Hazing Pledges

[Dan Atcheson]

It's my understanding that hazing is no longer allowed. I don't advocate that, but when I was a pledge, we got hazed big time, one evening. The reason was that the actives realized that our pledge class was not a close-knit group--most of us didn't know each other's names. So they took us to a bare, dirt farm field, covered us with molassas and cornflakes. Threw eggs at us and made us run, or crawl our butts off. I won't kid you. It was rough, and you'll never believe how many stickers are in a farm field. I recall collapsing before our last finish line. I felt I just couldn't run another step. Then, an active got in my face and yelled, "Get up, Atcheson! Finish the run!" I responded, "I can't make it!" He came back with, "You HAVE to make it!" I got so angry, I got up and finished. To me, it was a life-altering event that has stayed with me all of my life. You can't imagine how many situations I've been in when EVERYONE felt there was not way to come out okay, or to win. But I've learned to stay in a fight until it's finished, and I've won many times when there looked like there was no hope. I thank the active chapter for that evening, and will never forget the adventure.