Category: Hazing News

Charges are listed here

Badjocks producer Bob Reno has dismantled dozens of hazing pix.

From the article:

Girls also hire strippers to dance at their birthday parties or other events — one sorority hires a stripper ”in a tie-dyed thong and a flabby stomach” every year as part of its annual initiation rites.

and

The most exclusive Delta Sig party, where girls are concerned, is ”World War III.” It’s a rushing event, held every January at one of the fraternity’s off-campus houses or apartments, to which the choice women of Duke come, attired as skimpily as possible, on instructions to ”haze” the fraternity’s freshman pledges.

Naomi and Anna were both invited to this year’s World War III, which they were thrilled about, they say, despite a few reservations about what allegedly goes on. The goal, for the men of Delta Sig, is to get their would-be pledges as wasted as possible, by having the thirty or so women in attendance douse them in massive amounts of alcohol, and then encourage them, in various suggestive and often sexual ways, to pledge.

”We were like, yes, we’re going to do this — because [the guys] choose,” says Anna. ”They’re very selective.” Those who receive these choice requests look at it as an ”honor.” To be invited, they explain, means ”you’re the hottest of the hot.”

World War III is a ”progressive” party, held in a series of rooms, each of them occupied by different groups of girls, and each with its own theme. One of the themes was Dazed and Confused — a reference to the Richard Linklater movie set in a high school in the 1970s, in which the seniors relentlessly haze the freshmen while getting totally wasted themselves. The girls wore short-shorts, tight, low-cut T-shirts and whistles.

The girls awaited the freshmen, who, dressed only in their boxers, were led into their room by some Delta Sig brothers. The girls had props: whipped cream, chocolate syrup, baby bottles, pacifiers. The ”hazing” commenced: girls straddling the boys dominatrixlike, shouting obscenities, calling the boys ”babies,” making them suck on bottles filled with alcohol. Girls poured shots of chocolate syrup on one another and smeared their chests with whipped cream. Then they made the boys lick it off. ”It was like a huge dry orgy,” says Anna.

On the one hand, this was a powerful experience for the girls — they got to dominate the boys for a change. On the other hand, it was all done at the direction of the boys, for whom the party was designed.

”The girls are doing it as a friendship gesture for these guys, but when you think of it, it’s really kind of demeaning,” says senior Matt Sullivan, a brother in the Eta Prime fraternity.

World War III is hardly the only party like this at Duke. Another fraternity hosts an annual ”Playboy” party, where the boys get the same girls who attend WWIII to dress up in Playboy-bunny outfits and walk around carrying trays laden with cigarettes and shots. There has also been a ”Dress to get Lei’d” party, a ”Presidents and Interns” party, a ”Give It to Me, Daddy, I Want It” party, a ”Secs and Execs” party, a ”Snowjob” party (”Work Hard, Play Hard, But Bring your Lingerie?”). Even Duke’s Africa organization has had a party: ”Pimpin’ All Over the World.”

Sullivan’s fraternity, Eta Prime, hosted a notorious ”baby-oil wrestling” party during Rush Week in 2005, in which the brothers filled a kiddie pool with baby oil and invited girls to wrestle one another. ”It was copied from the scene in Old School,” Sullivan says. Loud enough for neighbors to complain, it was broken up by cops after about an hour. ”The police report made it look like a big misogynistic thing,” Sullivan says. ”But the girls volunteered to do it.”

”The idea is that you come to these parties — they put women in a subservient role, to say the least — dressed as some fantasy, right?” says Lisker, who points out that this is not just a phenomenon at Duke but a fairly common experience at campuses across the country. ”I want to say to them, ‘Why are you going?’ ” The problem is, women don’t always recognize it as demeaning or subservient. Anna, for example, sees it as powerful. ”It’s kind of like domination through sex,” she says.

But Lisker maintains it’s exactly the opposite. ”They’ve gotten this message from the media and other places that part of being a modern woman is sort of playing with your sexuality. But you get in this situation where they think at this party that they’re exercising control. They think that they’re showing these boys how it’s done by pouring grain alcohol down their throats, by dressing in a sexy way. What they don’t necessarily get,” she adds, ”is that you put on that Playboy-bunny outfit and you’re stepping into a history of objectification.”

