How long is your pledging?
 

Greek life over the years at the College of Wooster has been forced by the administration year after year to make concessions and change traditions. All nationals were banned in 1913 and all greek life here is local. Pledging way back in the day used to be 4-8 weeks (depending on the fraternity/sororety) like many nationals, but for the past 15 years (at least) pledging is only two weeks long at a maximum. The two week restriction is mandated by the campus administration.

I have always wondered how long the pledging process is for local greeks at other schools is. How long is yours?

Two weeks is just too short.

I don't know how locals do it, but 2 weeks is way too short.

I have to agree, two weeks seems extremely short to me. Our locals here have an average pledging time of about a semester - one is shorter and they get initiated before winter break, and one gets initiated right after winter break.

Well from what I have gathered, most of the greeks pledging processes are a very intensive due to the restriction made by the administration. Once initiated the new Pledge Class is "at the bottom of the totem pole", and any menial tasks that need to be done fall to the new PC, this then continues until the next PC is initiated.

I can say personally that my fraternity has adjusted to the two week restriction well. We quickly formed tight bonds together, with the actives and some alums before us, and we definitely have our traditions and values instilled in us. Some friends of mine have told me the same for a couple of the sororities.

A 2 week long Hell Week?? Sounds like a general hell. No wonder you think 2 weeks is enough. Actual pledging should have at most one week of living in the house (what you might call Hell Week).

I wouldn't say many of the greeks two weeks is all "Hell". Heck there is even one fraternity here that has one week of pledging.

The other thing is the school mandates that pledging can only take place between 7PM and 11PM. Anything outside of that is considered to be underground.

For my fraternity in the 80s it used to be 6 weeks, in the 90s it was four, and today it is only two.

I will echo the other posters -- 2 weeks seems awfully short. The locals on my campus operated a lot like the nationals, so their processes were ~2 months (give or take).

The only way I can see 2 weeks working is if they were intensive programs with the pledges doing absolutely nothing else during those weeks (including school/work). That's obviously not ideal, but if it works for y'all, kudos. Also, having your new classes at the bottom of the totem pole until the new class comes in seems like a way to get around the pledging restrictions. But again, it seems like it works for y'all.

Grove City locals back in the day did a 1 or 2 week pledging that was basically what k_s said. Nothing but pledging and hardcore hazing.

If they are forcing you to hold it at a minimum 2 weeks, what you are doing is the only way you can do it. You might want to point out, though, that the administration is basically condemning people to a semester long pledgeship - unless they don't care about reality and only care about how it looks on paper.

Also the 7-11 thing is rididiculous. For some people that's hazing as that's when they're working or studying.

I didn't even notice that. That is ridiculous.

Was this the college that comes up every so often that every group has a reputation for hazing like hell and their groups have sort of odd nicknames?

The local sororities and fraternity here have 10 week pledge periods. I mean, even SigEp & DPhiE (which don't pledge) have a 6-10 week new member period here.

Even from a non-pledging [fraternity] stand point (can't speak for DPhiE), our last 2 weeks get hellish/stressful. I can't imagine what a 1 or 2 week pledge period would be like.

That is the allowed timeframe in which pledging CAN take place, not necessarily you go do pledging for 4 hours every day.

There have been 2 fraternities that have had their charters permanently revoked by campus administration for category three (Violent) hazing. One still exists underground but the other died out 7 years ago. These two instances DID bring national attention.

As for the nicknames when the administration banned Nationals in 1913 the remaining groups changed to Sections (Frats) and Clubs (Sororities). These groups eventually took greek letters again, and slowly over time the school chartered them as local greeks. The fraternities still refer to themselves by the sections of Kenarden Lodge that they lived in, a building built for the sole purpose of housing these groups in 1918. My fraternity is the Sixth Section. Some of the sections had nicknames too (Zards, Krappers, Rangers). The Clubs were primarily known for their nicknames and not a section (Peanuts, Echoes, Imps, etc.)

Sorry for the history lesson xD.

I know what you meant. I still think it's ridiculous.

What happens if a student has to work between those hours? Or if the only time that all pledges have free time is noon?

I cant speak for other greeks but in mine work and any varsity sports practice took precedent over pledging, and study time was allowed on long days when papers, tests, or quizzes followed the next day.

Well yeah...but the point is, if you're a student who works at, say, Applebee's every night from 5 till close, how on earth do you pledge? It's not fair to students who don't have a strict 9-4 and then done with the day schedule.

Well actually almost every single student here is either employed by the school or is unemployed. Every single person in my fraternity, and at least one other sorority every active works a school job or is unemployed.

Campus jobs typically have flexible hours. For example I worked for media services and so I would knock out hours in the morning and evening. One of my pledge brothers did the same with his job with admissions.

What is your organization's definition of the pledge process/period?

If it's something like "getting to know" the fellow members, pledge members, learning fraternity history and traditions, then I fail to see how that is done during the very limited hours of 7-11pm even if you had activities every day for four hours, for the total two weeks. That's not including activities like interacting with fellow Greeks, formal meetings, social or service events, study sessions, and informal events just to hang out.

I'm old school, but if you were a pledge, "pledging" was 24/7, not somewhere within a four-hour window for less than two weeks.

You may not be able to answer this here, but what, other than doing menial tasks and looking forward to having the social status of a cockroach for a semester/year, do you actually get out of this "pledging" experience?

Ahhhhhhhhh. Well then, 7-11 PM isn't quite as stupid as originally thought.

Again, the SCHOOL mandates that "pledging activities" must take place within that time frame.

I think you misunderstood "menial tasks". Once you go through the two weeks you are in. You are a full active member without question. The new PC typically is tasked with cleaning the house after a party, going to get any needed supplies. Simple stuff. Otherwise once initiated you are the same as every other active.

We think what THE SCHOOL is mandating is ridiculous. We know it's not the individual organizations.

If you have to say "The new pledge class...," then it's NOT the same as every other active.