MARQUETTE — The Greek Council of Northern Michigan University has been working to spread awareness of the negative effects hazing can have on college students.
The act of hazing consists of “humiliating and sometimes dangerous initiation rituals, especially as imposed on college students seeking membership to a fraternity or sorority.”
Christine Greer, NMU’s assistant vice president and dean of students, spoke at the first event, “These Hands Don’t Haze,” on Tuesday. She stated Northern doesn’t allow any abuses, such as hazing, to be tolerated on its campus.
Furthermore, Greer focused on the positive effect Greek Life has on their communities.
“Students who feel they belong are retained and graduate at a higher rate than students who never connect to the university,” she said.
Sororities Alpha Gamma Delta and Phi Sigma Sigma along with fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon gathered for their annual Greek Showcase Thursday afternoon. Members of all communities were encouraged to get to know each other and converse about how to better serve not only their community, but also their peers. The Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity was absent.
“I think that there’s a stigma when it comes to Greek Life that there is a lot of hazing involved,” Greek Council President Carly Schrank said at the event. “All of our sororities and fraternities have little by-laws in place that are against that … we wanted to make sure everyone’s aware that’s something we’re not OK with and showcase the positive things that we do.”
