternity.
According to Crane, he crawled naked through his fraternity brothers, being kicked and punched only to find his clothing for the night covered in vomit, feces, and urine. He called a friend and said he wished he had a gun. “But he didn’t,” said Crane. “He had a belt, he hung himself.”
Another story making headlines in February involved the death of a Chico State student who died during an initiation ritual. According to District Attorney Michael Ramsey, Matthew Carrington was forced to consume large amounts of water while doing vigorous exercise at low temperatures. Carrington had a seizure as a result and died late that night.
“The whole house loved Matt. If they thought this could happen they never would have done it,” said fellow pledge Mike Quintana.
“There are two types of people that commit crimes, there are evil people… Then there are stupid people, stupid people are the nicest, kindest sweetest people on earth, but they don’t think about things and their consequences…We assume nothing bad will happen, but when it does, we cry and scream,” stated Crane.
Emily Kelloway, a senior and former sorority member, agrees that many organizations don’t see what they do as hazing. According to Kelloway, “I don’t think it’s pressed enough that hazing is a crime… A lot of people are unclear about exactly what hazing is.”
Crane also emphasized that these incidents receive extreme amounts of media coverage and fuel the public’s often negative image of Greeks.
While these incidents may be isolated, Crane calls them unacceptable. “How many deaths do you think are acceptable for your organization? I say zero.”
Greeks are not the only ones under the microscope for hazing. On August 27, a McGill University football rookie was allegedly sodomized by upperclassmen. The incident is currently under investigation.
Incidents like these have brought hazing to the forefront for many institutions. Currently, 44 states have anti-hazing laws and New Hampshire is one of them.
Plymouth has its own policy in the student handbook, which prohibits hazing of any kind. Included in the prohibited acts are confinement of a person, hitting, consumption of alcohol, paddle swats, branding, and personal servitude.
Kelloway does not feel that hazing creates better Greek life or sports teams. Emily was not hazed in her sorority; instead they did other group activities to build unity.
Crane emphasized that hazing does not build stronger bonds between members and does not generate trust. Crane cited a conversation with a student who insisted that hazing was necessary. According to the student, only three of 18 members of his pledge class we still members by their senior years.
“You learn to trust and respect people by watching what they do,” said Crane.