Who pledges the Hardest? - Page 3

blu_theatrics · #31 06-24-2000, 03:10 PM

I think that you put that very well

Quote:

Originally posted by Serenity:
Burning Sands, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I am a member of an LGLO sorority and I pledged above ground. The majority of LGLO's have pledge lines. Our pledges wear uniforms, walk on line, cut corners, etc.

I'm not saying that hazing does not go on, but because the pledges are in the public eye "hazing" can not get out of hand as in previous years. As it is right now, some college campus' feel that walking in line IS hazing. This is ridiculous!

The other day I was watching the Discovery channel. They were showing what it takes to make it in the Naval Academy. I don't see anyone campaigning against the Navy because of their hazing practices. What is the difference?

I learned all about UNITY duing my process. You can't learn this by signing papers. You really have go through the process. For me, it was an experience like no other: to have line sisters, to be together for weeks 24/7, to EARN our letters. I can't understand why they want to take that away.

Yes, some people get out of hand. (I know about the negative pledge experiences, please don't bombard me with that info.) But as a whole, the process would be better if it was above ground and not underground. Let's face reality! There are BGLO sororities and fraternities that still PLEDGE their members. Because they do this behind a cloak of secrecy, it can allow members to feel that "anything goes". Also, some propectees don't want to be "paper". They want to EARN their letters so that they can get RESPECT. Why shouldn't they be given that opportunity?!

[This message has been edited by Serenity (edited April 05, 2000).]

blu_theatrics · #32 06-24-2000, 03:18 PM

I don't know if you are assuming that anyone who pledges will loose their GPA, but I know that that is not true. But somehow someone decided that having people who are pledging have specified study time is hazing,(go figure).

But I guess I side tracked, my only point is that many people who pledge also study together and make sure that the other people on their line study and go to class, it's called bonding and it makes you care about the others well-being

Quote:

Originally posted by AlphaChiGirl:
Okay...if XYZ Fraternity makes their pledges stay up all night, etc., and as a result their grades suffer, is that considered "pledging hard"? Does that make it a better group than ABC, whose actives realize that community service, brotherhood, and academics are far more important than who's "paper" and who got "wood"? If it does, something is seriously wrong with a Greek system that promotes this lack of prioritization.
I'm sure there are people out there, members of my sorority, and other NPC as well as NPHC and NIC groups, who would probably think I am "paper", that my pledging process, since it did not involve any sort of pain, humiliation, etc (in fact, we were constantly asked if we were comfortable doing ANYTHING that was a new member activity). I'm very happy to say that I maintained my grades during the semester I pledged. And if anyone, regardless of letter, has any sort of disrespect for my pledge process, so be it. I was not hazed, and I think it was the fact that I was not hazed, forced to eat or drink anything I didn't want to, beaten, forced to stay up till all hours, or learn meaningless chants that has given me such pride in my sorority.

icytre · #33 06-24-2000, 07:14 PM

blu_theatrics,
I must say that unfortunately it is true that people's grades plummet down when they pledge. I see it every semester. Mine personally didn't; mine actually went up.

I do believe that it depends of individuals' study skills as well. If the chapter is implementing required study sessions for their membership intake, that will give motivation to focus on your academics, not just your fraternity/sorority history during membership intake.

blu_theatrics · #34 06-25-2000, 01:11 AM

I'm not saying that you have not saw it happen, the only thing that I am trying to do is show the other side and all of thepeople that I have saw pledge and join sororities and fraternities have actually saw theregrades go up, and basically, it is because of first the reqiured study sessions and secondly after they are members their bruhs and sorors make sure they go to class and maintain adequate GPAs
I am not saying you are wrong, I am just trying to let you know that sometimes grades are improved during/after pledging

Quote:

Originally posted by icytre:
blu_theatrics,
I must say that unfortunately it is true that people's grades plummet down when they pledge. I see it every semester. Mine personally didn't; mine actually went up.

I do believe that it depends of individuals' study skills as well. If the chapter is implementing required study sessions for their membership intake, that will give motivation to focus on your academics, not just your fraternity/sorority history during membership intake.

mwedzi · #35 07-03-2000, 09:52 AM

Beating? Eating their own vomit? You must be kidding me. Had my sorority members chosen to make themselves feel good and superior to me by beating or humiliating me, I would have never joined. It was the character of the sorority sisters which constantly strove to lift me up that made me want to make it to sisterhood.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not "paper" as it seems to be called. But neither am I "wood." Those are not the only two options. Because not everyone who starts pledge period makes it to the end, and it's not because of hazing. It's because we have to study our organization's history constantly, pass several tests, do our own fundraisers and philanthropic projects as a class, be at all the weekly required meetings and activities, and yes, make up fun activities that we enjoy as well. And it was in these experiences of happiness that we were emotionally bound together. Then once we became sisters, doing the hard work to keep our sorority going, the only chapter of a national sorority in our state. Every quarter was a struggle and it was also in the struggle that we became close. And we did it all without hurting each other.

There were already so many challenges from the outside world and from the simple nature of keeping your relatively new chapter strong; we really did not need to beat on each to add to it.

