WASHINGTON - Why are Black students continuing to hurt -- and even kill -- each other in the name of fraternity/sorority brotherhood and sisterhood? What are the dynamics that keep this outlawed tradition alive among Black Greeks? Is it just a Black problem? Why is it that such incidents elude the supposedly vigilant eyes of fraternal organizations and college administrators? These were but a few of the questions explored by a panel of experts in a live videoconference entitled, Broken Pledges: Fraternities and Sororities at the Crossroads.

The videoconference, the first of a series sponsored by Black Issues In Higher Education for the 1998-99 academic year, was moderated by James Adams, a news anchor with NBC-TV-4 in Washington, D.C. Panelists included: Hank Nuwer, author of the book Broken Pledges; Dr. Earl Richardson, president of Morgan State University; Dr. Gloria R. Scott, president of Bennett College; Michael W. Gordon, executive director of the National PanHellenic Council, Inc., the umbrella organization for predominantly Black fraternities and sororities; Maureen Syring, assistant director of Delta Gamma Foundation; Douglas E. Fierberg, attorney-at-law who has prosecuted many hazing incidents; and Dr. Walter Kimbrough, director of student activities and leadership at Old Dominion University.

According to Black Issues correspondent Paul Ruffins, who has done extensive research on the subject, one reason hazing persists is that many fraternity and sorority members don't consider new members to be true members unless they have been properly inducted. And to many, "induction" includes hazing.

To get around the pan-Hellenic council restrictions placed on the hazing of pledges--students seeking admission to Greek-life organizations - students are now being hazed after they have become members of the fraternity, as was the case in a recent incident at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). Despite the National PanHellenic Council's 1990 ban on hazing, last spring six (UMES) students who were already inducted into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity were hospitalized for injuries to their buttocks - the results of a paddling ritual. one of the students had to undergo surgery to remove gangrenous flesh. (See Black Issues, June 25)

The practice was defended by a student who said that, for the most part, students who he knew didn't see anything wrong with hazing.

"They know what to expect before they pledge," the student said. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

Gordon said that the desire to be in a brotherhood or a sisterhood and involved with something positive is so strong in young people that they are willing to submit to hazing in order to become members.

Members of the panel pointed out that hazing often continues despite the ban because college administrations are not monitoring the activities of the these groups closely enough. Also, many of them said, the National Pan-Hellenic Council has been negligent in its oversight of the undergraduate chapters.

"We don't give our top people training on how to view and value young people," said Dr. Ted Blakeney, a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. "We view them as a problem and mostly want to stamp them out. We need constant training on how to work with young people and their values."

But some students complained that the pan-Hellenic council and college administrators don't recognize that not all pledging is hazing.

"[Pledging] teaches you accountability, manhood, scholarship, uplift, and to endure throughout all types of situations," said one student.

The discussion then turned to definitions. Nuwer defined hazing as "an action ... causing danger [or] some sort of discomfort [that is] demeaning [and is] required to get into a group."

Fierberg, who prosecuted another hazing incident at the University of Maryland College Park involving the Omega Psi Phi fraternity, said the definition varies from state to state. Some states don't even criminalize the activity, while others define it broadly as "any act causing harm."

However, the panelists agreed that hazing is so ingrained in fraternity and sorority culture that it is not likely to go away.

It was pointed out that many of the older members give tacit approval to the undergraduates who continue to engage in hazing.

The question of whether administrators need to modify their views to allow some types of "harmless" hazing also was discussed.

"I think the thing that scares and makes us want to stop hazing is the violence and physical abuse," said Richardson, who then asked, "is there some middle ground that preserves the ritual but does not allow 'mental and physical abuse?"

The videoconference noted that dangerous hazing is not just limited to the predominantly Black Greek-life organizations. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently, five students in the Gamma Delta fraternity were indicted on manslaughter in the death of a prospective member who went into a coma after drinking several times the legal alcohol limit.

According to Dr. Tom Goodale, his research found that pledging abuses occur at about the same rate in White fraternities as in Black fraternities. In White fraternities, the abuse tends to involve alcohol; in Black fraternities, it's more physical abuse. But there is overlapping of both types of abuse by all fraternities and both are serious problems for colleges, Goodale said.

Calling hazing a power problem, Syring said, "It is a learned skill by having it happen to us and by doing it to other people."

She noted that for the first time, the Black and White pan-Hellenic councils are beginning to collaborate to address hazing issues.

The panelists agreed that since hazing is pervasive and insidious, it is the responsibility of colleges to protect their students and monitor the activity of any organization allowed on campus. it is also the responsibility of colleges to make sure that students are aware that they could be committing crimes by participating in hazing.

Bennett College's Scott said that when students first enroll on her campus, they are advised that they should not submit to hazing and that it is a felony in the state of North Carolina, where the historically Black institution is located.

"We spend a lot of time in our institution trying to find out what is going on psychologically," she said. "We are prepared to dismiss, educate, enforce, (and) prosecute."

The panel came up with three recommendations for dealing with hazing: educate prospective members; have knowledge of university policy and state law; and enlist the help of graduate chapters.

Douglas E. Fierberg is a trial lawyer and partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Bode & Grenier, L.L.P. Mr. Fierberg represents victims of hazing, personal injury and other campus crimes, and serves as counsel for certain national sororities which have committed to end hazing.