Hazing

 

With each new school year there is always a new group of young men coming to The University of Alabama eager to experience fraternity life.  These young men are ready and willing to do just about anything to discover the secrets that the fraternity they pledge holds inside their brotherly bond.  Along with a new pledge class each year, the same issues, questions, and concerns grow regarding the delicate subject of hazing.  It is no secret to the faculty, students, and a good number of parents that The University of Alabama is known for holding some of the most intense hazing practices around. However, the University does not agree with or condone acts of hazing.  Hazing has deep roots within the fraternity system at The University of Alabama, and continues to reach new extremes as time progresses. Meanwhile, the administration fights to control the surge in hazing activities.

During the hectic day while changing classes in a timely matter, students cannot help but to notice the “new boys.”  These boys are hard to miss because of their matching attire.  “New boy gear” normally consists of jeans or khaki pants, a predetermined colored polo, and either tennis shoes, boots, or boat shoes. Additionally, Wednesdays require special pledge gear including khaki pants, a navy blue blazer and a red tie, some fraternities choose a bowtie while others choose to forgo the blazer, this is also game day attire for the new boys.  If you know enough about the Greek Community you can almost pick out what fraternity the boy is pledging depending on the combination of his attire.  Making pledges wear a uniform does not seem unreasonable; in fact it can be seen as a status symbol that sets these select few boys apart from the rest.  But it is the other practices of a fraternity that are meant to be kept secret in the bonds of brotherhood that cause gut-wrenching disturbances. 

Hazing is a term with multiple complex definitions to suit every possible situation.   Hazing can be defined as any act which inflicts extreme physical, emotion, or psychological pressure or injury on an individual or which purposely demeans, degrades, or disgraces an individual (Hazing Policies). Hazing can also be defined as a process, based on a tradition that is used by groups to discipline and to maintain a hierarchy (Hazing Policies).  The second definition of hazing can be associated with the hierarchy within a fraternity, thus explaining why the practice of hazing continues year after year. Many of the actives can take hazing to the extremes by trying to do whatever was done to them in addition to new things they come up with.  Consequently, the hazing becomes more severe with each passing pledge class. 

Almost as long as The University of Alabama has been in existence, the practice of hazing has too. Throughout the years at the University there have been numerous incidents of hazing that have resulted in a person or a group of people being severely injured. The injuries have ranged from a few scrapes and bruises to death.  The first record of hazing at the University of Alabama was reported in 1893, forty-three years after the founding of the first fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon (Delta Kappa Epsiloin Psi Chapter).  Since 1893, there have been countless reports of hazing.  In 1988, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon national fraternity was suspended for four years due to hazing and drug trafficking charges. However, within the last thirty years the number of reported acts of hazing has increased along with the severity of each individual act.  In the fall of 2008 the Crimson White reported and confirmed an incident involving a new member of a fraternity who was sent to DCH, a local hospital. The boy was treated for severe burns and a collapsed lung (Craft, Bralley and Jaillet).  The members of the fraternity that were involved in this act of hazing were prosecuted and later the fraternity as a whole was removed from campus and disassembled.

 Trying to come up with a solution to immediately cut off the lifeline of hazing seems impossible. However, change and choosing to become a “part of the solution” is easy. The University of Alabama is well aware of the fact that in the past there has been incidents involving hazing. The first step taken by the University was to create a hazing policy.  Stating that they do not allow any form of hazing, and any student involved in or with hazing will be subjected to disciplinary actions  (University of Alabama Hazing Policy). Each fraternity and sorority have to sign this policy showing that they are in agreement with the University and will uphold the policy by not participating or holding any form of hazing  (University of Alabama Hazing Policy). The University of Alabama has already grown one step closer to change, by acknowledging that there is a serious problem and addressing it.

            The problem of hazing cannot be solved over night.  It will take multiple pledge classes making the consistent decision to go against tradition and leave the hazing policies in the pass.  It will also take pressure from the University to point out the strict punishments for hazing activities so that the fraternities will become aware. Now it is up to the individuals, our community, and our student body to continue the changing process, to follow in the footsteps of the university, and to stop hazing.

