Original photoshoot by FAST at UCLA. Photography by Oliver van der Kouwe and Joanna Bui. Modeling by Jack Rosenthal, Theo Youngers, Keenan Billings, and Ruhaan Mahindru. Styling by Christopher Sydnor. Hair and makeup by Juliette Nava. Production vy Mehal Mittal.

A casual walk down Gayley Avenue is marked by one principal characteristic — dozens of fraternity houses. Since their inception, these exclusive brotherhoods have become quintessential to the American college experience. Fraternities originally emerged within East Coast high society as selective organizations intended to foster intellectual growth and friendship, valuing scholastic, moral, and social improvement. Though over time, fraternities strayed from these values.

The ‘frat boy’ stereotype developed its own cultural norms and diverged from the organization's core message. What began as the cultivation of upstanding young men shifted into an excuse for party culture. Identifiable by boat shoes, khaki shorts, polos, the occasional ‘frat flic,’ and beer pong competitions, these symbols became visual shorthand for a lifestyle centered on social status and exclusivity. The stereotype shifted from innocent, everyday dress and academic drive to illicit behavior masked by tradition. While students join with hopes of community and belonging, the exclusive membership is shadowed by code-stricken secrets and stereotypes that often don’t hold true.

Today's Greek Life involves a multi-stage recruitment process, crucial to cultivating social desirability. Prospective members attend social events before receiving a bid and becoming pledges. Pledges are new members who must undergo a probationary period commonly associated with the dreaded hazing rituals. Hazing can last anywhere from several weeks to a full semester. Historically, hazing involves degrading or dangerous activities expected of new members to complete. This includes forced alcohol or drug consumption, physical brutality, sleep deprivation, and sexual harassment — all of which can lead to intense psychological stress, physical harm, or even accounts of death.

Despite fraternities claiming “these hands don’t haze” and new laws criminalizing the act, the persistence of hazing culture reveals a deeper issue. What appeared as an elite tradition of brotherhood has always been a system that enables abuse, sustained by an elitist and cult-like loyalty among members, entrenched power hierarchies within the organization, and the emotional vulnerability of young men seeking belonging.

In 2018, at the University of California, Riverside, hazing escalated to tragedy when 20-year-old engineering student Tyler Hilliard died as a result of violence during pledging at Alpha Phi Alpha. Hilliard collapsed after alleged physical abuse tied to fraternity hazing rituals, leading to lawsuits against the fraternity and the UC Regents. In response, his family helped pass “Tyler’s Law,” allowing victims to sue universities for failing to stop hazing, as reported by ABC7 Los Angeles. This law has potentially prevented dozens of deaths in California and set the precedent for anti-hazing laws throughout the country.

Hilliard’s story is not uncommon. Every year since 1970, there has been at least one hazing-related death on a college campus, according to a study from North Carolina State University. Recently, UCLA’s chapter of Kappa Sigma was suspended until May 2030 for violating policies related to hazing, alcohol abuse, and student safety, according to reporting by the Daily Bruin. Despite the school’s Student Group Conduct Code and fraternities pledging not to harm or demean future members, many still find ways to commit hazing rituals.

Initially, fraternity membership was determined by family name and status, making the institutions exclusive to the white, male elite. In Stephen Clowney’s study on segregation in Greek organizations, he said that “Sororities at the University of Arkansas remained entirely segregated until 2004, while the Greek system at the University of Alabama did not begin to desegregate until 2013.” Segregation based on appearance, race, and social class was one way to maintain selective membership; other methods depended on hazing. To maintain selectivity, these groups emphasized rituals and secrecy, with initiation ceremonies intended to symbolize members' commitment to the organization. Certain fraternity rituals, like severe hazing, required obedience and “bullying” comparable to cult-like retention tactics. Unlike a cult, the process of joining and exiting these groups is voluntary. As higher education and fraternities gained popularity, these voluntary rituals evolved to include more extreme acts intended to demonstrate dedication. According to EBSCO’s brief history of fraternities, these changes began when the national drinking age changed from eighteen to twenty-one. This moved college drinking from bars and public spaces to private houses. With private spaces and fraternities’ secret reputation, they could get away with more vilifying acts. By the 21st century, reports indicate these acts led to injuries and even deaths related to hazing, sexual assault, and alcohol misuse. By cultivating a collective experience during hazing rituals, members become bonded through secrecy, trauma, and devotion to upperclassmen.

