Frederick D. Kershner
What other reviewers said about my first hazing book. Hi. I'm the author of the book. This is my second book on hazing. Here is what reviewers verbatim said about the first book, Broken Pledges. Please delete my five-star rating. I just put it in to submit. Thank you! 'Anyone concerned about the presence of fraternities and sororities on college campuses today should read Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing. University administrators, advisors, undergraduates, Greek alumni, parents of pledging students, and even fraternity critics will learn
something from Hank Nuwer's story of the 1978 death of Chuck Stenzel at
Alfred University. . .Nuwer believes hazing kills, has nothing to do with
tradition, and must be stopped before more deaths occur.' National
Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) Journal, John E.
Creeden, Associate Provost for Student Affairs, Rutgers University (New
Jersey). 'The definitive study of college hazing' Tucker Carlson, The Weekly
Standard, February 17, 1997 'First, a word on what Broken Pledges is not.
The book is not an anti-fraternity diatribe. One of the points brought home
so clearly in the book is that hazing is a long-standing societal problem,
not the sole province of male fraternities. Broken Pledges is not written by
a sensationalist unfamiliar with the territory. Nuwer is a first-class
objective journalist who was hazed as a [fraternity] pledge [at Buffalo
State College] and who hazed pledges as a member. . .Even as someone who has worked with fraternities for nearly 10 years, I gained a great deal of
insight and perspective.' From the review by Richard Harris, The Fraternity
Newsletter: a publication of the Association of Fraternity Advisors, Inc.
'Broken Pledges is replete with page after page of evidence showing that no
one looks good when fraternities and hazing are scrutinized. Not the injured
or deceased. Not [fraternity] brothers who have a habit of dissembling or
clamming up to protect themselves during the resulting inquiries. Not
faculty advisors who look the other way during hazing. And not hapless
college officials left with the task of public relations damage control and
the curbing of future incidents. . .Eileen Stevens, the mother of Chuck
Stenzel [pledge killed in a hazing at Alfred University] and founder of the
Committee to Halt Useless College Killings (CHUCK) said [in a telephone
interview] reading Nuwer's book was very painful. `But it's very valuable
because he makes clear the devastating effect hazing deaths have on
families.'' From the article/review by George Smith of the Allentown [PA]
Morning Call 'A thorough and eye-opening examination of the dangers of
initiation and hazing rituals. . .A powerful investigation into a practice
in dire need of curtailment.' Kirkus Reviews 'Everyone associated with
fraternity life should read Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing. .
.Perhaps it should be compulsory reading for all actives prior to rush. Put
this one on the bookshelf in your chapter house.' Book review, Fraternal Law
'Required reading for all prospective college students and others who belong
to groups where hazing is an accepted ritual.' Sue Ellen Beauregard,
Booklist 'Grade A: Though sometimes graphic, this book is important because
it offers proof that hazing is everywhere, not just in college fraternal
organizations. The book belongs on the shelves of groups where hazing may
occur.' Library Journal (Danna C. Bell, Marymount University Library,
Arlington, VA.) 'Greek leaders say [Broken Pledges] illustrates a problem
fraternities and sororities are working together to eliminate-organizational
hazing. Jonathan Brant, spokesman for the National Interfraternity
Conference in Indianapolis, an organization that represents about 5,200
fraternity chapters nationwide, says Nuwer's book should `raise awareness'
about hazing and its consequences. But even more importantly, he says, the
book might also put the spotlight on the work individual Greek chapters are
doing to eliminate the problem.' Lesley Ann Mitchell, Article/Review,
Gannett News Service 'Hank Nuwer uses the Stenzel case-one that ultimately
resulted in a tough New York State law on fraternity hazing-to investigate
the persistence of such harassment not only at the university level, but in
the world of professional societies and the military. The details are
sufficiently horrifying to make good agitprop-just what Nuwer intends.'
Alanna Nash, Entertainment Weekly 'Mr. Nuwer was an associate professor of
journalism at Ball State University when, in 1988, he received a Gannett
Foundation fellowship to write his book. The book examines hazing abuses
that Mr. Nuwer says are prevalent not only among Greek organizations but
also in the military, athletic teams, and high school and college bands. In
the course of his investigation, [the author] found that fraternity and
sorority members who haze pledges don't mean to harm them. . . 'What strikes
you is the very ordinariness of the death that makes it so chilling. I want
to show that these men didn't start out to kill anyone. To view them as
villains is not to get an accurate picture.' Michele N-K Collison, The
Chronicle of High Education 'It is indeed a rare event when a new book of
any kind about college fraternities appears. . .And most of the few which do
pop up have little serious interest or value. However, Hank Nuwer's is a welcome exception to this rule. All
Greeks who love their fraternities, and value the positive force they can
exert on members and campuses, need to read this book. . . Nuwer takes off
to discuss aspects of hazing - I know of nothing else in print which tells
so much about this extraordinarily complicated student behavorial
phenomenon. Moreover, Broken Pledges is very good reading. Its affect upon my wife illustrates this. She was at first interested only because it dealt
exclusively with Eileen Stevens, whom she knows. But once engaged in reading
the book, she became so fascinated she could hardly put it down. A loyal
sorority alumna, she said that for the first time in her life it left her
wondering if the Greek letter sorority and fraternity systems as described
here were worth saving, and if our own granddaughters would be safe in them.
. . So thank you, Hank Nuwer, for writing a book so useful for those
concerned with student life-and especially the Greeks-the likes of which we
have not seen for many years.
—Frederick D. Kershner, The Delta Tau Delta Magazine, past international president of the fraternity
