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Show COMME ARY THETIIUNDERBIRD• SOlITHERN lJfAH UNIVERSTIY · MONDAY,JANUARY 11, 1993 • PAGE 4 Foll.GET PLEDGES SHOULD REPORT HAZING ABWT /1/H!l 'M YO/JP. S tudents who are pledging Greek Organizations should be aware of hazing la~ ·s and penalties. SUU's Greeks, as well as Greeks on college and university campuses across the country, must follow strict guidelines to ensure students' rights and safety during "Hell Week" and initiation procedures. Hazing, according to Utah State Law, means any situation, for tne purpose of initiation, that recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of an individual. Students who engage in extreme hazing activities can be charged with misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the citcumstances involved i.n the incident For example, the punishment for hazing that involves the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon is a third degree felony. If there are no aggravating circumstances involved in the hazing incident, the punishment is a Class B misdemeanor. SU's Inter-Greek Council Constitution classifies offenses and their penalties into five levels. Hazing is considered a level four offense. Punishment for individuals accused of hazing ranges from a $100 fine, community service and/or two quarters of probation on their first offense, to a $225 fine and/or suspension on their third offense. Punishment for entire chapters accused of hazing ranges from a $9 per member fine, community service and/or two quarters of probation on the first offense, to a $13 per member fine, community service, one year probation and/or no pledges in the upcoming pledging period on the third offense. Pledges, as well as active sorority and fraternity members, should also know that they can report alleged hazing and not be subject to any civil or criminal liabiUty. As part of their sisterhood or brotherhood, Greek organizations tend to enshroud their initiation rites in secrecy. This does not mean that pledges should stop using common sense. If an activity is dangerous or degrading, students should report it to university officials. No one should risk their physical health or self.esteem for membership in any organization. Real friendship is built on service, not fear. According to John Angell, SU director of student activities, Greek organizations at SUU really don't have any incidents of hazing. In fact, Angell says he has never even heard rumors of hazing incidents during the time he has been here. While SU's Greeks should be commended for the outstanding job they have done in keeping hazing out of their individual organizations and off the SUU campus, they should be reminded to inform members and pledges about hazing activities, laws, and penalties. THE THUNDERBIRD SOlJllil:RN UfAH UNIVERSITY • CEDAR CITY, UfAH 5-"' Edimr J•y Hinton Editor Chais Tucka A-.dMe EolitM Jennifer M<J<kr Opudoo, Ditec:to, Juon D. Nonh Opiaioa Aaioc,at Heache:r Green Pham ~ AI.aaaoc E.dllor Bill Galvan Advatiauis ltq, T ravil N ~ PK.It-, Advioer l..arry 8alctt Eric Rootrlck A.,clM,e Ad"1IU 1',,n S. Dennea: me year Th< Tu,nJmml is publiabod adl Monday ond llwndoy ol ICldctnlc by ond for Ibo .-i..u body ol Uab UnMnily and ii not ..mllmd wilh Univ=:iq'1 dqmm,mr ol communiaoon. The - . and opinion, npttU«I in The Thw..Je,l,i,d im: ,I,.,.. ol indmduol - . and do no< necawily ~ die ...... ollhe in.stianion, focul.,, ...ir O< ll>m\t body in ..,wnL The u...i,ned edilorw dird, .i-.1a opinion n.. Tluu,dd,l,,I . . . m,.i.. 1.zarn ID edieO< ,,,.,.. be 'fpod and include and phone numbor. Only the f'IOfflC will be prin..d. !llama will DOC be wimhdd undu and «In edilinl: ~ . I.maw be oubmimd b, DOOD Fridays fa< Monday ..tidoonl; S p.m. T ueocbp for lh,-!,,r «litlona. me Soud,om °' mmy. me m.,.. me me ...,,... a n y ~ me Tho Tu,odm,i,d .i.a.Jd di- ouch pn:,blrm finr ID the tdiax. lf unreootv.d. 1N< ~ mould Ihm be clinaal ·ID ,he od,,ioa. lf llill unJUot..d. me ,rienDllt tbould be dlniaod., !ho suu l'llbliatiooo Coundl, 58&7710. G o , . , . _ ,.,.,, indMdual w'al I pi,<nnoe opin.t,: Tho Tu,"4c,t.l,,I a&.. In SUU T«hoolot, Buildinc 003. M..il.., SUU lb 9384, Cdor 0.,, lJf 84720. l'htx,e (801) 58&77S7, S86-17S8, 58&17.50, 586-5488. FAX sa&S487. P.EIIL PRD8LEH I/OW!! ACCESS Editorial excluded half of its readers 'Access' is a recurring column through which members of t~ campiu communil'J ma:y addre.ss t~msel'1e.S to topics of concern and interest. Toda1's column is written b:y Blanche Clegg, cOOTdinator of special collections. I read with interest the editorial, "Opinion Diversity Needed at Convo," in The Thunderbird , Thursday, Jan. 7, 1993. I was delighted by the ideas expressed as to the need to have a diversity of opinions at a university. But I was distressed that in 1993, in a university publication, those ideas should be expressed in a manner to exclude at least half of the people who might read them. I can forgive Thoreau for his use of the generic word "man;" after all, he was writing more than a century ago. But, l can't bring myself to forgive someone writing in the '90s, especially someone in the intellectual community, writing in a university publication, for failing to write in a way that would include women. When I read " ...before any educated person can be expected to make up his mind" and " ... what beliefs he will hold as truth," l felt the same shoclc of exclusion l felt when I read on the first page of a history textbook called Man's Great Adventure, the words: "Written for Young America, to help him to get his stride as he enters upon the Great Adventure." How could I, or any other nonmale student feel that this textbook was written for me? That textbook was published in 1940, 30 years before women began to understand the impact that being excluded from the language had on their lives. You aren't likely to find that kind of exclusive language in textbooks written today. I hadn't expected to encounter it in a Thunderbird editorial. This quarter l am teaching a class called "Women, Language, and Change." Next Tuesday at 3 p.m. in Library 113, we will be discussing that very issue: "generic" pronouns and "generic" man and how their use has changed. I had intended to tell the class that was one area of change that has been virtually achieved, at least in --------------lllllllllllrll----------------~ 'I can't bring myself to forgive someone writing in the '90s, especially at a university, for failing to write in a way that would include women.' m writing. But, l can see that there still remains some work to be done. [ would like to cordially invite the writer of the editorial to attend that session, to engage with us in discu'ssion and to examine the many guiddines that have been developed since the seventies in order to write nonsexist prose that includes all people. - Readers' opinions sought The editorial staff of Th.e Thunderbird will print any letter submitted by a member of the SUU campus community that is not libelous, and doel include the author's name, phone nu,nber, and student identification number ( if author is a student). Letters should be delivered to the newspaper office located at TH 003 and left on the desk of the opinion director. Deadlines are Thursday at 5 p.m. for the following Monday issue, and Tuesday at 5 p.m. for the following Thursday issue. For more information, call the opinion director at 586-7750. |