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The author, John Marek, is a writer and CEO of the Anson Economic Development Partnership.

In the iconic 1970s movie “Brian’s Song,” rookie Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo is introduced in a scene where he is forced to stand up during a team meal and sing his college –  Wake Forest – fight song, which he does with tone-deaf enthusiasm. It is a bonding moment for him and his teammates and indicative of the positive traditions and rituals permeating sports  teams, fraternities, sororities and civic clubs around the country. Most of these are harmless exercises that give everyone a good laugh and perhaps provide a necessary pinprick to inflated egos.  

I recall that the initiation to a particular fraternity at Ohio University required the pledge to carry a 10-pound rock emblazoned with the fraternity’s Greek letters around for an entire day. While sitting in class with a stone the size of a bowling ball in your lap might be a little embarrassing, I doubt anyone suffered any long-term psychological issues over it. 

The recent reports about hazing incidents with the Northwestern University football team are a different story. According to some freshman players, they were subjected to a form of hazing  called “running,” where mistakes in practice led to them being taken to a darkened locker room, held down by upperclassmen in masks and then subjected to simulated sex acts performed on them by said upperclassmen. 

I’m sorry … WHAT?  

Held down and drenched in ice water; okay. Held down and spanked with a wet towel; weird, but okay, I guess. But who came up with the sex idea, and how the heck did he sell it to the  other players? I sense that making such a suggestion in most locker rooms would earn you some uncomfortable stares and your own personal soap on a rope.  

Sadly, the incidence of genuinely despicable hazing events is not limited to sports teams and Greek houses. In 2011, Robert Champion, a 26-year-old drum major for the Florida A&M  University Marching 100 band, was beaten and pummeled by fellow band members as he walked down the length of the bus. Champion died shortly after from blunt force trauma. The hazing ritual, known as “Crossing Bus C,” was a tradition in the Marching 100 band. Pledges were required to walk down the length of the bus while being punched, kicked and assaulted by senior members. Champion was the first person to die as a result of the ritual. 

After Champion’s death, 15 band members were charged with hazing. Three of them, Dante  Martin, Benjamin McNamee and Aaron Golson, were convicted of manslaughter and hazing  with the result of death. They were sentenced to 77 months, 16 months and 12 months in  prison, respectively. 

Even my alma mater, Bowling Green, has recently suffered a tragic hazing incident. In 2021, Stone Foltz, a 20-year-old sophomore, was forced to drink an entire fifth of hard liquor as part of a hazing ritual for the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was later found unconscious and rushed to the hospital, where he died three days later. 

Eight men were indicted on charges of hazing, involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide in connection with Foltz’s death. Two of the men, Jacob Krinn and Troy Henricksen, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and hazing and sentenced to 18 months and five years in prison, respectively. Foltz’s blood alcohol level was nearly 4 percent.  

Traditions, rituals and hazing are all behaviors or practices that are associated with group  membership in organizations like sports teams, fraternities and civic clubs. However, they  serve different purposes and have very different impacts. 

Traditions are long-held practices that are meant to celebrate the history and culture of the group. For example, a pregame pep rally or tailgate, singing the school fight song or wearing team colors on game day are common sports team traditions. Fraternities may have secret handshakes or chants that have been passed down for generations. Civic organizations often  open meetings with a traditional invocation or pledge of allegiance. These types of long-standing practices build a sense of shared identity and continuity between current and past  members. 

Rituals are highly choreographed ceremonies that mark a member’s initiation, advancement or achievement. For example, an initiation ceremony where new members learn the history and  values of the organization or a candlelight vigil where members receive their ceremonial pins or badges. Sports teams may have Senior Night celebrations to honor graduating players.  Fraternities conduct elaborate initiation rituals, sometimes secret, where new members prove their worthiness to join. Civic clubs like Masons have intricate rituals for different degrees of  membership. Rituals reinforce the significance and exclusivity of membership. 

In contrast, hazing refers to dangerous, demeaning or humiliating acts directed at new or prospective members. Requiring excessive alcohol consumption, beatings or physical  punishment, sleep deprivation or other degrading acts are forms of hazing. Hazing is about exerting power over and causing harm to others, not building team spirit or group cohesion. It is considered a crime in many jurisdictions due to the psychological and physical harm that results. 

While traditions and rituals can play an essential role in strengthening group identity, cohesion and continuity, hazing and its associated dangers have no place in an ethical organization.  Leaders must promote traditions and rituals that instill pride in membership while avoiding those that cross the line into hazing.