News, Should Fraternities Be Shut Down? (degree, schools, requirements, sororities)

[John1960]

For two Tulane University students, pledging a fraternity became a nightmare after the older members of Pi Kappa Alpha allegedly scorched them with boiling water, leaving them with second- and third-degree burns across their bodies.

ABC News: Should Fraternities Be Shut Down?

[pennquaker09]

I would say that Fraternities also do good things, so no, they shouldn't be shut down. I don't know how else to deal with hazing, however.

With that said, Tulane is my alma mater and this saddens me.

[hnsq]

It is unfortunate that only frats like this make the news. I was in a fraternity in college, and mine was actually non-alcoholic. We never threw a party, did community service, and didn't make new guys do anything during pledging that we weren't willing to do ourselves. Only the worst in a system get noticed though...

[Rggr]

They should not be shut down, but people that do this kind of stuff should be prosecuted.

[novanative75]

People that are not in fraternities also drink and do stupid things. Have you ever seen some of the things lacrosse players do to new players?
If you want to shut down places where mayhem occurs associated with drinking, shut down all colleges!

[ParkerP]

No they shouldn't be shut down. It is up to the people being hazed to decide what they are gonna put up with. This one soror wanted me to come to a rush and I told her from the jump, if I join the line and get hit, whoever hit me is gonna get beat down. So, there went my invite, lol. But come on, boiling water? I would have kicked that pot over and ran out of there so fast, LOL. These kids need to start speaking up. That's when the "dangerous/life-threatening" type of hazing will end.

[mimimomx3]

What a waste of time. I think that rather than shut down these overgrown preschools, the colleges actually enforce the legal drinking age, and expel students who drink.

[Mar0]

The Greek community at PSU is the driving force for Dance Marathon, which raises money for kids with cancer. This year the university raised over $6 million.....so no I do not think greek organizations should be closed.

[MissShona]

I am the national president of a sorority and I can assure you, colleges and universities usually have stringent requirements for fraternities and sororities regarding insurance and risk management. Much more stringent than other student groups. Fraternities and sororities are not the only groups that haze. However it's an easy stereotype to perpetuate...so it lives on.

For example many sport activities in college request things from the team members which could also be considered "hazing"; however the different context puts a different light on it...and sports bring money for the universities.

So in short, no, I don't think fraternities should be "shut down".

[Katiana]

Mine seems to be a minority opinion, but I do think they should be shut down. The community service they do could be done without the framework of the frat. For example, my husband and daughter are doing Habitat for Humanity through the University of Colorado Lutheran Campus Ministry. (The pastor is a former sorority girl, Lutherans have no religious opposition to frats and sorors, BTW). The Univ. of CO kicked the frats off campus when they would not agree to spring rush. The impetus for that proposal was a drinking death from a hazing incident in the fall of a student's freshman year. They moved off-campus (can't have campus office space, etc). This year at CU a bunch of frat guys trashed a motel in Estes Park near Rocky Mtn National Park. Of course, their national organization said the usual: "we don't condone this type of behavior". But such incidents, and the Tulane incident are not isolated occurrences; they happen frequently. Here are a few examples from google:

KSWO, Lawton, OK- Wichita Falls, TX: News, Weather, Sports. ABC, 24/7, Telemundo - Fraternity member enters hazing plea

- Google News

I think there is a need for fellowship/friendship organizations on college campuses, but I don't care for the current model.