Alternatives to Hazing

Some students who haze think that hazing results in positive outcomes for the group (e.g., increased closeness), the individuals who are hazed (e.g., personal growth from overcoming challenges), and the people who do the hazing (e.g., pride in continuing traditions). But these positive outcomes can be achieved through non-hazing activities that avoid the negative effects that often result from hazing.

Some members of groups that haze say that one of the biggest barriers to changing their practices is that they don’t know what else to do that would accomplish their goals. On one hand, if the desired goals include making others endure the pain and degradation you went through, then there are no real alternatives. On the other hand, if the goals are to increase group unity, promote individual growth, instill positive values, and foster an identity with the group, then there are options. Employing alternatives to hazing doesn’t mean holding hands in a circle singing Kumbaya. A program of activities aimed at replacing hazing will likely need to incorporate some level of challenge or intensity. It may also need to incorporate non-hazing mechanisms of self-governance for holding new members accountable to the expectations of the group.

What Else Could Be Done?

Below is a list of ideas that can be used as substitutes for hazing or to strengthen a non-hazing program. A few points about the list to keep in mind:

Some activities may seem more relevant to some groups than others. For example, some are more relevant to fraternities and sororities than other organizations.
Activities cannot include consumption of alcohol by new members.
Traditions can be created as well as inherited. While the first year of an activity doesn’t constitute a tradition, future members will see it that way.
Some group activities can be non-hazing or hazing, depending on how they are done. For example, having new members do skits can be a non-hazing activity. But not if members verbally degrade the performers or throw food at them. Similarly, scavenger hunts are not inherently forms of hazing (as any day camp counselor can tell you). But when the list includes things that must be stolen or would likely be humiliating or embarrassing to obtain, then it becomes hazing.
Having current members participate along with new members in certain activities, such as cleaning the group's property, can shift the activity from being hazing (i.e., servitude) to non-hazing.

