Asians in the Army Vulnerable to Hazing: The Case of Danny Chen

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “Army Charges Eight in Wake of Death of a Fellow G.I.,” describes a case of hazing every bit as severe as the recently denounced versions in college fraternities. In some ways, it’s even worse as it is directed not at people from middle or upper-class backgrounds but at those who are struggling to make it and serve their country at the same time.

Danny Chen, an Army private, took his own life in a suicide that was attributed largely to hazing. His fellow soldiers belittled and physically attacked him, and today they are receiving some measure of justice, or at least the potential of it. It’s tragic for these kind of events to befall any American, much less a vulnerable 19-year old kid. Private Chen was only trying to serve his country and was placed in a situation where he could neither escape or effectively fight back.

Asian-American groups welcomed the accusations though some are still leery of the possibility of an Army whitewash. And only one officer was accused, the others were just enlisted men. Still, it is a sign of progress when the Army takes these kind of situations as seriously as we are beginning to do in civilian society.