Greek life on college campuses has a reputation for hazing students looking to join their sisterhood or brotherhood. However, they want to change the narrative and show that the future of Greek life will be different.
UMKC’s Panhellenic Council recently hosted tabling events and fundraisers from Sept. 23-27 for Anti-Hazing week to help raise awareness against hazing throughout Greek life and other organizations on college campuses.
Hazing is defined as any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades or risks emotional or physical harm, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.
“Hazing is important to stop because it’s well known in Greek spaces, unfortunately, and has disastrous consequences,” said Annabel Colon, a sophomore member of Sigma Lambda Gamma. “It doesn’t foster sisterhood or brotherhood, which is what we’re trying to create.”
Members of Greek life want students to know that although hazing used to be common, they want to change the narrative.
“Greek organizations have had previous experiences with hazing. We are trying to encourage other sororities and other organizations to take a pledge in not hazing students at our campus,” said junior vice president of recruitment for Sigma Lambda Gamma Janibel Alvarenga.
Some universities have suspended Greek organizations for hazing members. There have been cases of abuse or even death of students because of acts of hazing.
In 2021, the University of Missouri was featured on one of a six-episode series called “Houses of Horror: Secrets of College Greek Life” for the near death of Danny Santulli ,a Phi Gamma Delta pledge.
Santulli was reportedly pressured by his pledge brothers to drink an entire bottle of vodka and went into cardiac arrest with five times the legal limit of alcohol in his system. He now suffers from severe brain damage and is unable to communicate.
“I would hope to give comfort to students that most of the sororities and fraternities and organizations have pledged that they aren’t going to haze,”Alvarenga said. “To give them the strength that people are speaking out about it, there are stories and witnesses of everything that has happened.”
