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Well actually kansas city i'm an alumni and i'm not really involved with my chapter as much anymore. i just always found these types of discussions very interesting from when i was active so i would just like to hear differing opinions and see if i can find any good enough to make me change my mind regarding certain things about pledging.
to answer some of your questions as best as i can, i believe that humans have untapped potential that can only be reached when you hit a certain threshhold and you're pushed to the limit. we always hear about stories about extraordinary things humans do in times of danger or peril or when they are confronted with obstacles. these things are what i want to base a pledging process on.
yelling: the way i see it yelling is a good way for someone to learn to perform under pressure. it's always easy to do things when in a controlled environment but think about how much better you can be if you learn to get rid of your nerves and perform things when someone is in your face.
humiliation: i think that being humiliated can be an eye opening experience. if you go thru life and you're always worshipped and everyone always says you're right and you always get positive reinforcement, eventually you begin to believe that you're all that. just look at all the athletes and movie stars. b/c we idolize them they all think they're above the law and are special or something. what makes them any better than you or me? that's why i think humiliation can sometimes can be an equalizer b/c it shows that you're not really all you think you are and it can be a humbling experience.
physical exercises: when you mess up and nothing happens, how are you supposed to learn from your mistakes? if you're punished or better yet, if someone in your pledge class is punished for your mistake, i think you are more unlikely to make the same mistake twice b/c you know the consequences. if you put your hand over a fire and burn your hand, you won't do that again right? same concept. if you don't like this you can always quit too right?
now obviously all of these things need to be controlled and i realize that with all the deaths etc things have gotten out of hand. however, for govts to completely define every little thing as hazing, i just think that is going a little extreme. obviously we don't want anyone to die and stuff like that. but to call everything hazing is just making things worse b/c now i don't see much challenge in the pledging process.
for those of you who werent hazed and were even showered with gifts the entire time, i'm curious as to if you really improved much as a person. what did you learn in pledging that helped you become a different person after pledging and before pledging? for me, i learned how to push myself to the limit and perform under pressure and learned to be humble. i gained lots of confidence in myself and my grades improved b/c i learned how to manage my time since you always had to be ready for actives calling you up so i learned to do things in advance.
and kansas city, it's not like the hierarchy is always going to be supervisor/subordinate for the whole entire time. it's only at most like 8-10 weeks for the pledges to prove themselves. after that then everyone is on equal footing.
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