Dear Editor,
The three of us had written a previous letter that was published in the clock [sic] about the dangers and affects of hazing. We are rewriting this letter because the three of us, and our organization, in no way want to downplay what happened and the dangers that come along with hazing as a form of admittance into an organization of any kind.
The three of us, like many other, started out the same way, freshman easer to make friends and to find a place to belong to. Some freshman when entering school join sports teams, clubs or becomes members of other various activities on campus and come join, what Plymouth calls, the “Greek community.” We were three girls who joined that community. We joined an organization where we made friends, had common interests and common goals with the people involved. The sorority was a place where we felt we were making a difference, a place where we felt like we could be ourselves, where we were supported and where sisterhood was one of the top priorities.
As stated in our previous article that was published a few weeks ago we quoted a definition of tradition, we did this because many people don’t think about the severity of the word.
The word, “Tradition” is defined as “an inherited, established, or customary thought, action or behavior (as a religious practice or social custom).” This word is used in context usually to describe something wise, ancient, something passed down from one generation to the next. Who knew the word tradition, could cost you your future. Who knew that the programs that were created by the people that started our organizations, the programs that we thought to make us so strong, the programs that we did ourselves, were constituted as hazing. Not only by Plymouth State University, but also by the State of New Hampshire.
We saw pledging as a time for bonding, time to learn about the Greek organization that we had been so eager to be a part of. Yes, we all knew it was going to be hard but in the end all worth it. It made us strong, more self-confident, outgoing individuals, and we wouldn’t give that up for the world. All we wanted was for other girls like us, to have the same feeling.
Through our whole experience over the past year all of us have come to the conclusion that we wish we were made educated on what is constituted as “hazing”. The pain, anguish and suffering that our families, friends and our selves have endured, is nothing that we want anyone to have to feel. We have suffered the personal humiliation of being arrested while being watched by our peers, friends and professors. We experienced anxiously waiting in the police station to receive our charges and punishment by phone, receiving a call from Plymouth State University stating, “We are dangers to society and are currently suspended from PSU.”
We had our names and photos on every newspaper in New England comparing us to another sorority hazing incident that resulted in the tragic death of young woman. [sic] we had to sit and watch our names and photos on every news channel broadcasted all over the United States, wondering what our families, peers, and teachers, think of us now. What they thought of us, girls who did so well in school, were part of so many organizations, always willing to help other but most of all, girls who had worked so hard for everything in their lives. We were wondering how we could so this to ourselves, how cold we let everything we worked for and everything we stand for be thrown away by one foolish mistake.
We endured the pain of watching our future go down the drain, as we were readmitted back to school after the arrest we will awaited our judicial hearing with the school. We had to stand in front of four women to defend what were lies and admit what was truth. We were already guilty, there is no innocent until proven guilty at Plymouth State. When the hearings were over, in the middle of our last semester, we though the college really couldn’t kick us out this close to graduation. We honestly didn’t think they would have made us wait so long, and continue to work so hard in school, but again, we were proven wrong.
Out of just the three of us we collectively had $25,000 in lawyer’s fees, 33 various charges brought again us by our victims, and were facing collectively $66,000 in fines from the State of New Hampshire. It was all in the name of tradition, and the three of us not knowing personally the difference between right and wrong.
None of this is worth your future, everything you stand for and everything you want to be. We were allowed to finish our degrees at Plymouth State University but we weren’t able to participate in graduation, not able to put the capstone on the last four years, not able to have our families watch us walk up in our caps and gowns to receive our diplomas.
We aren’t sharing our story to scare people. We are sharing our story to help educate other sports teams, clubs and the Greek community so the accidents that have happened in the past don’t happen in the future. Every year 250,000 college students in the United States experience some sort of hazing to join a college organization. Hazing today is clearly defined in our student handbooks, which also contains a list of unlawful activities. Some things that are listed in the handbook are activities as severe as beatings or branding, to things as minor as scavenger hunts and referring to one another as “Mr.” And “Miss.”. Although we see these things portrayed in many popular movies such as, Dazed and Confused, Animal House, Jarhead, and many more truth is, these are movies and not real life, these types of behaviors shouldn’t be recreated. The laws that were created by the State of New Hampshire and by the Plymouth State University aren’t there to try and shut organizations down, or to get people in trouble. Plymouth State is required by law to report any hazing, they are also there to protect us. Our hope is that others learn from our foolish mistakes. Many of us don’t’ think that what we do is wrong or that we won’t get caught, but the truth is hazing is wrong, and you will get caught. Plymouth State University has seen many hazing incidents just within the past four years since we have been students here. Tragically, only one has resulted in death. An activist against student hazing, Hank Nuwer, said is best “Even a single death is a grave loss for the Greek system.” It is a much deeper loss to the families and friends of all involved in such a misfortunate situation. We can all help to eliminate that ONE, and the only way to do this is too [sic] educate other and ourselves about the laws and school policy regarding hazing to prevent further incidents from occurring. We can help by stopping it before it happens.
There are many people around campus that are here to help, administration, the judicial office, Greek Life, Coaches, Professors and many more who know the rules, the law and who want to help. We recommend speaking with these people and our organization. We all want our organizations to grow and stay strong; many have done an amazing job in carrying on positive traditions for more than thirty years, the reason being they are aware that there are many other ways then resorting to hazing.
Meagan FordAmanda GomesAlana Hokans