Junior
Brad Pure looked around his fraternity house.
Everyone was smiling, dancing, and talking. And it was all for a good cause––to raise money for charity. This was Zeta Beta Tau’s first activity since
its reinstatement in December, appropriately named “It’s About Damn Time 2.”
Brad had come along
way in the last two years. Along with eight other ZBT pledges, he had been
involved in the incident that led to ZBT’s expulsion shortly after. The evening on October 14, 1997 had begun as
just another night for the primarily Jewish fraternity. Then the scavenger hunt and “the list” were
introduced. Three former ZBT members
had created this list, which contained sexist, racist, and homophobic phrases
that offended nearly every group on campus, after its publication in the Indiana
Daily Student. Some items included
were a picture of two women making out and a picture of “any funny looking
Mexican,” along with harmless items, such as the rules for Ultimate Frisbee.
But the biggest public misconception about the list was that everyone
in the fraternity was aware of it, which Brad said was not the case.
He had no part in making the list, nor did he physically see it.
“When I heard what was on
the list, I thought it was wrong,” said Brad “but I felt like we’d be looked
down upon by our brothers if we didn’t do it.”
That
night, two cars of men were involved. Five
men were in a Ford Explorer and four were in Brad’s car, a Toyota 4-Runner.
The Explorer’s passengers took the “P” and “H” from a sign at the Kappa
Alpha Psi fraternity house. However, according to Brad, the worst thing the
passengers in his car did was stealing a stop sign, which all men participated
in. Brad referred to this as a typical college prank, certainly not
worth the consequences that followed. When
the police arrive at 1:40 am at the corner of 4th and Bryan, the
nine members were taken directly to Monroe County Jail because of the findings.
They spent the night and former ZBT president, Jason Nierman, bailed
them the next morning.
The
next few days were a whirlwind of events for Brad and the eight other men. They were given a $185 fine and 70 hours of
community service. The three men that
actually wrote the list were immediately expelled from the fraternity, but
this was their only punishment.
“Everyone said we got off so
easy, but we really didn’t,” said Brad, “The guys that actually wrote the
list didn’t get anything and we got it all…talk about injustice.”
Dean
of Students, Richard McKaig told the IDS that the ZBT incident was “as classic
a case of hazing as you can get.” However,
many students would disagree with this statement because of the misconceptions
they hold about hazing. They believe
that hazing must involve alcohol or humiliating initiation rituals, among
other misinterpretations. “When I hear the word hazing, I think of excessive
drinking and embarrassment, usually involving some sort of physical pain,”
said a Non-Greek Sophomore, Sarah Schregardus.
When a fraternity or
sorority pledge enters the Greek system, they must vow to abide by the Indiana
Law regarding hazing. According to
Student Ethics Director, Pam Freeman, students take this lightly and don’t
understand hazing.
“I think they think of hazing only
in terms of paddling and physical abuse,” said Freeman, “I’m not sure they
understand the emotional, sometimes psychological stuff that gets done.”
The
Indiana University Code of Student Ethics clearly states that hazing is “any
conduct which subjects another person, whether physically, mentally, emotionally,
or psychologically, to do anything that may endanger, abuse, degrade, or intimidate
the person as a condition of association with a group.”
Interfraternity
Council President John Perry, who is a member of Phi Gamma Delta, emphasized
that hazing can involve almost anything.
He described hazing as anything that involves demoralizing or inappropriate
behavior, including, but not always alcohol usage. However, Perry also mentioned
that “hazing” could be beneficial in the conducive sense. Perry explained
that placing emphasis on academics, as well as friends and fun is using the
technical definition of hazing for constructive purposes. He said, the goal
is to build up the freshman into someone that the others would like to call
a brother. According to Perry, this positive change developed because of the
alcohol-rated deaths at IU recently, such as Joe Bisanz’s death in December
1998. These incidents have encouraged fraternity leaders to concentrate on
positive character development.
“Because of the incidents as
of late, it’s more a constructive building of character than to see who can
shot gun a beer the fastest,” said Perry.
Perry emphasized the decreasing
role of alcohol in fraternity initiation. On the other hand, Ethics Director Freeman pointed out that many
students don’t think hazing with alcohol is that big of a deal. It is often inferred that hazing is part of
joining the Greek system.