 

post # 4

Post # 4

The benefits of a bus system look great on paper, you get less traffic during the peak class hours, less pollution in the air from all the engines, and you provide all the students around campus, without cars, a mode of transportation. Unfortunately, those benefits do not render to the real world. All the Crimson Ride has done so far is create headaches for all of the students, who commute to campus, and the ones actually riding the buses. They also create a vast amount of pollution, due to the idling engines, while the drivers have casual conversations on the clock.

The biggest problem with the entire Crimson Ride system, including 348-RIDE, a van service that picks up students when they call, is the wait time for the bus or van. While you can get lucky every now and then, you will normally have to wait longer for the bus to arrive, than it would take to walk across the entire campus. These long waits are usually not even due to the time the buses spend in transit from one stop to another. It is not uncommon to see two buses stopped in the “bus only” lane with both drivers out of their vehicles, casually talking, while their buses are still running. Sometimes, they even stop on opposite sides of the road, blocking traffic, to converse. This adds anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour a bus ride, and further aggravations to those on the buses. Due to those transgressions, many of the drivers were replaced at the end of the year. While the university has taken those steps to eliminate that problem, the long wait times still persist.

In order to give students a way to judge wait times, the university implemented a GPS location system in order to track the buses around campus in real time, and installed monitors in the Ferguson Center. The system does not work however, when the majority of the dots on the screen are stationary. The idea was great because it offered students a way to see if the bus they wanted to take were anywhere near them. The bad thing is that the buses are hardly ever moving, further enraging the student population. For the first time the students can see the problem happening right in front of their faces.

On top of the long wait times at the designated stops, once you get on the bus your really not sure if you will arrive to your destination in one piece. The drivers tend to throw the buses around the corners at a more than comfortable speed. Although they may be “trained” professionals, it does not feel as if you are safe riding around the campus. One five-minute ride on the crimson ride will make those fifteen-minute, cross campus treks, look like a stroll in the park. The problem with the cross campus trek option, is when waiting at a corner to cross the street you have to be on the look out for one of those buses to come careening around that same corner in case it makes a b line for you. Also, some drivers have a tendency to not pay attention, and overlook a stop all together. One time, a driver drove past my stop, even though I rang the stop bell well in advance. On another occasion, I stood by the front door for 10 seconds waiting on the driver to let me on, and started to pull away because “I didn’t indicate that I wanted to get on.” Needless to say, I personally became more frustrated with the on campus bus system.

The best solution to remedy these situations would be to have an actual bus schedule. With the amount of students now on campus, the system has to improve. If a schedule was posted, and followed closely, many of the problems would be alleviated. Bonuses should be offered to drivers if they are able to maintain their schedules, by having a university worker riding along to evaluate their driving abilities, and punctuality. Students should be able to report late buses. Plus, some of the more unprofessional, and unfocused drivers should be let go altogether.

That being said, a couple changes cannot fix all the problems, but solve some tribulations. A full-scale overhaul would be necessary to remedy the failing bus system. There are far too many problems, ranging from driver indifference, to a lack of structure. A sliding pay scale can motivate a driver when it affects their salary, which affects their life style. If the bus drivers are paid more or less by the work they do many will be motivated to be professional, and keep to a strict timed schedule by not allowing them to leisurely converse on the side of the road. With the bus drivers working harder in a stricter atmosphere, the bus system will run on a more precise schedule.

