No paddling, branding, drugs, forced drinking, theft, screaming or scavenger hunts. Wait? Scavenger hunts?

While an anti-hazing policy is essential to the success of Greek and student life, some of the specific restrictions may be a bit extreme.

TCU’s general hazing policy mirrors Texas state law stating that situations cannot cause new members of student organizations any mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule. However, some specifics of TCU’s policy, although created with good reason, may need to be periodically re-examined.

Clearly, forcing pledges to drink excessively, engage in personal servitude or undergo belittling has negative effects, but is there anything wrong with having a scavenger hunt, playing extremely loud music or holding a sleepover?

If taken to the extreme, activities like these could lead to hazing, but if used in the correct context, there should be no reason that Greek and other student organizations shouldn’t be able to responsibly engage in some of the prohibited activities.

If a sorority wants to hold a scavenger hunt where the new member has to follow clues to find out who her “big sister” is, shouldn’t the president and alumni adviser be the ones to decide if the event is appropriate?

Although a sleepover could leave room for hazing, it also could just be a good excuse to watch movies and spend time with friends.

TCU has good intentions. It doesn’t want new members to feel abused and wants to ensure they have enough time to succeed academically. TCU should try to treat us like adults and should trust students to responsibly interpret a broader set of hazing restrictions.

Some groups will break the rules, which is probably one of the reasons they were created in the first place. But instead of adding another slightly absurd rule to the list, these groups should be punished individually.

– News editor Kathleen Thurber for the editorial board