TORONTO, April 19, 2001 -- Jay Johnson, a PhD candidate in sociology and equity studies at OISE/UT, will deliver a talk entitled Picking up the Pieces: New Directions for Sport Initiations at York University, Monday, April 23.
Johnson will present some of the theories and practices of initiation and hazing rituals in sport and illustrate some of the cutting-edge programs being adopted by athletic departments to curtail physical, emotional and sexual abusive types of initiations. He will also discuss his own recent research findings on the effectiveness of initiation alternatives such as co-operative games and weekend retreats.
Johnson says hazing and initiations in varsity athletics are closely connected with rites of passages for fraternities and the military. "In sport, initiation ceremonies are utilized to educate rookies as to their place in the hierarchical structure of the team. They are taught that the senior or veteran players hold the balance of power on the team and to achieve that status they must endure the potential hardships and abuses inherent in the initiation rites."
"These rituals are inherently abusive, humiliating and degrading practices which can alienate, discourage and traumatize athletes," says Johnson. "With increasing media exposure, people are empowered to question the abusive nature of some of the initiations. As well, some athletic departments are actively seeking alternatives types of orientations for their membership in a bid to break the cycle of initiations present on many varsity teams."
Johnson's research project saw more than 300 varsity athletes go through either an alternative weekend retreat involving co-operative games, canoe trips and rock climbing, or a one day orientation in a rock climbing gym or at an outdoor education camp. He says the effectiveness of alternative orientations -- which de-emphasize abuse and humiliation and are more welcoming to all team members -- can be tested by assessing whether players are receptive to new ways of welcoming new members, and whether those alternatives can still achieve a sense of team cohesion.
Johnson’s talk will take place 3 to 5 p.m., in the Stong College Senior Common Room, aka Sylvester’s (Room 201), York University Campus, 4700 Keele Street.
The Michael Smith Seminar series commemorates the work and research of York Prof. Michael Smith, a sport sociologist and one of the founding members of York’s LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution, who died in 1994. Smith's book Violence and Sport (1988) is a standard text on the subject. The seminar series will conclude with a full-day round-table discussion in May 2001.
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For more information, please contact:
Jay Johnson
Sociology and Equity Studies
OISE/UT
(416) 927-9685
jay.johnson@utoronto.ca
Prof. Greg Malszecki
Kinesiology and Health Science
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 77480
gregm@yorku.ca
Ken Turriff
Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/049/01