Traffic

When you think about the University, chances are you think about the horrendous traffic and the blatant disregard for pedestrian safety. In recent years the University has made inroads to resolve some of the issues faced by student commuters and off campus residents. These include the crimson ride bus system, new crosswalks, and conversion of heavily trafficked areas to be more pedestrian friendly. Although the University has made inroads in this area, it is evident that there is much more that could be done to promote pedestrian safety.
One of the main concerns of pedestrians on campus is the disregard that motorists show for them. Pedestrians on campus are frequently put at risk by motorists purposely running traffic lights and stop signs. As a pedestrian, your main concern shouldn’t have to be making sure motorists around you are paying attention to the road. Even though pedestrians are often the victims, motorists are not always to blame for the accidents that happen when both parties aren’t paying attention.
Motorists are not always the bad guys when it comes to accidents on and around campus, often it can simply be chalked up to poor enforcement of traffic laws. Every day someone is violating a traffic law on campus, but how often are these violations punished? We learn the “rules of the road” when we are first beginning to drive, but as we get older we follow a looser and peer driven guideline as to proper etiquette on the road. Everyone is aware that the campus supports a police department, but most people don’t have a healthy respect of the power and ability of these individuals to punish violators.
The simplest and most cost effective route to solve this problem is better enforcement. The campus police department could easily crack down on offenders, which would have the dual purpose of stopping violators and dissuading others to emulate the violation. Simply put, if the university police department would maintain a consistent policy on traffic violations, students would be less inclined to abuse the law.
It is my opinion that in order to promote the safety of all, some are going to have to serve as an example. The university has made tremendous effort in making the campus a safer place to be, whether walking to class or coming back from the bars, it isn’t enough to simply stop at adequate. If we want a safer and more pedestrian friendly campus we need to make it so, and the only way to do that is to step up the law enforcement of violations.

348-RIDE: Useful or Useless?

It’s a Thursday night that has dragged on a bit too long, but there is still one pressing question; how in the world am I getting home? If you live on campus the obvious answer is 348-RIDE. But what if you don’t? Are you forced to drive home when its clear it’s not a good idea, or do you try to find a friends house to stay at and regret the decision to live off of campus. 348-RIDE is an asset to many students at the University of Alabama, but there are many downsides to the free taxi service the university has provided. The fact is that not only does 348-RIDE not pick up students at off campus locations, but the limited hours of operations, and the long wait periods are all major problem areas that this program needs to address.
The 348-RIDE service is tremendously helpful to on campus residents, but for students that live off campus, it isn’t helpful at all. While students do have other options to get home, none are free or as easily accessible as 348. Roughly seventy percent of students that attend the University live off of campus, and there need to be more safe ways for these students to get home at night (University of Alabama- Off-campus Housing 2).One solution to this problem is to have the shuttles service off campus locations where there are large student populations. Some of these locations could be large apartment complexes such as University Village, University Downs, and The Retreat, where a vast majority of students live. If just these three complexes were added, many more students would be able to utilize 348-RIDE and hopefully decrease the amount of alcohol related traffic citations. 348-RIDE saves lives every night of the week, but so many students are putting themselves at risk when they decide to get behind the wheel of a car after they have been drinking. If the University offered more transportation options, one could only imagine how many more lived could be saved each day.
Another issue with 348-RIDE is the limited hours of operation. 348 does not begin running until ten p.m., which doesn’t seem too early, but most Crimson Ride buses stop running at seven p.m. Students that live in residence halls that are far from the center off campus are faced with the dilemma of walking and putting themselves at risk, or driving and knowing that their car has to be moved by six the next morning. If 348 is not going to start operating until ten, then the buses should be required to run until 348 opens. This would give students a way around campus nearly 24 hours a day.
If you are depending on 348-RIDE to get home, you should probably call at least forty-five minutes early because the wait time to be picked up or dropped off is ridiculous. On game day weekends, especially, the wait can be up to an hour for a ride. Luckily 348-express has helped to alleviate the high quantity of students that need rides, but it still is an enormous problem that must be addressed. A simple solution would be to put more shuttle vans into service on the weekend nights when demand is highest. If the wait time was decreased then that would, in turn, mean a higher capacity of students could be transported each night.
Another benefit of expanding the 348 ride system is that it would free the local taxi services. If students on campus have more ways to get around, then there will not be such a huge back up for any of the taxi services on campus. These are the simplest ways to correct the problems so that 348 can become more helpful to more students. If these problems were addressed and corrected then it would be a much more efficient and useful service that would benefit a much larger portion of the student population.