100+ Ways to Create Good Members Without Hazing

Participate in a ropes course, such as at LOOP NOLA
Teambuilding Activities (can be facilitated by your new member educator or a campus professional - there are literally hundreds of these activities that you could use)
Volunteer at a local festival together
Participate in and/or plan a Community Service Project
Plan a New Member Surprise Party hosted by members
Have a Resume Writing Workshop presented by Career Services
Attend Educational Speaker of new members choice and discuss as a chapter
Leadership Book-of-the-Month/Semester Club facilitated by new members
Invite Faculty Advisor to meet with new members
Have a Discussion about the Relevance of the Creed today
Study Skills Workshop presented by the Learning Resource Center
Successful Alumni Speaker to talk about how their organization gave skills to succeed
Arts and Crafts for a Cause
Participate in a Recruitment Workshop
Invite Governance Council Officers to Speak about Community Governance
Invite Student Involvement & Leadership staff to speak about lifetime membership
Dinner and a Movie
Shadow an Officer and assist in planning of a program/event
Create a vision and goals for the organization
Plan a fundraiser to pay for initiation fees
lnclude new members in chapter meetings
Include new members in chapter activities
Discuss fraternal values and how they apply (or don't apply)
Plan and present a speaker on a health/wellness topic
Encourage active membership in at least one organization outside the group
Evaluate the process during and after new member education
Develop a Famlly Weekend activity
Have consultant or national visitor talk about national programs
Discuss what "national" does for "us" with dues money
Attend Governance Council meeting
Participate in all-fraternity/sorority events
Review parliamentary procedure and its purpose
Ask leadership experts to discuss issues such as motivation and group dynamics
Have new members take the Meyers-Briggs Personality Type inventory through Counseling Services
Ask a professor to discuss ethical decision making
Ask a professor to facilitate a conversation on diversity in organizations
Ask a health educator to have a presentation on eating disorders or depression
Ask a professor to discuss the prevention of violence against women
Ask a faculty/staff member to explain volunteer services or Alternative Breaks
Ask the Student Involvement & Leadership staff to describe what the college offers student organizations
Plan a philanthropy project for a local charity
Have a contest for who can recruit the most new members to join and reward the winner with a fully-paid membership badge or initiation fee
Members and new members make "secret sisters/brothers" gifts for each other
Discuss risk management and liability
Brainstorm ways to recruit new members to present to chapter
Have an all-campus or all-fraternity/sorority "Meet Our New Members" event
Have the new members play on the organization intramural team
Plant a new member class tree
Sponsor a big/little academic challenge with free textbooks to the winner
Have a candlelight/pass the gavel ceremony about what organization means to me
Have a senior Student Affairs administrator talk about history of fraternal organizations on campus
Brainstorm ways to improve scholarship (other than study hours)
Attend theatrical production or athletic event of the new members choosing
Ask the library to give a lecture on effective research methods
Attend a program or event another organization is sponsoring
Have a discussion about membership standards and expectations
Have a chapter goal-setting retreat at an off-campus location
Ask new members to accompany members to regional leadership conference
Attend a local, regional or national leadership conference
Deconstruct past hazing activity to determine intent and brainstorm alternatives
Write a "letter to the founders" to thank them for the opportunity
Attend an Executive Board meeting
Have new members help Executive Board develop an icebreaker for each meeting
Develop a leadership "wish list" or time line of chapter and campus activities
Invite Career Services to explain their services
Invite Student Involvement & Leadership staff to present on leadership topics or intercultural education
Develop a faculty advisor appreciation gesture
Chapter and new members collaborate on a community improvement project
Develop an event with a non-Greek organization and ask the Student Government Association for additional allocations or apply for a other campus funding
Have new members develop a list of ways to end motivation issues
Ask the Mayor to discuss city issues and how the group can help
Ask the Elections Commissioner to discuss politics in the city/county/nation
Encourage members to register to vote and give an incentive to those who do
Encourage members below a 3.0 to attend a study skills program
Develop a program that allows you to begin calling them "new members..." rather than "pledges"
Discuss the founding of the group and how the organization has evolved over time while maintaining the vision. lf it hasn't, how can the group return to its roots?
Attend leadership workshops or retreats hosted by the Office of Student Involvement & Leadership
Review the history of hazing, the evolution of Greek new member education and the direction recruitment is headed
Discuss the "old way" of becoming a member versus the "new way"
Develop or co-sponsor a program or event with another sorority if you're a women's groups or a fraternity, if a men's group
Have a professional discuss "Generation Z" and how groups can better recruit based on this research
Offer a discount or reimbursement of part of the initiation fee if a new member completes Alternative Winter or Spring Break
Give highest new member GPA recipient a plaque or $25 gift certificate to nice restaurant
New member who develops best recruitment plan (or scholarship plan) gets a reward
Ask alumni to speak about lessons learned and opportunities to attend
Do a chapter fundraiser to send a new members to a leadership conference
Have a discussion about why new members wear pins and not members
Attend Greek 101 hosted by Student Involvement & Leadership
Check a book out of the Student Involvement & Leadership Resource Library to read and have a chapter discussion about
Give new members the gift of time to do and be what they want (don't monopolize their time)
Have a weekly forum for the new members to discuss their feelings
lnvite another group to develop a program to benefit the entire Greek Community
lnvite Recreation and Intramural Sports to discuss dietary fads - pros and cons
Ask each member to list the offices/chairs they would be interested in and ask him or her to list five things they would do differently about each; have a constructive conversation
Develop one memento of the new member class to present to the campus
Eliminate the use of "paddles", no matter their use
Ask a community member to do a workshop on etiquette
Have lunch together once a week on campus with the entire organization
Invite faculty advisor to new member meetings
Visit the national headquarters
Question each activity and evaluate the program each semester with the help of your chapter advisor and Student Involvement & Leadership staff

Developed by Allison Swick-Duttine, Director of Fraternity/Sorority Life & Leadership Development at the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh. Adapted for the University of New Orleans by the Office of Student Involvement & Leadership.