I would like to respond to the editorial you printed entitled “Stop Hazing.”

I would like to know the basis for the assumptions made by Mr. Doug Tschopp.

“I know the university does not condone hazing,” he wrote. What indicates this is hazing? This sounds like a scene I could easily recount from church camp or soccer practice.

I can remember pickup football games in the neighborhood which were far more physical than anything I read about this incident.

Hazing is a serious issue; people have died from hazing incidents across the country.

Please do not minimize the issue by tying the title to what could have been good-natured male bonding.

“I do not know what fraternity it was,” he wrote. Why do you assume it was a fraternity?

I think after reading this account, I believe it was the cross country team, not a fraternity.

Most people would agree that this would be a ridiculous conclusion for me to draw based on the available evidence. Is it really any more legitimate to assume it was a fraternity? I am an alumnus of Iowa State and of a fraternity. I can say with all sincerity that I was never subjected to hazing.

I would simply not have tolerated it.

My relationship with my brothers was one of the most positive experiences of my life.

I understand and accept that the greek system will always be a target for those who are not a part of it, but please do not make undue assumptions.

Prejudice truly does come in many forms.

Derek Veith

ISU alumnus