Should fraternities be regulated or banned?

Since the death of Lenny Villa in 1991 and despite the introduction of the Anti-Hazing Law in 1995, there have been a number of highly publicized hazing-related deaths in the Philippine media.  Marc Andre Marcos, allegedly an initiate of Lex Leonum fraternity of San Beda Law School, was the latest victim last July. Though the fraternity has pledged to cooperate with authorities investigating the case, no arrests have been made as of the publication of this article.

 

In the wake of Marcos' death, Mareng Winnie Monsod sat down with Atty. Viney Ibarra, Marc Andre's uncle and a member of the GMA Legal Department, and Garret Paris, a UP Alpha Sigma fraternity member, to discuss the phenomenon during the August 15 episode of the GMA News TV analysis program "Bawal ang Pasaway kay Mareng Winnie." They tackled the questions: "What are fraternities for? Why does hazing still persist?"

 

In the end, Monsod, a proud member of UP Sigma Delta Phi, concluded that fraternities and sororities that practice hazing "either have a mean streak, or are too lazy and stupid to find other ways to test loyalty and value."

 

GMA News Online asked "Bawal ang Pasaway" viewers whether fraternities should be banned altogether or just more closely regulated. Some argued that there is nothing inherently wrong with associations, while others contended that violence is so entrenched in fraternity culture that it would be impossible to eliminate. Here are their responses: