I currently am a senior captain on the University of Massachusetts at Lowell softball team majoring in criminal justice. I recently was elected to sit as the vice-chair on my campus Student- Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

I've been here for three strenuous years, in the classroom and on the field. But those three years seem less draining compared to what I was asked to do as an elected officer of SAAC.

At this point in my career I thought I knew everything that I had to, or needed to, know about college athletics. Boy, was I wrong.

As the vice-chair of our SAAC, I was asked to sit on an appeals committee for several of my fellow student-athletes who were appealing sanctions leveled against them for hazing. I had heard about the incident before this meeting but not in great detail. I figured that as long as no one was forced to do anything they did not want to do, then hazing was not the issue. Well, I was wrong.

Being a senior and a two-year captain, I have heard the lecture on hazing four times and have had to sign a contract taking responsibility for the actions of my teammates in cases of hazing. Yet, after all that, I still didn't know the true meaning or possible consequences of hazing.

The appeals committee opened my eyes to this serious and dangerous problem that exists on many college campuses. The problem is that most students don't know that what they are doing is wrong. Hazing isn't just forcing people to do a certain act; it is singling out a person or group of people in a way that may create physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment and ridicule.

Who would have thought that sending some fellow teammate on a scavenger hunt or making them wear clothes that set them apart from everyone else would be considered hazing? But in reality, it is. People may agree to do these activities, but that doesn't mean they really want to take part.

After leaving the appeals meeting, I was mentally drained. First, my friends were in trouble. Second, I had to make a decision on

whether I was for them or against them. I was disappointed in myself for not totally grasping the meaning of hazing after being a college student-athlete for almost four years.

I couldn't stop thinking about what I could do personally to help educate my team and my fellow student-athletes about the real meaning of hazing. What scared me most was that it could have been me, or someone on my team in their position. At the very least it was evidence that many students are not educated enough about this subject.

This hazing incident shocked everyone on my campus, making me realize that I wasn't the only one who didn't understand that what some athletes were doing was wrong.

So what can I do as a student-athlete and what can our athletics departments do to help us understand the breadth of hazing? Clearly, hazing is an issue at every college, whether incidents are known to have happened or not. As a freshman (a long time ago it seems) I probably would have done anything the upperclassmen or captains said, just to be liked and to fit in. But it shouldn't be that way. No one should be put in a position to have to make a decision like that.

Hazing needs to be an important topic on college campuses and within athletics departments. It shouldn't take a hazing incident at every school for student-athletes like myself to have their eyes forced open. People have died from extreme acts of hazing, and yet people still don't understand.

A word to student-athletes: Before a hazing incident happens at your college, take the time to educate yourself and everyone around you about hazing. Let them know the consequences and the possible harm done. Team bonding is important and sticking together is important, so why would you want to put your teammates in any danger or discomfort? Is hazing worth the possible consequences?

Educate yourself before a hazing incident happens at your school. It's worth it.

Kristine Botto is a softball student-athlete at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.