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Originally Posted by shinerbock
I have no doubts that there are fraternities who don't have pledging or hazing. So what? I would have absolutely no desire to join an organization like that. Sigma Nu is one of the best fraternities on my campus, but they surely wouldnt be if they were an anti-hazing chapter as you mentioned.
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I'm not sure where in the process they are, but I hung out with a bunch of Auburn Sigma Nus at our national convention in '04. There were a lot of them there to support/lobby for a measure that would have lessened the number of men who would be qualified to be legacies. At any rate, I do get the feeling that they are a more traditional chapter in terms of intake. However, they were a Rock Chapter this year -- that means in the top 8 nationally (my chapter was an honorable mention after only existing for 4 years, but I digress).
To win the Rock Chapter award, they must have been participating in our national programming. I know for a fact that our Oklahoma State chapter has adopted the national programming, and they're top 8 as well.
At any rate, hazing has nothing to do with success. My chapter had the advantage of being able to start from scratch. In the 4 years since we got our charter, we're really on the cusp of being competitive on the same level as Oklahoma State or Auburn, and we don't haze at all. I know for a fact that one other organization hazes (my younger brother is a member), and I have strong suspicions as to the rest of the chapters on that campus. If Sigma Nu at my alma mater is able to be that different, and still get the best grades, be a dominant force in student government, compete strongly in greek week, and excel in intermurals without hazing, I tend to think that it can be done anywhere.
The South is a very traditional place, and Oklahoma tends to be a strange hybrid of northern/southern lifestyle. I think that you'd agree shinerbock that tradition is something that you can't just change overnight at southern schools. That said, I think that we have a definite movement away from hazing, and in the South, though that movement is lagging behind other places, we're still moving away.