Why People Like Being Rated: The Psychology Behind ChkM8

In late April 2025, eleven high school lacrosse players from Westhill High School in Syracuse, New York, turned themselves in to police.

Their crime?

Orchestrating what they called a team bonding event—a fake armed kidnapping of younger teammates. One student was tied up, blindfolded, placed in the trunk of a car, and later abandoned in a remote area. The entire event was filmed.

The local District Attorney didn’t mince words:

“This is hazing on steroids. If police had stumbled upon this mid-act, someone could’ve been shot. Someone could be dead.” — DA William Fitzpatrick

Though this happened at the high school level, the parallels to fraternity hazing are undeniable: coercion masked as tradition, humiliation rationalized as “earning it,” and silence demanded in the name of brotherhood.

Why It Matters for Greek Life
The boys’ lacrosse season was canceled. The accused students will face legal consequences. But the damage runs deeper than a lost season or a criminal record.

What about the students who were targeted?

Behavioral experts warn that trauma from hazing can derail a young person’s entire future. According to Dr. Kristen Ethridge, a trauma psychologist who has worked extensively with adolescent abuse survivors:

Behavioral experts warn that trauma from hazing can derail a young person’s entire future. According to Dr. Kristen Ethridge, a trauma psychologist who has worked extensively with adolescent abuse survivors:

“Victims of group hazing often exhibit symptoms identical to PTSD. They may become unable to focus in class, avoid leaving home, or experience long-term trust issues. The worst cases withdraw from school entirely.”

And now these victims—these teenagers who just wanted to play lacrosse and belong—will be in a state of daze for days, weeks, or months as they try to find themselves again. Instead of thinking about chemistry class, hanging with friends on the courts, or focusing on their growth…
these victims will now have to begin the difficult work of becoming survivors.

They may not carry visible scars, but the fear doesn’t go away. One jarring truth is this:
Many survivors of hazing don’t bounce back.
They’re thrown off the rhythm of life—off their educational path, their friendships, their sense of self. Some never return to the confidence they had before.

As one college survivor put it:

“It wasn’t one event. It was like my brain never fully came back online after that week.”

Prevention Is the Only Acceptable Standard
This is exactly why ChkM8 created the Greek Safety Program (GSP).
Not because hazing is a “risk,” but because it’s a reality.

GSP empowers fraternity and sorority chapters to build transparent systems of accountability—before someone ends up in a trunk. Before a pledge drops out. Before a house is shut down. And before one moment of cruelty ruins a future.

It’s not enough to claim brotherhood or tradition. Not when silence is costing students their safety, education, and well-being.

This is why we built the Greek Safety Program. Because silence is not safety.