Hazing

[The1calledTKE]

Glad you are reconcidering a change of heart.

[snoopTKEstyle]

Dear Nameless Frater,

Thank you for the clarification. Now you sound a little more like a TKE. Remember love charity and esteem. These are three very abstract, but incredible concepts. My chapter and I try to instill these ideals into our pledge classes. While i do not mean to intend we are the shit...we are proud of what we do. Once brothers we share thoughts on the past pledge experience. Some of the greatest feedback came from not the events, not the challenges, but of the Brotherhood Building activites we have. In particular is our SHARING night. All the brothers and pledgs sit in a circle somewhere and pour your heart out. Most everyone has that deep, dark secret that you intend to take with you to the grave. Beleive it or not, maybe becuase we have been lucky, or maybe becuase the event is right before "spirit" week, this is more often then not every new members favorite event. This is what brotherhood is all about. Some of the shit that comes out in this night is incredible, sometimes scary. You gain a new respect for the man that you can drink beers with one night, and be able to cry next to other nights. Not all guys cry...not all guys share their secret. But sooner or later, it comes out. And when it does they are forever solidified into our bond, and our brotherhood.
This is just a small suggestion to a large problem frater. I think this is also an extreme. For the record, we are not known as the pussies on campus, we are not known as the assholes. TKE at Towson University is known as the nice guys, and the guys who can throw a party. That to me is a good thing.


YITB,
Joe Webb

[T. Rod O'Neal]

Notice - the person who began the thread by saying that Hazing is good, that he is a current Chapter Advisor, and so forth and so on has written an appology and admitted that he is NOT a Chapter Advisor, and that he has a compulsive disorder. You may see that under the thread Apology.

Many people were under the impression that he was affiliated with Beta Rho Chapter of TKE, and that they were following the program of hazing and abuse outlined. That is NOT the case. Be aware that upon viewing his comments, an IMMEDIATE investigation was launched by officials of TKE International Fraternity.

We have deemed his allegations of such a pledge program to be false statements.

[TEKEISSTRONG]

I want to thank you for launching the investigation which called me out. It is through this that I have "hit my bottom" and am seeking help for my problem.

I have been engaged in destructive behavior for quite some time on the net, and because of this, I am, along with the help of my family and Tim at TKE nationals, getting the help I need.

Thanks again. The road to my recovery won't be easy, but I know that it will be good not to live a double life any longer, and to accept who I really am, which is a loving father and husband with five kids.

I have been asking myself Why? Maybe my doctor will be able to help me with this, but again, I apologize to all GLO's and TKE's everywhere for this irresponsible behavior.

YITB,

Shawn A

[TKE_Jughead515]

Frater, your program concerns me a great deal. It seems your pledging is based around breaking down individuals to the point that it is dangerous to their health. For someone to listen to you when u tell them they can't sleep or eat just so that they can be your brother is rediculous. How does torturing an individual make them closer to you and how does it make them "worthy" to be a TKE brother? Cutting off one of my nuts would hurt real bad but if I did it for TKE I don't think I'd get any award from nationals.

My fraternities program is based around creating leaders. We take the skills they already have and build off them to make those people better leaders and better brothers. When they finish they are closer to the brotherhood than ever before and are committed to getting the first officership thats available.

In those fraternities that do haze it seems like it only escalates. Once you are in you want to make your position all the more valuable. I know that you will blow this message off most probably but I hope at least you will consider what kind of harm you are doing to people that you want to call brothers.

YITB
Jughead

[Beef]

Frater,

Initiation of pledges is not the equivilent of Hell Week for Navy Seals. My initition was FUN! And through that, I bonded with my brothers. Im not sure exactly what your story is but if there is even ANY glimmer of truth to what your described, you need to re-evaluate what being a TKE really means.
Im glad to see you are getting help. No one is perfect, but you have a WHOLE LOT of brothers that care and will gladly help you out in your time of need.

YITB

[teke4life]

guys,
make sure you read the whole thread. it turns out this guy isn't an advisor, and he's not a teke.

[G.I.]

