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Bonding Over the Trauma of Hazing
Filmmaker Byron Hurt discusses the research, family tragedies and personal experience that compelled him to make the new documentary Hazing.
September 6, 2022
Marie Andre poses with photos of her son, George Desdunes, who died in a fraternity hazing incident at Cornell in 2011.
In his new documentary Hazing (Independent Lens and PBS, premieres Sept. 12), filmmaker Byron Hurt explores the abusive—even deadly—rituals of hazing culture and how they reflect the powerful human desire to belong. Hurt spoke with Inside Higher Ed via Zoom. Excerpts of the conversation follow, edited for length and clarity.
Q: As a college student at Northeastern University, you were a member of the Black fraternity the Ques. How did that experience drive your desire to make this film?
A: I typically say that I am in a fraternity; I am still active with my fraternity, as a member of a graduate chapter. For members of Black Greek-letter organizations, membership is a lifetime if you choose to participate. So the film was born out of my experiences over the last 30 years of being connected to my organization.
But I was on an airplane when I read the story of George Desdunes and how he died [in a hazing incident in 2011] as a student at Cornell University. And it broke my heart, it really did. I just felt so much for George and his mom, who worked so hard to provide a quality education for her only son, only to see his life end so prematurely. That was the first time that I had the inkling of making a film about this topic. And then, you know, several weeks later, I saw the story of Robert Champion, a young man who was beaten to death by his marching-band mates [at Florida A&M University]. And after reading that story, I said, “I have to do something about this.”
Q: You talk in the film about how different organizations tend to utilize different initiation rituals. How does hazing among Black fraternities differ from white fraternities, or sororities from fraternities?
A: Not all hazing takes on the same look and feel; it’s different for different groups, based on race, gender, class, where you go to school. I wanted to underscore that in the film. Hazing among Black Greek-letter organizations tends to be far more secretive, far more underground and more physical in nature. With white fraternities, there tends to be a lot more alcohol consumption—forced drinking—which leads to serious accidents and deaths.
Black sororities tend to borrow some things from Black fraternities. But it tends to be a lot more intense emotionally and psychologically—a lot of sleep deprivation, demeaning put-downs and that sort of thing. In that way, there are similarities with white sororities, where there tends to be a lot more sexual degradation, sexual humiliation, mean-girl culture, if you will.
Q: I always sort of assumed hazing mostly took place within the confines of Greek life. But your film talks in-depth about Robert Champion, the marching band drum major who was hazed to death by his bandmates. So clearly there are similar practices going on in other, non-Greek organizations.
A: One of the things that I really wanted to do was show the scope of the problem—just how far-reaching and widespread it is. When people think of hazing, they do think about fraternities and sororities; they may think about sports teams. They have higher rates of hazing incidents than other groups, but they exist elsewhere as well. This is not something exclusive to Greek life.
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