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Instead of Being Hazed, Mentor a Kid

By Deidra Fields
Black College Wire

It's 2007, and I still don't understand why people go Ike Turner when it comes to discipline within organizations. Why do some organizations feel the need to haze?

Deidra Fields

It seems as though virtually every organization has an initiation process involving harassment. The women tend to play mind games that affect the initiates' mental health, while the men engage in physical intimidation.

When is enough actually enough?

When will members of organizations quit harassing potential members?

I'm not bashing organizations.

I'm focusing on idiots who do ridiculous things just to feel accepted. Ask yourself, do you really want to be a part of an organization that hazes?

How about this as an alternative: Start your own organization.

Tutor some kid. According to Jay Greene, head of the education reform department at the University of Arkansas, the national graduation rate has slipped to about 70 percent, down from 76 percent in 1979.

Try mentoring.

Catch that young man who is close to becoming a part of the 2 million- plus prisoners held in federal or state prisons or in local jails. Mentor that young girl who just needs someone to tell her she can.

There are too many people in need in this world for you to be bullied because you want to belong to what you call a "brotherhood" or "sisterhood."

It is silly to be meeting someone in the wee hours of the morning to play tricks. It is obvious that these people don't have lives.

To all of the members of organizations that haze:

Who said your organization was worth the trouble you put people through to be initiated? You take people through all these unnecessary obstacles to get to the end of the tunnel, and you forgot why you went through the tunnel in the first place. Half the members probably do not even know the mission statement of their organization.

I understand having procedures in place in terms of initiation. But be professional. Treat the potential members as if they are trying to get hired by a company.

I mean, "Why can't we all just get along?"

Deidra Fields, a junior business administration student at Florida A&M University, writes for the Famuan. She can be reached at [email protected]. To comment, e-mail [email protected].

Posted Jan. 23, 2007