Link is here:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10464110/sex__scandal_at_duke

Author Robert Lipsyte is publishing a new Young Adult novel (HarperCollins) called “Raiders Night,” about the aftermath of a high school football summer camp hazing
incident, according to Mr. Lipsyte

Link:
http://www.harpercollins.com/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0060599464

The Western Province
Roseville Alumni Chapter

http://www.kapsi-roseville-alumni.org/

13 June 2006

To:      SENATOR TOM TORLAKSON
State Capitol, Room 4032

ASSEMBLYMAN MARK LENO, Chair
Committee on Public Safety

From:    IVANN E. GREENE, Polemarch (President)

Re:  SENATE BILL #1454

Dear Senator Torlakson, and Assemblyrman Leno

First and foremost, the Roseville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. would like to express its support for your efforts and those of the family and friends of Matthew Carrington with regard to “Matt’s Law.”

In spite of our support for the basic intent of “Matt’s Law,” it must be stated that the proposed language as it appears falls short in a number of areas.

First, direct input from Black Greek Lettered Organizations (BGLO’s) has been nil.  In spite of this apparent oversight the Roseville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. offers our comments herein.

Second, the proposed language provides a “piecemeal” approach to a very pervasive issue.  As you may not know, psychological hazing remains a problem in our BGLO’s, AND much of the hazing that we have to deal with in Kappa Alpha Psi takes place AFTER the initiation when legitimate initiates are thereafter erroneously convinced that they must still be hazed to become members.  One reason hazing persists is that many fraternity and sorority members don’t consider new members to be true members unless they have been “properly inducted.”  And to many, “induction” includes hazing.

To get around (the) National Pan-Hellenic Council restrictions placed on the hazing of pledges — students seeking admission to

SENATOR TORLAKSON AND ASSEMBLYMAN LENO
Re:  SENATE BILL #1454
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Greek-life organizations — students are now being hazed after they have become members of the fraternity.

Therefore, it is our opinion that the current proposed language, although a giant step in the right direction, still falls short to address the overall problem of hazing.

Gentlemen, hazing is so ingrained in fraternity and sorority culture that it is not likely to go away without hard hitting legal provisions and sanctions.  White fraternities, the abuse tends to involve alcohol; in Black fraternities, it’s more physical abuse.  But there is overlapping of both types of abuse by all fraternities and both are serious problems for colleges.

Since hazing is pervasive and insidious, it is the responsibility of high schools, colleges/universities, and Alumni to promulgate that hazing is a felony in the state of California.

We must protect our students and monitoring mechanisms must be developed – mechanisms that allow the Interfraternity Council and the Pan-Hellenic Council to not only communicate, but work together to deter and eliminate any semblances of hazing.

My recent contact with my fraternity brother’s office, Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, was promising.  I had recommended that as chair of the CA Legislative Black Caucus, Assemlyman Dymally hold hearings by the Black, Latino and Asian Caucuses to shed more light on this matter.  I think it essential, and I am sure that you will both agree, that ANY further hearings include direct input from BGLO’s, and other ethnic fraternities and sororities.

To do our part to provide input, the Roseville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi suggests that the general intent of the bill have more specificity; and that the definition of hazing be re-defined in even more specific terms.  Our suggestions are as follows:

Preface to SB 1454

An act relating to hazing; specifying conduct that constitutes hazing at high schools, universities or colleges; creating new offenses of hazing at such a high school, college or university; providing a definition; providing for felony and misdemeanor offenses of hazing at such a high school, university or college; specifying the elements of each offense; providing criminal penalties; requiring the court to impose a hazing education course as a condition of sentence in certain circumstances; authorizing the court to impose a condition of drug or alcohol probation in certain circumstances; specifying circumstances that do not constitute a valid defense to a prosecution of hazing at such a high school; creating a rule of construction; amending relevant California Statute(s); revising
SENATOR TORLAKSON AND ASSEMBLYMAN LENO
Re:  SENATE BILL #1454
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a definition; providing for felony and misdemeanor offenses of hazing at postsecondary educational institutions; specifying the elements of each
offense; providing for criminal penalties; requiring the court to impose a hazing education course as a condition of sentence in certain circumstances; authorizing the court to impose a condition of drug or alcohol probation in certain circumstances; specifying circumstances that do not constitute a valid defense to a prosecution for the offense of hazing; creating a rule of construction; amending s relevant California Statute(s), to conform a cross reference; providing construction with respect to civil causes of action; providing applicability; providing an effective date.

