University of Wisconsin - Extension

The "snipe hunt;" the mandatory green beanie for new freshmen, the blindfolded walk into a scary basement room - these are initiation rituals that new kids sometimes are expected to endure when they go to camp, start at a new school or join a club. Many of these traditions go back decades and serve as both a test of worthiness and a kind of welcoming into the group.

Sometimes these initiation rituals seem funny-- little games, jokes or pranks that hurt no one. But sometimes, these initiations turn into hazing - ritualized humiliations that can be dangerous, terrifying or embarrassing. At their worst, hazing rituals have involved physical punishments, violence and forced consumption of lethal amounts of alcohol.

Greg Matysik and Patricia Day, 4-H youth development specialists with UW-Extension, say hazing rituals are widespread and hard to control.

Many youth organizations have developed guidelines for controlling hazing, and Wisconsin's 4-H program is working to eliminate practices that could be dangerous, embarrassing or scary, says Day.

"We believe there is no place for hazing or harassment in the 4-H program," Day said. Day and Matysik are planning a workshop next fall where 4-H members will come together to discuss this issue and develop a policy on hazing for the organization.

"People are reluctant to give up initiation traditions," Matysik said. "Often, the older members have been through it, and they think that new members of the group should get the same treatment. Often kids are afraid they will be ostracized if they refuse to participate."

Matysik said that people need traditions and rites of passage, so it doesn't make sense to eliminate initiation rituals altogether. But he believes that more positive traditions should replace hurtful, dangerous or embarrassing initiation traditions.

"There are many ceremonies that come out of Native American tradition that might be very appropriate for an initiation ceremony at camp," he suggested.

In addition, Matysik said, it's important to remember that some practices that seem appropriate for older youth are dangerous or terrifying to younger children. "There's a big difference between a 17-year-old who chooses to test herself by doing a solo wilderness experience and a 7-year-old taken out "snipe hunting" on a moonless night and left alone in the woods," he said.