Besides high-level learning and intense study sessions, college life is supposed to be about carefree living and personal development.

For many students, the chance to put schoolwork behind them and grow outside the classroom comes through campus Greek organizations.

Fraternities and sororities have a long established tradition in this country and are many times key in the emotional and professional development of their members. However, the ugly side of the organizations — hazing — never seems to go away.

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On Wednesday, 10 Tulane University fraternity members received felony charges after the school suspended Pi Kappa Alpha following accusations that the group burned pledges with hot water and pepper spray during a “hell night” initiation.

The Associated Press story says the fraternity members face felony battery charges — punishable by up to 15 years in prison — in an alleged hazing incident in which two pledges received second- and third-degree burns from boiling water and crab boil being poured on their bodies.

At least two of the pledges were scalded with hot crab boil and pepper spray late April 25 or early April 26 to see who could stand the most pain, said attorney Paul Hesse, who represents one of the victims.

“Our client has severe second-degree burns to his back, buttocks, shoulders, arms, over 20 percent of his body,” Hesse said. “He is getting medical treatment twice a day and is in a lot of pain.”

The fact is hazing is about as stupid a concept as has ever existed.

As a former fraternity member at Louisiana Tech University, I know the benefits fraternity life brings. The friendships, especially those created in a pledge class, can oftentimes last a lifetime.

However, there is most certainly a line that should not be crossed when initiating a perspective fraternity member.

Making someone sing in front a large crowd, cook dinner or clean the house following a party are all normal acts of initiation. On the other hand, burning another human being with hot water and pepper spray in the name of friendship is ludicrous.

The problem is prospective fraternity and sorority members are almost always freshman. As an 18-year-old, the draw of joining an established college network of friends is almost too much to pass up. Therefore, the teenagers end up submitting to acts they would not normally do.

Keeping initiation rituals at a reasonable level is up to upperclassmen.

Hopefully, future fraternity members at Tulane and other colleges across the country will quit the hazing practice and treat their pledges like the friends they claim them to be.

STEPHENHEMELT

CITYEDITOR