THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 18, 1995 TAG: 9502180391
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Bowling Green University senior Ed Long will never forget the day he learned of a hazing that claimed the life of a Southeast Missouri State student pledging a black fraternity.
``I can think of the two things that crossed my mind: sad and fear,'' Long said Friday. ``Sad because here was another young, black man who lost his life. Fear because I could see the beginning of the downfall for black organizations everywhere. It really hit home.''
Long, a member of the black fraternity Phi Beta Sigma, is one of more than 100 students, university officials and legislators gathering this weekend at a downtown Richmond hotel to launch a national campaign against hazing.
Its slogan is simple: ``Membership Requires Brains, Not Pain.''
The Summit IV and Collegiate Leadership Conference, running Friday through Sunday, is sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council Inc. The NPHC represents more than 1 million members in eight black fraternity and sorority chapters nationwide.
``When there's a death in any situation, it will raise attention levels,'' said NPHC President Carter Womack. ``We need to stop hazing, but also to recognize the millions of hours of community service . . . the good things these organizations can do.''
Womack said the campaign also is designed to fight the stereotyping of black fraternities as violent organizations.
``Hazing goes on in white fraternities as well,'' he said. ``You've got people there dying of alcohol abuse. For whatever reason, black fraternities get more press when something goes wrong.''
Twice in the last six years, things have gone wrong enough to kill students pledging black fraternities.
In October 1989, Joel Allen Harris, 18, died when members of Alpha Phi Alpha pushed him repeatedly during a hazing at Morehouse University in Atlanta. Officials said Harris had an enlarged heart, a condition which contributed to his death.
In February 1993, Michael Davis, 25, died after being beaten, body-slammed and kicked in the chest by members of Kappa Alpha Psi at Southeast Missouri State.
Other hazing incidents involving black fraternities also have attracted media attention. In 1989, for example, a student at North Carolina AT&T University was sentenced to two years in prison after he beat several Omega Psi Phi pledges with a piece of lumber.
The centerpiece of the new NPHC campaign is a poster featuring the campaign slogan. The poster is scheduled to be unveiled at a luncheon today.
NPHC spokeswoman Toni Odom said fraternity and sorority leaders will use the poster in discussions with high school students across the country, on the dangers of hazing.
``The society we live in is more violent, and some of these incidents are coming out of that,'' Odom said. ``And a lot of the pledges actually come out of high school looking for hazing, because they think that's the only way they can become a real member. We need to change that mind-set.''
This weekend's gathering also includes a mock trial on hazing, presented by attorney Robert L. Harris, the national president of Kappa Alpha Psi.
According to Jeff Cufuade, executive director of the National Interfraternity Conference in Indianapolis, 39 states, including Virginia, have passed anti-hazing laws.
Cufuade said that while it is difficult to estimate the number of harmful hazing incidents, ``it is a very rare occasion that hazing leads to death.''
Summit IV also includes discussions on the violence affecting African-American youths, economic empowerment and the role of fraternities and sororities in black communities.
KEYWORDS: HAZING by CNB