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University turns a blind eye to hazing

Look the other way.

That's a philosophy that countless administrators, Greeks and their advisers have kept in regards to hazing. Their philosophy is that if they don't see the hazing, then it doesn't happen.

That's why this is such a big story. If no hazing had ever gone on, behind the scenes or not, then this would be a huge story. Other Greek organizations would be outraged that any organization had hazed its pledges. The Intrafraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council would chastise them, much like the Beta brothers were when their controversial poster surfaced.

But instead of being outraged of such allegations, the Greek system sees fit to try to hide the story. That just doesn't make sense to me. What makes even less sense to me is that they blame the media for even investigating such a story. How dare the media expose something that the Greek system has held secret for so long?

Yes, how dare we. I'll tell you exactly why the media investigates allegations like these; they are a prime example of a delicate secret getting out to the public. No longer can the general public believe that hazing doesn't happen in fraternities and sororities. The dirty secret, that college students have known for so long, has been exposed and it is the Greek system with the egg on their collective face--not the media.

This is also a prime example of stupidity on a college campus. Regardless of whether you believe that Alpha Sigma Alpha (ASA) is guilty, you have to marvel at how poorly they have handled this whole situation. They've handled it like toddlers whose candy has been taken away. Suddenly this almighty secret is out and the only way they know how to deal with it is like a bunch of children. They threaten. They harass. They act like a bunch of people that make me embarrassed to be lumped in with them as college students.

When this story surfaced, the first thing ASA did was try to cover it up. They were hostile with reporters and tried to threaten a reporter to not print the story. Their first inclination was not to address the charges head on. They didn't want to calm the fears of administrators, alumni, faculty, staff and parents alike. No, they wanted to cover up the facts. They wanted to intimidate a reporter that was just trying to get to the bottom of the story.

If there was no story and no hazing had occurred, why wouldn't ASA want to dispel the charges? If those charges had been brought against an organization that I represented, I would be the first person to talk to the press. ASA could really make this a positive situation for their sorority. They could show how well their sorority had followed the rules of pledging and had dealt with unwanted rumors about the pledging process.

ASA's adviser, Dr. David Martin, a professor in Finance and Business Law, has denied the allegations as well. He told a Voice reporter that the hazing rumors were "myths" and that they "have no fact nor foundation in anything." Using that logic, Martin would probably think that college students don't consume alcohol and also have a high voter turnout.

As if the actions of ASA and their adviser weren't bad enough, Residence Life did their usual wonder--nothing. I suppose I can't be too surprised as the Greek Office is led by Gretchen Osterman, the bumbling director that gave reporters so many problems with the Beta controversy.

In my opinion, she is the height of incompetence at this university and at the very root of all the problems in the Greek system. Once we get rid of her, maybe the Greek system could start to be seen in a positive public light, instead of in the middle of the ever-ensuing controversy.

If the recent Beta poster offended you, you were in good company. The campus, as a whole, had a hard time stomaching the poster. The Greek system felt the same way. It imposed sanctions on Beta, one of them being that Beta take out an ad in The Voice, apologizing for the poster. Instead of the $50 coming out of Beta's pocket, it came out of Greek Life's budget, which comes from residence fees. So, in effect, you paid for Beta's apology. Congratulations.

Residence Life is just now starting an investigation into these allegations. Apparently, they had to wait for the proverbial engraved envelope before they'd even lift a finger. Or, more correctly, they had to wait for some reporter to dig up the story before they decided that it was worth their time.

With this sort of philosophy in the minds of Residence Life, why would hazing ever stop? As long as a reporter doesn't show up on Residence Life's stoop, then there's nothing to worry about.

The real problem with this whole situation is the way ASA and the university handled it. If ASA hadn't stooped to childlike tactics trying to intimidate a reporter and had instead acted professionally, this may not have been as big a story. If Residence Life had reacted and taken action when it first was reported in October, this may not have been a big story. This time, though, we just can't look the other way.