[shadokat]

TKErd345--

I didn't accuse you of hazing at your chapter. And I don't assume that you do.

To respond to some of your points:

First, wearing a NM pin is hazing when they are forced to do so. As a sophmore in college, I had the self-esteem to do what I wanted to do, and that was to wear that pin with pride. One girl in my new member class forgot to wear her pin, and she received no reprecussions because of it. And you're right, most of us wore that pin out of pride and joy! There's no denying that. Which is exactly why it ISN'T hazing in this context.

Second, how you constitute learning the greek alphabet as hazing because it's "mental stress/harm", well our new members don't see it that way. I remember when I was a new member very vividly, and after going through the big process of recruitment and finding a sorority to call home, I wanted to know everything about it! It wasn't mentally stressful or harmful to me. And 99 of 100 new members in my sorority would say the same thing. If you want to call it hazing, do so. I'm obviously not going to change your mind.

Thirdly, my chapter never has and never will haze for a few simple reasons. #1) We don't believe in it. #2) It's illegal.
#3) We watch countless women depledge from other sororities due to hazing. My new member program was full of fun, getting to know sisters, meeting new people and experiencing sorority life. Along with all of that, we are asked, going into the process, to learn what it is that makes our sorority so special...our history and traditions. Just as you were probably asked as a new member at TKE. If you think that getting to know sisters, having a good time at community service, social and other events and meeting new people is hazing, then apparently you wouldn't condone my chapter. The new members are integrated as part of the group long before they are initiated. I encourage you to save your judgments of my chapter until you know the facts.

Finally, depledging is hazing?? Not on my campus it isn't. We don't ask women to depledge, nor have we had many in the 10 years since our founding. If a woman chooses to depledge, she does so for her own reasons and is not treated as some leper. We have had a few women who left for financial or family reasons who are still wonderful friends with the chapter.

Hazing is about degradation, disgrace and embarrassment of people by someone else. NOT by themselves. Unless you're saying that you can haze yourself, and that if you do, your fraternity is responsible for that as well.

I have an idea of what TKE stands for, more than 1% I'm sure. Some of them were my best friends in college, and when their fraternity house burned to the ground and 3 of their brothers died, our sorority was by their side helping with whatever they needed. We had a date auction and gave all of the proceeds to them. We bought them letters to put on the site of their old house to remember the brothers who died.

Sorry to have gone on so long here...just felt the need to answer some of this.