Scared to go through pledgeship
 

Hello, I am a freshman at UA and after discussing the topic of greek life with my parents, we have agreed it is in my best interest to pledge a fraternity this spring (I already obtained my bids from fall rush). My only concern is the process of pledgeship. Lots of my friends went through it and said it was hell. My question is, is pledgeship really a bad experience and what are some tips on going through it?

If you find the right group of guys it won't be hell. Some groups haze, some don't. They'll all tell you they don't haze.

If they haze you, it's probably not in your best interests to join that fraternity. Do you really think you can truly consider guys who abuse you to be close enough to be your brothers?

So, here's the deal: if they haze you, you are always free to turn in your pin and walk away.

As for finding out which organizations haze and which don't: the ones that don't will say that they don't haze, the ones that do say "university policies" don't allow hazing.

eh thats not true all the time but close enough I'd say. I've seen some GLO's just straight up lie to their prospectives

This. If you've already gotten a bid, go ahead and try it out. No one can make you stick with it. If they're hazing and you want no part of it by all means turn in your pin and leave. I'd be careful about shying away from joining just based on word of mouth. I'm willing to bet that if you do join a group that hazes it won't be long at all before you figure that out, and then at least you won't have wasted much time.

ETA: Think hard about staying if you're being hazed. As excelblue pointed out, how can you consider men who abuse you to be your brothers? IMO it's not worth it, and finding a house that doesn't haze would be a better idea.

I don't think this is a NIC fraternity he's talking about.

Why? What other councils/conferences would give multiple bids?

I think the word bids is a typo. Just a feeling.

^^ Rush and bids both suggest NIC over MCGLO/LGLO/BGLO.

Right.

Locals

This is where I think the GC ideals and reality (at some schools) have to be separated to some degree to answer your question most effectively. Virtually everybody at GC will say hazing is not worth it and that you should not join a chapter that hazes. However, at some schools literally your only shot at going Greek (in a fraternity) will involve some degree of hazing. It either is or is not campus culture and you need to think about this before you accept a bid.

At the end of the day, if you are so uncomfortable that you would rather drop than endure more hazing, do just that. Drop. Nobody can force you to do something you really do not want to do. But I think it is wise to keep your ear to the ground to figure out which chapters haze or, if you are at some schools (and frankly many SEC campuses are like this) the best you may be able to do is find out which chapters haze the least.

This is one case where I WOULD listen to the rumors. Where there's smoke there's fire, and although nobody will make you actually do the elephant walk or kill a goat or whatever the ridiculous stories are, the chapters mentioned in those rumors usually ARE the ones that haze the hardest.

If you have good friends in a chapter you are considering, ask them sincerely about how hard it is. They will probably not give you details but will be able to give you some sort of idea. If you do not know anybody that well, don't bother asking because all they will tell you is "we don't haze", and that is not always the truth.

Locals usually operate with NIC fraternities in rush unless they are local MC/L/BGLOs. Or underground. That said, it seems odd to jump to the assumption that these are NOT NIC fraternities when all signs point that way.

What normally happens through pledgeship?

It varies.

It involves learning the history of the organization and preparing you to run the organization as a brother.