Definition of “hazing” (Subsections should include)

(1)    As used in this section, “hazing” means any action or situation that recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student at a high school, university or college for purposes, including, but not limited to, initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization operating under the sanction of a high school, university or college.  “Hazing” includes, but is not limited to, pressuring or coercing the student into violating state or federal law, any brutality of a physical nature, such as whipping, beating, branding, paddling, caning, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug, or other substance, or other forced physical activity that could adversely affect the physical health or safety of the student, and also includes any activity that would subject the student to extreme mental stress, such as sleep deprivation, forced exclusion from social contact, forced conduct
that could result in extreme embarrassment, or other forced activity that could adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the student.  Hazing does not include customary athletic events or other similar contests or competitions or any activity or conduct that furthers a legal and legitimate objective.
(2)    A person commits hazing, a felony, punishable as provided in the
relevant California Statute(s), when he or she intentionally or recklessly commits any act of hazing as defined in subsection (1) upon another person who is a member of or an applicant to any type of student organization and the hazing results in or creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death of such other person.
(3)    As a condition of any sentence imposed pursuant to subsection (2) or
subsection (3), the court shall order the defendant to attend and complete a 4-hour hazing education course and may also impose a condition of drug or alcohol probation.
(4) It is not a defense to a charge of hazing that:
(a) Consent of the victim had been obtained;
(b) The conduct or activity that resulted in the death or injury of a
person was not part of an official organizational event or was
not otherwise sanctioned or approved by the organization; or
SENATOR TORLAKSON AND ASSEMBLYMAN LENO
Re:  SENATE BILL #1454
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(c) The conduct or activity that resulted in death or injury of the
person was not done as a condition of membership to an
organization.
(6) This section shall not be construed to preclude prosecution for a more
general offense resulting from the same criminal transaction or
episode.

Finally, I have apprised Attorney Dwayne M. Murray, the Senior Grand Vice Polemarch (president) of Kappa Alpha Psi with regard to the CA legislature’s actions regarding SB 1454.  With ample notice, he is willing appear before the Committee to testify should the need arise.  He resides in Baton Rouge, LA.

I have also notified Curtis Silvers, Jr., the Western Province Polemarch (Regional President), and Rhen C. Bass, the Western Province Chapter Advisors’ Chair.  They also are willing to appear and will require proper notification as well.

I urge you to consider the information provided herein.  I also implore you to hear from those who will offer information and a totally different perspective on this issue.

I remain sincerely,

//Signed 14 June 2006 //

________________________
Ivann E. Greene
Polemarch

Distribution:

Senator Tom Torlakson
SB 1454 Sponsor
State Capitol, Room 4032
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax (916) 445-2527

Assemblyman Mark Leno
Chairman, Committee on Public Safety
State Capitol, Room 4032
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax (916) 319-3745
(916) 319-2113

Contact Information

Dwayne M. Murray, Esq.
Senior Grand Vice Polemarch
225.925.1110 office
225.751.9124 home
dmm@murraylaw.net

Curtis R. Silvers, Jr.
Western Province Polemarch
626.794.8399 home
csilversjr@aol.com

Rhen C. Bass, Sr., CPA
Chairman, Western Province Chapter Advisors
818.676.3956 office
805.375.7708 home
rbass@thezenith.com
RhenBass@adelphia.net

Ivann E. Greene, Polemarch
Roseville Alumni Chapter
916.797.1515 home
916.797.1565 facsimile
ivann@surewest.net