Dear Bama Dining,

College students are notoriously known for their lack of and inability to wisely spend, that green stuff that makes the world go round, money. This often results in college students nationwide going without a well rounded meal for weeks at a time. At the University of Alabama, you attempted to fix this problem. However, your attempt at keeping students fed by forcing them to purchase a meal plan seems to benefit the school more than the student. Your solution has seemingly become the student’s problem.

Students are required to purchase a meal plan their freshmen year of college. Although they will not go hungry that first year, they have not learned how to independently feed themselves. The real problem has only been delayed. When college students leave home, they are leaving the “nest” that has kept them protected for so long. It is now their time to fly, but they have come to college to make sure they have what it takes to soar. College students need experiences like worrying about keeping enough money on them to pay for food to aid in their becoming independent. Not only does forcing students to purchase a meal plan keep them from testing the winds of independence, it also takes away some of their freedom. Students choose to come to college, and most of those students are legal adults. They should be able to choose if they want to buy food from the college or from somewhere else.

The meal plan offered at the University of Alabama is exceptionally expensive. Students are offered three different meal plans, with the cheapest one costing one thousand two hundred thirty-five dollars a semester. This meal plan gives students one hundred sixty meals a semester, or ten meals a week. This meal plan results in students paying seven dollars and seventy two cents per meal. Most students don’t even use their entire meal plan, and the meals that they do not use are not even carried over from year to year. Most college students could make or buy a meal much cheaper on their own, than on the schools meal plan. A simple homemade meal including a box of hamburger helper, some ground beef, and a can of green beans will cost around six dollars, and that will give a college student enough food to last him or her for at least four meals. If the student wants to go out to eat, he or she can get many different combinations of fast food for under six dollars that will include a main dish, side, and a drink. Go to any McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell or any other restaurant of that type, and you will find healthy choices, along with unhealthy, for under six dollars. The school is hurting students financially by trying to “help them” through restricting their options.

There is an alternative to this problematic solution that will ensure all students have the opportunity to stay well fed and nourished, while getting the most out of the little bit of money they have. The University of Alabama should offer a low cost yet optional meal that is wholesome and inexpensive. There is no moral logic behind forcing students to purchase a dressed up meal at a dressed up price. The food will meet health standards in quality and content, but it will not be the five star restaurant quality type foods that are so unnecessarily costly. We need to focus on what college students needs, not their wants. If a college student wants a nice, fancy meal, there are plenty of surrounding restaurants where they can get one. If they want a practical and affordable meal, they should know that they can rely on their school to offer it.

This alternative is not unrealistic by any means. High school cafeterias have been doing it for years. For anywhere between one dollar and three dollars, high schools nationwide offer students a main dish, three sides, and a drink.

Students will not be required to purchase a meal plan to go along with the low cost meal. The student will pay for the meal each time he or she eats. In order to keep the flow of actual cash down, it will be paid for with money in an account that is given back to the student at the end of the school year. Students should have the freedom to spend their money where they want when it comes to food. However, the college should provide a place where they can get a decent meal at a decent price. Students should not be wasting money on unused meals from an overpriced meal plan. This alternative will collect no sort of profit. Any money that is gained should be put back in the program to pay for dining workers wages and food costs. This concept will be put in place to keep the price of the meal down.

Your focus as an administration founded on helping students, should be on doing what is best for the student, not on making as much money as you can off of them. The University of Alabama offering a low cost meal for students will result in students being able to financially afford to not go hungry and a chance for them to learn how to budget their money without relying on having everything provided for them.

Poor Cell Phone Service

Dear fellow University of Alabama students,

In our world today there are always complaints about the technology, especially when it comes to our beloved cell phones. As college students, cell phones are a large part of our day-to-day life on campus. Everyone wants the latest and greatest raves in the cell phone industry, such as the new 3G iphone; but is having the newest technology out there worth it if there are very few cell phone towers, which means slow service or no service at all. Tuscaloosa is a perfect example of such a problem.

