 Hazing or Bullying?
Many experts distinguish between hazing and bullying activities. Bullying, they say, is an attempt at isolating and excluding others from a group. Hazing, on the other hand, is an initiation to become included as part of a group. They claim that hazing is ‘just fun’ and that it helps build a shared experience for the team. The fact that those who are hazed this year will be on the giving end of the hazing next year is often cited as a reason that hazing is not as bad as or as harmful as bullying. The claim that hazing is no more than an initiation rite fails to take into account several factors:
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Hazing often includes illegal or potentially illegal activities Hazing is usually designed to humiliate or hurt the persons being hazed When students who underwent hazing become those doing the giving, the hazing almost invariably becomes more dangerous and humiliating Those who can’t ‘take it’ are either excluded from the group or isolated within it.
The Toll of Hazing In 1999, a group of students from Alfred University in Alfred, NY were spotted walking down a street in town, inebriated and half-dressed. A quick investigation revealed that the freshman boys were being ‘initiated’ as part of the football team. Appalled, the university president undertook a study to find out how prevalent and how dangerous the ritual of sports hazing is in American high schools. The results were startling.
91% of the respondents stated that they were members of at least one group 48% of those who belonged to a group had been subjected to hazing 43% reported that they were subjected to humiliating activities 30% reported that they were subjected to potentially illegal activities Both female and male students were subjected to hazing, but the activities were more dangerous for males The lower a student’s grade point average, the higher the likelihood that he or she would be hazed 71% of those hazed reported negative consequences including getting into fights, being injured, being embarrassed, scared or guilty, having nightmares and being angry 25% of students who were hazed reported being hazed for the first time when they were less than 13 years old 36% said that they wouldn’t tell an adult because ‘adults won’t do anything’ or ‘won’t handle it right’. Only 14% of all students said that they were hazed, but 48% admitted to being subjected to activities that are defined as hazing 24% said that the hazing/initiation was in order to be a member of a sports team
While many experts disagree that hazing is the same as bullying, it often meets the criteria stated for bullying:
Activities that are intended to hurt, humiliate or degrade Carried out over a period of time In which there is an imbalance of power between the perpetrator and the receiver
The main difference between hazing and bullying, of course, is that in hazing it is assumed that the recipients of the hostile behavior consent to being subjected to it as a condition of belonging to a group, clique or team. The results, however, are not significantly different. In the Alfred University study, 71% of the students who reported being hazed reported one or more negative consequences, which included committing illegal acts, fighting with parents, depression, uncontrollable crying and being injured.
In addition, those who break down or refuse to participate in hazing activities become targets for further ridicule among the group.
The Difference Between Initiation and Hazing The Hazing Study published by Alfred University also pointed out the difference between positive team-building initiation and hazing. Team building initiation might include special dinners, being expected to be part of school activities, learning specific rules and codes of conduct and formal dinners and dances to acknowledge membership in the group.
Building positive team experiences is apparently harder than it sounds. As part of an anti-hazing initiative, college coaches agreed to carry out two positive team-building experiences per season for their teams. They reported being frustrated in their attempts to find team building experiences that were positive and that did not interfere with other activities that were expected of the team.
Sports Bullies Hazing, however, is only one way in which bullying is involved in school athletics and sports, and can, in fact, contribute to a feeling of elite entitlement among those who survived it to become part of the group. This entitlement may be further bolstered by teachers, students and the community who laud those on the sports team and hold them up as role models for all students. Members of sports teams may get special treatment, be exempt from exams, and get the benefit of the doubt from teachers and administration.
This sense of entitlement can give rise to an ‘elite class’ among students who take it upon themselves to enforce rules of conformity upon the rest of the student body. In some cases, this entitlement has had deadly consequences. In Columbine, for instance, many of those who were targeted by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were members of the sports elite of the school. When adults turn a blind eye to bullying perpetrated by members of sports teams, or dismiss hazing as harmless, they may be setting the stage for tragedy.
Turning Sports Bullying Positive In 1903, Dr. Luther Gulick was appointed the athletic director of the New York Public Schools. He had a vision of school athletics teaching children across the nation how to work as part of a team, and how to take pride in accomplishment. In his eyes, school athletics could be the base of building character and teaching young men – and young women, these days – good sportsmanship, good values and important lessons about how to live a good life.
His vision succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. 100 years later, school athletics is a major part of most schools. Organized team sports are seen as a rite of growing up. Programs devoted to athletics are touted as after school intervention programs to teach self-esteem, positive interactions and the ability to work with a team for a positive outcome. Whether through scholastic sports or after school activities, sports teams in basketball, football, baseball and other sports are often a large part of children’s lives.
Because sports can be such a large part of a child’s life – and sports teams and players are often role models for other students in the school – turning sports teams into anti-bullying advocates can have a major effect on the atmosphere in a school or community.
This has been recognized by the Family Violence Prevention Fund, who have created the Coaches’ Corner online for adults who work with children in a coaching capacity. Their booklet The Coaching Boys Into Men Playbook describes specific strategies and interventions that coaches can use with their athletic teams to teach positive social interaction and eliminate bullying. The Playbook focuses specifically upon preventing violence against women, but the tactics are applicable to all kinds of harassment and bullying.
As the coach of your team, you hold a position of authority and respect in your players’ eyes. You can use this position to instill positive values that extend beyond the playing field. Start each season with a declaration that bullying, hazing and acts of humiliation and violence will not be tolerated. Engage the team in identifying unacceptable behaviors and suggesting consequences for them. Take part in training to help you identify and intervene when you see bullying taking place. Reward your team for teamwork and good sportsmanship as highly as you do for winning. When you see a member of your team do something positive to stop bullying, acknowledge it and praise him for it. Encourage your team to take part AS A TEAM in positive community service. Allow your team the privilege of feeling special, but immediately intervene to put down any ‘we’re better than them’ attitudes. Try to keep the ‘team spirit’ going in the off season with special activities.
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Bully Solutions
