TO THE EDITOR:
I was shocked to read in “Hazing allegations are out of proportion,” from Monday, that some have taken to defending hazing.
I believe Greek organizations serve a purpose, and I know many members of such organizations who have used them as a platform for doing great things.
However, hazing is a practice in need of review. And, as entitled as Mr. Brabant is to his opinion, he misses the point altogether.
Tradition is something to be noted, not universally accepted on its face without thorough examination from time to time.
Slavery was once a tradition; denying the vote to women was once a tradition; treating wounds with the same medical utensils sans sterilization was once par for the course. We amended and upended them all. Thank goodness.
Somehow, Mr. Brabant would have us turn a blind eye to hazing because it is “tradition.” As he put it, “if you take away tradition, you take away a celebrated history.”
But, do we celebrate forcing young men to feel subservient in order to attain a sense of camaraderie? If so, then we have truly lost our moral compass.
But, Brabant goes on in error. He purports that a practice and tradition cannot be adequately judged from those on the outside, beyond the purview of the Greek counsels. With Brabant’s notion in mind, we would assume the average criminal should see no sanction because a judge simply cannot “understand” from the ivory tower of their bench.