Evidently, the phenomenon of fraternities remains an integral part of the American college experience; however, the elitism of fraternity organizations does not end after graduation. Such gatekeeping, exclusivity, and immorality seep into the backbone of our nation through its top politicians, executives, and businessmen. According to The History News Network, “only about 2% of the US population is affiliated with Greek life, but 80% of top executives at Fortune 500 companies and large majorities of US Congress, Presidents, and Supreme Court justices are ‘Greeks.’” More specifically, according to the National Association of Scholars, “Forty-four percent of all American presidents; 76 percent of current Congressmen; and all but seven of forty-seven Supreme Court justices since 1910 were fraternity brothers.” Clearly, there is a socioeconomic advantage when joining a fraternity that gets one through the door to work for the largest companies, meaning corrupt and discriminatory practices within fraternities follow college students who go on to be powerful and prominent figures. These numerical figures emphasize the unequal opportunities presented to different college students, as fraternities have a long history of discrimination against and maltreatment of people of color, queer people, and women. Young women attending fraternity parties are taught to be aware of drink spiking, touchy men, and to be sober enough to avoid being taken advantage of. These norms in fraternity life earn themselves nicknames that many college students know, such as “Sexual assault expected” or SAE. These phrases are not just word-of-mouth, according to a 1992 study explained by Political Research Associates, “women in Greek life are 74 percent more likely to be raped,” and in more recent findings like “the 2015 Netflix documentary, The Hunting Ground,” it was found that, “fraternity men are three times more likely to commit rape than their un-pledged classmates.” The environment of abuse through hazing, culture, and peer pressure in fraternity life clearly impacts all sorts of people and calls into question the principles of people in power who have been associated with these organizations. It is important to note that people of color, specifically the Black community, have been historically discriminated against and excluded from Greek life, leading to Black fraternities forming, which serve as a safe space for Black students to find community. The History News Network states that Black Greek life organizations “often had Black-only racial clauses written into their bylaws…But the motivations for doing so were different from their white counterparts that sought to preserve elite and ‘whites-only’ statuses as campuses diversified.” Therefore, historically Black fraternities formed out of exclusion and necessity. Similarly, queer people have been excluded from Greek life participation, even today. Hyper-masculine culture within fraternities “locks fraternity men into rigid gender-based roles that inhibit self-expression and exploration of male identity. Men tend to foster anger toward homosexuality and gender roles due to their inability to settle their identity conflict and the impacts of social conditioning” (Safe Zone, Saint Louis University). These systems, which enforce sexism, racism, and homophobia, go on to shape the thoughts and policies when fraternity brothers go on to work in our governments.

On top of the obligations of college and obscene sums of money pocketed by Greek life organizations, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to live in a house packed with thirty boys. But for many, when it comes to making friends in college, fraternities are worth the tribulations. The initial appeal of fraternities centers on community and exclusivity; hazing then becomes another way of reinforcing those values. Sociologists often describe the dynamic of hazing as a form of trauma bonding in which shared suffering cultivates group identity and creates a sense of accomplishment only achieved by members. Hazing rituals, such as swallowing a live goldfish, performing painful physical exercises, or enduring humiliating tasks, are framed as tests of dedication that demonstrate a pledge’s worthiness to join the brotherhood. While these rituals are often justified as harmless traditions, they reinforce a herd mentality in which members feel pressure to conform and to protect the organization’s secrecy. Once within a group, it is generally hard to separate or break free from the group mentality — especially during an emotionally vulnerable stage of your life like college, according to East Tennessee State University. Groupthink is the “phenomenon that occurs when a group of well-intentioned people makes irrational or non-optimal decisions spurred by the urge to conform or the belief that dissent is impossible,” says Psychology Today. Youths are emotionally turbulent, and even though they can “leave whenever they want,” the stakes that fraternities create make it seem quite the opposite. Fraternities become the basis of friendships, social life, and everyday life; meanwhile, hazing and strict rituals are a small sacrifice in comparison.

Despite the known reputations of fraternity organizations, hundreds of thousands of young men elect to join them each year, prioritizing an active social life and business network over principles and values. Although the decision to join is morally ambiguous, it is also deeply American to sacrifice morality in the name of profit and hanging with the boys. While 17 and 18-year-olds are unfairly the victims of this critique, the greater implications of their choices and social circles are what contribute to our country’s inequalities and corrupt leaders today. The treatment of these young men in their college days, through being hazed, then committing the hazing, creates the unbreakable bond of brotherhood that overlooks the transgressions of their fellow man. These brotherly bonds come at the expense of the well-being of women, minorities, and even fellow frat members. Even though universities across the United States have attempted to interfere with harmful behaviors of hazing and discrimination, such practices are ingrained in the history of these organizations. Prevention through threats of bans on parties or videos about consent are not enough to end the cycle of violence. In order to meaningfully reframe the future of fraternities, repercussions need to be as extreme as the actions themselves, meaning expulsion from universities and legal consequences rather than a mere slap on the wrist. Regardless of the attempts to protect the wrongdoings of brothers, “these hands don’t haze” is a farce and a mask over what truly happens behind those dirty, and oddly sticky, frat house walls. If “these hands don’t haze” isn’t sufficient enough as a slogan, might I suggest a new, more truthful one: “these hands do not only haze, but they also sign national legislation, dictate laws surrounding women's bodies, and close closet doors full of skeletons…these hands do it all.”

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