“I don’t understand why guys
put up with it [hazing]––the physical pain, humiliation, degradation,” said
Non-Greek Schregardus, “But the thing is, no guys really complain, and the
ones you do hear complain appear like wimps.
It sucks, but that’s the choice they make when they join a fraternity.”
As Schregardus mentioned, many
students commit to hazing willingly. According
to Freeman, many students believe that if a pledge gives consent, then it
is okay.
“Even if it is consensual,
it is still against policy and against the law,” said Freeman, “The consensual
part is why sometimes they [students] think it is okay, but it is clearly
not.”
Although hazing is usually
recognized and traditionalized in fraternity houses, Freeman believes hazing
also affects sororities and other organizations. However, these incidents are usually not reported or discussed as
much in public. According to IFC President Perry, Greeks and particularly
fraternities, often have a bad reputation because the IDS and other groups
on campus tend to misconstrue them. Perry
made a reference to the Delta Chi incident in December. The fraternity found themselves in trouble
when freshman Todd Hege fell down the stairs due to hazing and alcohol. Delta Chi was placed in a heated debate because
of this incident.
“It’s not a Delta Chi thing.”
Perry pointed out. “It’s the fact
that a few members were a little inebriated, but those students of Indiana
University happen to be fraternity men.”
According to Freeman, every
Greek organization should understand that hazing is not allowed. Hazing is supposed to have stopped because
the national organizations have taken strong stands against hazing, which
is or should be consistent throughout the Greek system. However, hazing is still prevalent.
“I would certainly not say
it [hazing] is gone,” said Freeman, “the fact that we actually had a case
that went all the way through the campus judicial system last year shows this.”
The 1998-1999 Comparative Report
on Personal Misconduct states that there were five cases that went through
in 95-96, none in 96-97, and six in 97-98, showing no apparent trend in the
amount of cases reported.
“It [number of cases] depends
on whether anyone has the courage to speak up and take a stand behind what
they say,” said Freeman.
According to Freeman, it is
necessary for students to be honest and submit to immediate confession to
end hazing. She said that when reports
of hazing are received that student ethics office will try very hard to get
factual information, but this can be extremely difficult. This is why it is important that students supply
truthful answers to questions when these matters are investigated.
“To get it to stop we really
need people to be courageous enough to say, ‘This is what’s happening, I’m
a witness to it, I’m willing to say it’ and that’s very hard,” said Freeman.
Methods of prevention and education
of hazing have been addressed by Stophazing.com. This website suggests the awareness and education
of members, corrective actions, and positive programming. All these programs are currently being applied
at Indiana University, said Freeman.
To increase awareness by members,
the Student Ethics Office primarily tries to ensure that the hazing policy
is worded clearly and that the incidents receive a full investigation and
response when hazing has been alleged.
In order to educate members,
the Student Activities Office works with groups to educate about the importance
of eliminating hazing. This is primarily
done through workshops for student leaders and retreats.
The purpose of the campus judicial
system is to both educate the students about the problems with hazing and
to hold the students accountable in a way that will stop the behavior from
recurring. According to Freeman, if
individuals or groups are found responsible for hazing, any of the sanctions
that are listed in the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct
can be applied, including suspension or expulsion from the university.
Finally, positive programming
for members also plays a big role in limiting hazing. ZBT and Brad Pure will never be the same because
of this approach. After its expulsion,
ZBT quickly became known as the men of 1500 N. Jordan Ave and began holding
weekly diversity sessions. These sessions
consisted of the entire fraternity gathering every Sunday night and hosting
speakers on different cultures from African-American to Hispanic to Asian.
Brad, who is both Caucasian and Jewish hadn’t been exposed to other cultures
before because of his “sheltered childhood” in a primarily Jewish suburb of
Chicago. According to Brad, these
sessions made ZBT much more open-minded.
“Before the sessions we really
didn’t understand other cultures, which really affected the way we saw them,“
Brad said, “The sessions definitely made me a more well-rounded person and
our fraternity much more sensitive as a whole.”
Brad
said that ZBT has grown up a lot in the past two years. To this day, he has never seen the physical
list. He said the incident is all
over and that is all that matters. Although it was extremely difficult for
him, he gained knowledge, sensitivity, and understanding. Now, whenever he
sees something wrong, he will not hesitate to say something.
“This incident opened my eyes
to what is around me and made me a better person overall,” said Brad with
a smile, “In that sense I don’t regret it.”