Hazing exists because you don't care...enough.

So the story goes like this:

Dru: (To the class*) "Raise your hand if you are against hazing."

Laura: (Raises her hand, along with others)

Dru: "No you're not. Because if you really were against hazing, you would be sitting outside of the chapter house in the bushes with a camera."

* graduate course at the University of Maryland taught by Dr. Dru Bagwell - 1995 Robert H. Shafer lifetime achievement award winner - Association of Fraternity Advisors.

While education is always good, eradicating hazing from fraternities and sororities will take more than education.

I invite you to consider if you were really committed to eliminating hazing you would:

• Increase the legal penalty of hazing in your state.
• Get official hazing legislation passed in your state, if your state or another doesn't have any.
• Donate your own money to a cause committed to eliminating hazing.
• Have a policy that if you participate in hazing you are expelled from school.

We need to stop talking and start doing. Hazing remains because we aren't fully committed to it's total elimination. We use the excuse of "tradition." I find it slightly ironic that the word "tradition" means like in the last few years. Tradition? Really? Like when you were founded tradition? Or more like what you "know" tradition?

Guilty until proven innocent. Maybe we should change how we go about investigation. If a chapter is alleged to be hazing, it should be suspended until it can prove its innocence. If it can't prove it's innocence, it's removed from campus and the charter is taken by the headquarters. This will scare many - but what do you have to worry about if you aren't hazing?

From my experience, regarding hazing - when there's smoke there's fire.

Quit contributing excuses and start working to really eliminate hazing. If you aren't working against it, you're part of the problem.

It's time to take a stand.