REDID: Literature Review Blog #3

Nuwer, Hank. Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1999. Print.

This book gives real-life examples of hazing at universities. Nothing is a secret. Names, chapter of fraternities and exact explanations of what happened during these hazing expeditions are in the book. It does not just define and give examples of hazing, but suggest ways for it to end. It attacks the issue of hazing from all angles and is very informative.

Hank Nuwer wrote various books on hazing and includes everything from high school hazing to college sorority and fraternity hazing. He speaks about hazing as a side job, while his main job is teaching journalism at Franklin College.

The beginning of the book defines a lot of its key terms in the glossary, so I picked two that I thought were the most useful for my paper:
Chapter: a group at a particular institution affiliated with a national or international fraternity or sorority
Hell week: traditionally the most demanding period of pledgeship, during which pledges are subjected to a final round of indignities and ordeals before gaining admission to the group.
(Nuwer xxv)

"Hazing is an extrordinary activity, that, when it occurs often enough, becomes perversely ordinary as those who engage in it grow desenitized to its inhumanity," (Nuwer 31). I liked this quote because it shows how something so disgusting and harsh can become a norm to those that are influenced by this.

“Other than taking part in acts of violence, the only way many young people can acknowledge their longing for ritual is by becoming sexually active, noted Tom F. Driver, an expert on ritual. People who ignore or dismiss rituals fail to grasp the fact that they are very important for many individuals, he said,” (Nuwer 53). This quote really stood out to me because it shows a pscyhological view point on why some people fall into the traps of hazing. They are longing for structure and to belong to a group of people who respect them. Because they do not have this, they do not have high self-worth and engage in a lot of sexual activity.

 

"The problems of fraternal death escalated in the 1980s as fraternity houses hosted more and more parties in which huge amounts of liquor were available, and off-campus bars began offering discounts," (Nuwer 62). I picked this quote because from my research, I have found that so many acts of hazing were committed when sorority or fraternity members were under the influence. I also think this happens because a person would feel more guilt committing these acts soberly.

 

This book helps me explore my topic of hazing a lot more than most of my other sources. It gives real-life examples and does not just speak generally, like a lot of other sources I have found. This book is most likely going to be my main source of inspiration when writing this paper.