Many students on and off campus have been feeling the pain of poor reception service in Tuscaloosa. From personal experiences of not being able to send or receive texts or calls on the average weekday, to hearing about fellow students complain about their poor service, one can conclude that this is a fixable problem. After speaking with several students, everyone agrees that game day reception is always a huge predicament. Some students do not even bother to bring their phones to the game because of the poor service not only during, but also before and after each home game.

Regardless of whether it is a game day or not, many students still deal with poor reception on the campus. Allan Crocket, a junior majoring in business and an AT&T user, experiences problems outside certain buildings on campus. “Either the call is lost or it just goes straight to voicemail,” Allan complains. Other students have also complained about having trouble receiving and sending calls as well. Although this problem causes a lot of anger and annoyance for many, there is a reason behind it all: there are no cell phone towers near campus.

After looking at a detailed map of the Tuscaloosa area, it seems the only towers in the area around campus are third party providers and telecommunication centers such as radio and television sources. The closest cell phone tower is a Cingular tower on the opposite side of 15^th Street, which is closer to Northport. Considering the fact that most of the students do have newer phones through popular services such as AT&T and Verizon, one would think there would be more towers, creating better service for the majority. There are over 25,000 students at the University, and it makes no sense that the companies do not factor these changes at colleges and universities. Basically, the sum of the problem is a lack of phone towers for high volumes of people in a small area.

Luckily, there are options to fix this annoying issue most students at the University face. The easiest step is to make people aware of what is causing this issue by publishing the topic in the newspapers and by placing flyers around campus. Once people realize this does not have to be an issue and their voice can cause changes, they may be more inclined to act upon it. If there are enough complaints sent to the individual phone companies, they will be pushed to act on the issue and install more towers in the area. Another strategy would be to discourage use of certain carriers to get their attention and maybe see some action taken. This problem is not an easy one to solve, but with a bit of awareness and desire to take action, it can eventually become a problem of Tuscaloosa’s past.

Dining Dollars Confusion

As a college student, many find their money dwindling into smaller and smaller amounts. Most students want to find the cheapest restaurant to eat at off campus, seeing that the Ferguson Center and campus cafeterias get boring after a while. The University of Alabama has created Dining Dollars to help students with this problem. Dining Dollars is a system set up by Bama Dining Services in order to provide dining convenience and variety to students. With one quick swipe of ACTion Card, students can enjoy meals from locations on and off campus. However, many students are beginning to find the convenience of the system wearing out due to its lack of diversity in restaurants.

Because of the Dining Dollars system, all students with nine or more credit hours are automatically billed three hundred dollars each fall and spring semester. While some may argue that three hundred dollars is a large amount for an eight week semester, it is not the case when you can only spend it in certain locations that have extremely high prices. For example, Dining Dollars is accepted at a few locations on campus such as the Ferguson Center’s food court, Doster Café, Julia’s Market, Bidgood Bistro, and Lakeside Lattes. Buffalo Phil’s, Crimson Café, Domino’s Pizza, and Strip Teas and Coffees are the only four off campus businesses that accept Dining Dollars. This is a big inconvenience to those students who do not live on campus because it is unlikely for them to drive to the university to eat at one of the on campus dining areas and are therefore stuck with only four options in spending their Dining Dollars. Even students who live on campus, begin to get tired of the Ferguson Center’s food court and the Doster Café. It is hard to try something new when money is low and parents are reluctant in giving extra spending money to their child. So the question is why are students being forced to pay 600 dollars over a course of two semesters to eat at the same restaurants over and over?

