The End of Hazing Tragedies Starts With Us

Our Black Greek-Lettered Organizations (BGLOs) are dynamic networks founded by visionary members committed to collaboration and building a better future. They created governing documents emphasizing service, camaraderie, self-awareness, and community love.

The "Divine Nine" annually brings together tens of thousands from around the world to energize cities and inject millions into local economies. They support colleges and universities financially, fund student scholarships, and carry out community service projects, fostering synergy that ideally benefits their undergraduate chapters for the upcoming academic year.

As cultural catalysts, they shape the collegiate experience for countless members and non-members through probate shows, strolling, stepping, and campus service. Though they emerged at different times and uniquely interpret leadership, camaraderie, and unity, they have improved the lives of millions worldwide.

Yet, they also carry a generational legacy that tarnishes their founding principles: a legacy of physical and psychological violence.

As a community of historically black institutions, we must confront a grave reality: each year, we face hazing allegations. In the most devastating instances, lives are lost during membership intake processes. Actions of a few maladjusted individuals threaten the viability of these organizations and our schools by emphasizing pain and endurance over brotherhood or sisterhood.

Hazing expert and three-time HBCU president (Philander Smith College, Dillard University, & Talladega College), Dr. Walter Kimbrough, called these individuals “extended adolescents.” He said that they pose a particularly alarming risk to college campus safety. As such, the Wiley University Board of Trustees has approved a policy prohibiting any off-campus fraternal or sorority meetings before, during, or after the intake process from occurring. All meetings regarding the intake process must occur on campus.

Further, only financially active members (nationally and locally) verified by the governing body of the fraternity or sorority will be allowed on campus during the informational and intake process. Any deviation from this policy will result in, at a minimum, a suspension and up to a revocation of the campus fraternity/sorority charter.

The data gleaned from hazing cases resulting in injury and death often shows that the people who are committing hazing are “members who were hazed, are underemployed, and non-active members who, in some cases, did not complete their undergraduate requirements to graduate”. We cannot, and must not, allow any more pain due to reckless, savage, and senseless acts from individuals who bear no fraternal or administrative accountability within the intake process.

We stand at a critical crossroads demanding our collective commitment to uphold the sanctity, dignity, and legacy of our organizations, our institutions, and, most importantly, the lives entrusted to us. We must protect the legacy of the Founders, align with the original missions, and maintain the values and steadfast purpose of service, uplift, and achievement of the first and true brotherhood and sisterhood.

Sorors, frats, and affiliated members who truly love and serve our communities genuinely protect and respect brothers and sisters. They do not substitute toxicity for loyalty, or violence for connection. Forcing someone to endure a distorted version of life's challenges through shared physical and emotional turmoil breeds trauma, erodes trust, and tarnishes our historic organizations' legacy.

Degrading someone for weeks or months and expecting the negative emotions generated to vanish after a probate show is absurd. Scars and wounds formed during such periods have lasting impacts. There is a pervasive theme across campuses nationwide within the BGLOs that homecoming, while revered for the good ol’ times of seeing folks with whom you’ve bonded, also represents a time of chapter strife due to members “taking it too far.”

We can openly discuss hazing, but working through its lasting effects is incalculable, and it is why a lifetime of resentment and anger lingers for many members of the BGLOs.

Families should not continue to endure the burden of grief due to preventable tragedies. Tragically, it is far easier to count the lives lost than those forever scarred by reckless conduct or failure to uphold our values. Our responsibility as administrators and custodians of our culture is to ensure that every young person entering our doors—and every future aspirant—is nurtured and inspired, never subjected to degradation or violence.

As a leader of an HBCU and member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (Delta Psi, Spring '99), I am committed to eliminating the permissive attitude towards hazing that affects campuses nationwide.

This academic year, we must reflect on our past, learn from mistakes, and empathize with those harmed by illegal actions. Every individual joining these organizations should be treated with care and recognized as fully human, allowing them to express our organizations' true values. We must hold each other accountable—leaders, members, students, and alumni—to foster a culture of respect and integrity.

This is a call to action: eradicate violence, cultivate genuine brotherhood and sisterhood, and protect the dreams entrusted to us. Together, we can create environments that inspire growth and resilience, ensuring our institutions remain sanctuaries of hope. Parents and guardians see this moment as the fruition of perseverance and dreams shaped by hardship. As they bid farewell, they aspire not only for their children’s academic success but also for emotional and spiritual growth, trusting they will navigate challenges with dignity and uphold a legacy of resilience.

Sacred organizations deserve to thrive in honor, integrity, and purpose. Let us reject the notion of “being made the right way” and free those who suffer from the “Peter Pan Syndrome,” who willfully prolong their adolescence at the expense of their humanity, and the will of those who sincerely want to grow as men and women in service.

Let us recommit ourselves to ensuring that no family suffers the pain of loss. We must protect our members from loathing a process void of the ethos we claim to hold dear.

We must ensure that the journey of sending our children to college, filled with dreams and aspirations, never ends with the heartbreak of burying those dreams along with our loved ones.