Kayla Sims
Staff Writer
Jackson State University kicked off National Hazing Week with several events catering to students and members of the different National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations.
This year, students had a chance to interact with members of greek organizations in order to learn about the different types of hazing.
The week started with speaker Dr. Jame’l Hodges on Hazing 101 giving an overview on what hazing was and how it affected people in the past and the effects of hazing today.
Hodges spoke to students about the mental. physical, and emotional effects of hazing and the reasons why hazing exist. He also shared his personal college experiences and how he managed to bring a change within the culture.
Mary Sampson, a junior bio/pre-med student from Jackson, Miss., began with the first question.
Sampson asked why does hazing still exist in 2019, a question many students wanted to know, but were too afraid to ask.
“I believe hazing still exist because people think hazing brings discipline, also because people want power and they feel like because it happened to them that the others behind them should go through the same process,” answered Hodges.
Hodge added on to his lecture by speaking about Jackson State and the students he spoke to merely 10 years ago.
“I have bonds with Jackson State students who sat in these same seats 10 years ago, these people are now doctors, lawyers, teachers and police officers, none of them got to where they are by hazing people.”
The form ended with Hodges giving general information about what is considered hazing and what to do if you feel like you are being hazed. His last statement left an impact with the Greek and non-Greek students who attend the forum.
“If you don’t remember anything, I have told you today, remember A is for attitude, B is for behavior and C is commitment,” ended Hodges.
The next event hosted on Tuesday was a NPHC round table talk which gave students the opportunity to be more open and personal about not only the topic of hazing, but also music, fashion, politics, and religion.
The auditorium was set up in several mini groups of 11 with one member from an NPHC organization who sat as a moderator for the discussions.
Each group was given a different topic and a time limit to speak about the topic, at the end all of the groups came together collectively to share different viewpoints about the subjects.
Maliciah Lynch a junior psychology major from Magee, Miss., talked about the benefits of the forum.
“Forums like this are what we need and conversations we need to have. I liked it because usually conversation like this feels forced, but I was surrounded by my peers and we talked like we’ve known each other for years,” said Lynch.
The forum ended with a group discussion on how hazing affects people mentally and emotionally.
On Wednesday, members of the different NPHC organizations came together for community service at Poindexter Park and later hosting a kickball game giving students a chance to enjoy themselves.
Thursday was proven to be one of the most powerful forums for students, staff and guests. JSU’s National Pan-Hellenic Council previewed a short documentary for students to watch.
After the documentary, there was a panel discussion with representatives from seven out of the nine Greek organizations.
The panel was given a series of questions to answer about not only documentary but also about hazing and how it affects lives.
Harold Gregory, a junior education major from Tallahassee, Florida talked about his thoughts on hazing.
“Anything could be considered hazing, even asking a question. I feel like people who haze other people have a need to feel complete, like they want to bully other people because they were bullied,” said Gregory
According to The University of Dayton, hazing affects 55% of college students each year and Nine out of ten students who have experienced hazing behavior in college do not consider themselves to have been hazed.
The week concluded with the anticipated “These Hands Don’t Haze” hotspot, where students enjoyed music. laughter, and fun with one another.
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