LIGHT #3 · #36 10-07-2000, 04:35 AM

I would like to say that you aren't paper. I know that people say paper burns, but it is also replacable as well. It's better to have your papaer or to be paper if it means you keeping your grades up. All real man and or woman wouldn't allow anyone to beat on them for some letters that won't even get you into heaven. The Lord is not in the pledging process enough. Pray, ask the Lord to help all greeks frats and sorrors to be a example of Christianity. If you don't know the Lord then all that you do is in vein. Nothing is wrong with having good ole fun but when you are going against the teachings of the Lord then something is wrong. Also, the founders of these frat and sorrors didn't get hazrd so why should you? I know that I didn't but I still get respect. The Lord is the only one who will beat one me. I will not allow no human in hell to do anything to me that the Lord wouldn't do.

Kymberleigh · #37 10-07-2000, 06:59 PM

I think pledging does bond people together. However, I know a certain chapter of XYZ a BGLO who pledged their lines hard, and when I say hard....well...nuf said. These guys went through year after year, and still they lost their house, cuz even though they were pledged hard they didn't find that undying love that they should have found...I'm guessing on that.

Needless to say pledging might bond, but if that's all it does, then it isn't worth it. Besides, you can hold much love for your house even if you are paper. Just because you weren't made, doesn't mean that the house hasn't made you after the fact.

Much Love,

Kymberleigh
Delta Delta Delta

ahhkbah · #38 10-09-2000, 09:19 PM

I think its great to believe that your organization pledges the hardest. The truth is processes vary from yard to yard. Different schools do things differently. Chapters differ greatly in the number and type of men and women they choose as members. It is a novel idea to believe that good pledging is an "across the board" thing. The realoity is that is isn't.

ahhkbah · #39 10-09-2000, 09:19 PM

I think its great to believe that your organization pledges the hardest. The truth is processes vary from yard to yard. Different schools do things differently. Chapters differ greatly in the number and type of men and women they choose as members. It is a novel idea to believe that good pledging is an "across the board" thing. The reality is that is isn't.

ahhkbah · #40 10-09-2000, 09:21 PM

And in my opinion hazing and pledging are not one in the same...but that is another post entirely!

ChaosDST · #41 04-21-2001, 05:02 PM

Who pledges...who doesn't. Who pledges the hardest...blahzey blah. What's wrong with BGLOs is that we confuse HAZING with PLEDGING. They're not the same. There are few things worse than a member of a BGLO who runs around bragging of the things he/she did on-line...but, still can't tell you anything about his/her organization OR doesn't do anything in his/her organization. This is because that person got HAZED, not PLEDGED. Pledging is all relative...you're ALWAYS going to find SOMEONE who pledged harder than you. You're even going to find members of organizations (that you THINK don't pledge) who pledged harder than you. BGLOs need to stop trying to out-HAZE eachother (in the name of pledging)...because we're only getting lawsuits and we're NOT making better members. That's my $19.13 worth.

CalBear · #42 04-24-2001, 05:07 PM

Sheesh...long thread...

Okay, I'm new to the forum, but not to Greek Life. I know this has been said before, but I'm gonna rehash and try to organize here.

Mindless, senseless hazing is wrong. Beating pledges, making them run naked through zero degree weather, making them pound shot after shot just for an active's amusement, whatever - that's wrong. There's no point to that.

The message I learned from my fraternity's pledge semester was that my GLO is one unit...and all of the activities we did had a point...they taught us to work together to get something accomplished; they taught us that there's a certain amount of work that NEEDS to be done, and if I don't do it, then my brother will end up sacking up and doing it.

Don't get me wrong...I'm not some tool who pledged an easy house just to claim a greek name - My house has one of the toughest pledge semesters on campus. But we also have a point to our pledge activities. There are no mindless "hey bros, tonight we're just gonna give the pledges four handles of vodka and make them drink it"...that, to me, has no point.

I'm actually very glad I went through my pledge semester. I never imagined what I could do if I were pushed to my breaking point - physically and mentally - and then pushed a little bit further. I wouldn't have been able to handle any of the challenges I've faced since I've pledged, because I would have turned around and given up. Thanks to pledging, I've seen my limits - what I think I can do and what I physically can do - and I'm not afraid to push myself to those limits.

I wouldn't have discovered those limits had I not been pushed to my breaking points...and I wouldn't have been pushed had I not been "hazed."

To reiterate, hazing with a purpose, with some final goal in mind, is great. It teaches a person a lot about themselves and shows them how to overcome the "I can't do it" mentality.

Hazing just to haze...that's bad.

Sigmagirl43 · #43 06-27-2001, 03:45 PM

My sorority is notorious for being the "hardest" on my college campus. It's so funny to hear all the rumors about how we make our pledges to bottlesquats and perform oral sex on fraterity bros. . .hahaha! Girls that would do that, in order to belong to a group that would make them do such things, have serious issues!

Tom Earp · #44 06-27-2001, 05:44 PM

Granted, hazing sucks and to get beaten overly drunk to maybe die is STUPID! But some of this has gone much to far!

New Assoc. Members should have to learn the history of the local chapter and the International! They should have study time to keep the Grades (After All That Is Why They are in College)!
We use to have a tractor tire painted white and rolled to Soro Houses for Signatures, Paddles made for Big Brothers, and A Large Paddle made by the class with their names on it with their class designation. These Large Paddles are hung on the walls of the House and the Alums love to come back and find theirs to show their kids!
But according to International, this shows a form of Hazing and is verboten!!!!!!

Well, I say BS!
There is a reason for things so that young men can bond but I never found bonding was from getting your ass beat or making one drink until he may die! Stupidity comes in all shapes and sizes!

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Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)