By Parker Thomas, Staff Writer
The Inter-Fraternity Council and Panhellenic Council held Field Day on Degenstein Lawn on Sept. 23 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. as part of their Hazing Prevention Week.
With most of the initial events of the week focused on educating students about hazing and how to prevent it, the organizers decided to host a different type of event focused on the positivity of Greek life and connecting to one another, Field Day.
“Field day is meant to be more of brotherhood, sisterhood type of bonding event so that we can be outdoors and showing the campus community that instead of hazing people this is what we are doing,” stated assistant director of Greek life Bryan Rivas.
The event included a free barbeque with hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie burgers, free beverages, music and several outdoor recreation activities. Students, both Greek and non-Greek, were encouraged to come and go throughout the day. Inter-fraternity president, senior Michael Sharer, who was manning the grill at the event, stated his overall goal of the Field Day event.
“All of our organizations on campus do not haze, following university policy, but we also want to take that next step and show that we promote and foster that type of environment for people to succeed and really build relationships without needing that,” Sharer said.
“So, we wanted to end on a high note by just having a nice barbeque for everyone on campus just to let them realize that we are here on this campus, we try to strive to do great things and that we can be better and work to be better than what the national stereotypes are.”
Organized by Panhellenic Council president, senior Kayla Schneider, as well as Sharer and Rivas, Hazing Prevention Week sought to bring awareness to fraternities, sororities, and the public about the abusive nature of hazing that continues to inflict the nation, while reassuring students not part of Greek life that hazing does not occur at Susquehanna.
Through chapters’ cooperation with Hazing Prevention Week, the societies and councils delivered a positive message about the beneficial civil service that Greek chapters provide to campus and the community.
Hazing’s roots extend back to the foundations of fraternities and sororities. As part of a pledging process, chapters would subject pledging students to cruel, violent, abusive and humiliating acts. Initially done in the open, pledging was forced to go underground at the founding of inter-fraternity council and the Panhellenic council, which created new member education programs instead, and the outlawing of many pledging events, but continued nonetheless.
Over the course of the last fifteen plus years, however, many Greek organizations have taken on initiatives to conform to new member education initiations that teach new members the history, goals, mission values and ceremonies of the brotherhood of sisterhood they wish to join. These programs are not harmful and are strictly enforced at Susquehanna.
Though irregular, hazing continues to occur at other campuses across the nation. This is why campuses like Susquehanna host hazing prevention weeks to emphasize the negative results of hazing to dissuade organizations from allowing this to happen and demonstrate to new students and those considering Greek life that the school and chapters do not allow hazing to occur.
Beginning on Monday, Sept. 18, Hazing Prevention week began with the signing of banner in the Degenstein Campus Center, in which members of sororities and fraternities were at a table asking other brothers and sisters and the public to sign a banner that stated “These Don’t Haze.”
Additionally, various Greek members hosted a fundraiser table that sold bracelets for a dollar, with proceeds going toward the Timothy J. Piazza memorable foundation, all week long.
On Sept. 19, a Bystander Intervention workshop, facilitated by Title IX Coordinator Barbara Johnson was held in Benjamin Apple Meeting Rooms one and two, in which Johnson encouraged students to be involved and active bystanders in cases of hazing and quizzed students on actions they would take to stop an incident of hazing.
The hazing prevention week ended on Monday, Sept. 25 with the showing of the sexual assault awareness film, “The Hunting Ground.”