One solution to the problem of the limited choices in the Dining Dollars system would be to combine Dining Dollars and Bama Cash. Similar to Dining Dollars, Bama Cash is a system set up by Bama Dining. However, Bama Cash has a much broader range with how it can be spent. Not only is it accepted at restaurants, it is also accepted at local grocery stores, gas stations, book stores, vending machines, pizza places, laundry areas, movie rentals, copy services, mail services, pharmacies, retail stores, coffee shops, and beauty salons. A total of 95 businesses outside of the university accept Bama Cash versus the four that accept Dining Dollars. By combining Bama Cash and Dining Dollars, students would have a much wider range of options on how to spend their three hundred dollars each semester.

Another solution to the problem would be for the university to get more businesses to become part of the Dining Dollars system. According to the manager at Buffalo Phil’s, in order to be a part of the Dining Dollars system, the business is required to give back a certain percentage of the profits to the university. The manager also explained that Buffalo Phil’s only became a part of the Dining Dollars system after the university asked them. Could the reason for so little off campus business participation in the Dining Dollars system be due to the university simply not asking businesses to join? If so, this problem could easily be rectified by campaigning the system to the local businesses and displaying the profitable benefits Dining Dollars could bring.

The lack of variety in the Dining Dollars businesses is ruining what would be an extremely good dining experience for students at the University of Alabama. While taking notions to provide a better selection of eating areas in the system might be a long process, the end result of having more restaurants to choose from would provide a greater satisfaction to the student body.

Quick Grill "The Late Night Crave"

All over Tuscaloosa, people are able to find a wide variety of restaurants. From Thai food to Mexican food, Tuscaloosa has it all. Since Tuscaloosa is a college town, there are always students looking for a delicious, fast, and cheap eatery that they can go to. In the early hours of the morning, there are few restaurants open for the hungry late night studier, or late night bar hopper. The Quick Grill is a popular spot for most students. Although Quick Grill is fast, convenient, and open late; the food quality, and prices may be a “draw back” to this late night craving.
Quick Grill is located on the strip in the midst of bars, and other restaurants. Across the street from Pita Pit, and in front of Publix grocery store, this small shack is destined to thrive because of it’s great location. It serves hamburgers, kabobs, and the infamous “messy fry”. Quick Grill’s hours are six p.m. to three a.m., and despite what people may think, their busiest hour is from two to three. The restaurant is a “serve your self” restaurant, which means walking up to the counter to order, there’s not much to it. Once you get your food, there is a patio seating area where you can sit and eat your greasy, late night snack. Quick Grill’s prices are slightly expensive ranging from eight dollars for a kabob, to ten bucks for a hamburger. Although you can get a cheeseburger for less than two dollars at McDonalds, they close at twelve, while Quick Grill is open much later.
To experience the infamous Quick Grill first hand, I went there around 2 a.m. on a Friday night. The line curved down the street, with numerous intoxicated college kids waiting for their food. The line didn’t take too long, and the kitchen seemed to get food out extremely fast. Once I reached the window, I peered in to see five men rushing around the little hut to cook their greasy treats. I decided to order a kabob and, of course a messy fry. I then received a number, and proceeded to sit down at a table while listening to the live band across the street at the Rounder’s bar. The music, and the lively atmosphere created a pleasant experience, and once my number was called it made my night even better! The tables were damaged, somewhat dirty, and covered in graffiti, but no one seemed to mind. My order was wrapped in paper and in a plastic container. I was a little hesitant at first, considering my food was coming from a small shack, but the food was actually pretty good. The delicious fries were greasily smothered with cheese, but I enjoyed the chicken kabob even more. The food was average, but seemed to taste even better knowing that it was one of the only places still open in this town. After eating my food, I decided to interview a few people to see what they thought about their Quick Grill experience. One girl told me “I try not to come here because it is not the healthiest food, but always end up coming after a long night out.” Another guy said, “Every time I come I always see people I know, and I love their hamburgers.” So overall, I got positive feedback from the Quick Grill customers.
Although Quick Grill does not have the best food in the world, and isn’t the cleanest place, it is the greatest you can find at three in the morning, when you are craving greasy food. The crowded tables, and friendly environment make the experience more enjoyable and a great way to end your night out in Tuscaloosa.