I know TKEISSTRONG is getting a lot of bad rap from all of his fellow fraters. He served his country in the military as I will in two years when I comission as an officer in the Army. But one of our former Pryntis's also served in the Gulf and saw action but feels strongly against hazing. That is one of our chapter's biggest pet peeves, b/c we have seen the horrors of other chapters hazing, yeah it may make one tougher, but how does it may one a better man and a leader. Yeah it can show him how to get through the tough times, but there are other things that could be implied that can do the same thing for that pledge. I've heard about people losing lives over hazing incidents, not from any of our chapters thankfully but other houses. I don't get a warm fuzzy feeling when people die trying to join something that is great. What our house does is drill them on their education and make them know their shit, and make them make their pledge experience an adventure and have fun telling stories about what they did as a pledge, not to send a shiver up their spine. I hope you take this to heart and change your ways. Because our house a reputaion for people not to Fuck with because we are tough but we are humble about our strength and never use it unless it is absolutly necessary. But yet we never haze our pledges. It doesn't prove anything except how much of a tool one can be, and not a leader he could be. I hope you read this and put it into consideration.

YITB GI

[G.I.]

Yeah... I feel like a smacked ass right now, its like that test they give you in 2nd grade where they want you to try and do it as fast as you can and at the end it tells you: if you are reading this dont fill out anything on this test.

[T. Rod O'Neal]

No one should feel bad for reacting to the original post by Tekeisstrong. True, if you had read further you would have discovered that the "alleged frater" (not convinced he is a Teke) apprently has a problem and likes to upset people.

What is important, is that so many of my fellow Tekes became enraged upon reading his original description of what he considered to be an ideal pledge program. You were angry, and promptly disagreed with him.

That so many responded this way makes me feel better about the future of TKE. That all my work as a frater will not be negated by having chapters closed due to injuries and/or death. I've had to deal with the near death of 3 pledges who nearly lost their lives due to the action of a misguided older member.

I hope never to have to deal with that again.

[teke643]

This is not the army and we are not training our pledges to go to war. I am strongly against physical hazing. You will not get my respect of something that you took as a pledge. You have respect for those people who have done something. The decorated general is respected for what he has done in combat, not for what he did in basic. You get respect for what you do. I get respect from my chapter for the things that I have done for the Fraternity and for the Greek Community. Respect me for that, not for what I went through in pledgeship. I have seen the guys who "took it" during pledgeship and to tell you the truth I was not impressed. Try changing you program to allow for more personal growth. 20% in a horrable number to end up with. TKE is not supposed to challenge you physically, we are here to challenge our pledges mentally, to grow and gain the most from college and the fraternity. A bunch of badasses in not what quality people are looking for.


YITB
643

[teke4ever]

Hazing is bad. That guy is an ass tring to get others to do such a horrible thing.

[archangel689]

Simply put. Look at hazing from a different perspective. I know a chapter that physically beats their pledges, among other things, Dangerous things (ie: jumping in front of cars).

Its a self respect issue. Those who have no respect for themselves will be willing to undergo the abuse, others, the strong ones will go somewhere else. Not because they are "weak," but because they actually respect themselves.

This is why those who are not heavy-hazers own our campus' IFC and always destroy everyone in greeksing and carnival.

[The1calledTKE]

Originally posted by archangel689
Simply put. Look at hazing from a different perspective. I know a chapter that physically beats their pledges, among other things, Dangerous things (ie: jumping in front of cars).

Its a self respect issue. Those who have no respect for themselves will be willing to undergo the abuse, others, the strong ones will go somewhere else. Not because they are "weak," but because they actually respect themselves.

This is why those who are not heavy-hazers own our campus' IFC and always destroy everyone in greeksing and carnival.

Well said.

[hannahgirl]

As a member of a GLO on campus with the Beta Rho Tekes, I would just like to say that if he was affiliated with these guys, things have changed completely. I have known the Beta Rho guys for three years and have also dated one and I know that they have more respect for their chapter than that. Ever since I joined my GLO in the fall of 99, these guys have almost tripled their chapter size and continue to be a strong influence on campus. What they do inside their chapter is their business, however, I know those guys better than that and they would not subject their brothers to that kind of hazing...it is ridiculous.
Just thought I'd share my opinion since I happened to stumble across the post.