Stop Ignoring It: Why Hazing Is Still The Most Dangerous "Tradition" In America.

     If were being honest, bullying and hazing aren't just a tradition, Its a crisis that's silently destroying young lives, tearing apart teams, building fear, and normalizing cruelty.

                                                                                     

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          "If i see you ever do something so stupid like that again, stitches wont fix what i do to you." No i did not hear this in a prison, i heard this in the LOCKER room at my high school football stadium. In my head i stated "What an asshole" I didn't want to get caught up in any of the drama, that's why i stated it in my head. Some people think hazing and bullying is just a bunch of teasing and harmful pranks, but that is not the case. Hazing and bullying is a severe issue that we as a society need to have a better watch on our kids and keep these horrific things from happening.

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    You might not believe this, but hazing and bullying cause way more damage than you would expect. Hank Nuwer stated that "Hazing violence occurs regularly, resulting in serious injuries and at least one death in U.S. in college groups and secondary school once per year since 1961." (Nuwer). Ultimately, the claim that Dr. Hank Nuwen is making is that hazing and bullying result in severe injuries and death, and that hazing and bullying should be more strictly punished in US schools and colleges because they have caused yearly deaths since 1961.

    In a recent study, Katherine Alexander made the claim that studies have proven to show how as few of 6% to at most of 71% of athletes have reported as being a victim, aggressor, or bystander of bullying and hazing. The claim states that at MOST, more than 21% of HALF of athletes have been in an experience with hazing or bullying, ultimately proving that we must have an end to this and more secure control and strict watch over what happens in the classroom, locker room, or field.

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    By contrast, Mandie Shean states that kids tend to bully or harass other kids because "Bullying behavior is often motivated by a desire to meet basic needs for recognition, attention and approval. It is a misguided attempt to increase your popularity by making other people look small." (Shean 3). Shean is claiming that kids bully to impress more popular children, or to fit in, or because of bad role models as parents growing up.

    In another article online, Lucy Lawrence stated that "Another recent study shows that the results of anti-bullying programs show little progress. “…investigations into harassment, intimidation or bullying happened in New Jersey schools in the 2012-2013 school year…that number decreased by nearly 5,000 from the prior year- a decrease of 19%…” (Oglesby, paragraph 9). Even though the number of bullying investigations has gone down by 5,000, or 19%, is 19% really a significant difference, considering the time and money put into these anti-bullying programs? For these reasons, anti-bullying programs may help kids report more bullying, but it doesn’t really help with how administrators and teachers respond to said bullying. And, the actual results show that they don’t help as much as was intended." (Lawrence 7).

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While some believe that Hazing and bullying are harmless, funny, pranks/teasing. Which they also believe it is though often normalized as rites of passage or social bonding. But what they don't realize that hazing and bullying are harmful practices that perpetuate fear and trauma; by promoting education, enforcing stricter policies, and fostering inclusive environments that emphasize empathy and respect, i strongly believe that we can effectively prevent and ultimately eliminate these behaviors that constantly cause fear, trauma, and emotion.