ETA: this is an article from the student newspaper dated 11/24
Student Newspaper Article
Hazing at Kappa Sigma uncovered
by Matt Rado, Staffwriter
Eleven members of Kappa Sigma?s spring pledge class and five out of ten members of the fall pledge class de-pledged recently amidst allegations of hazing. Members of the spring pledge class, who did not wish to be named, say they were forced to chug 24 ounces of maple syrup in one incident and at one point were forced to run through a ?gauntlet? in the fraternity?s hallway in which they had to carry a ball and were hit with punching bags. The hallway was filled with obstacles such as couches and trip wires. Pledges emerged with rug burns and three of them puked as a result of the incidents. They also said one of the pledges suffered a minor concussion. Pledges were also threatened with other activities, such as dumpster diving, milk chugging, and wrestling in the cages by the buggy garages.
A confrontation between brothers and spring pledge John Boucek, H&SS sophomore, provided the catalyst for pledges leaving. Boucek was asked to leave by brothers after a meeting, at which time the other pledges began to question why such a decision was being made. According to the pledges, brothers of Kappa Sigma referred to Boucek as a ?cancer on the brotherhood? and said he was trying to destroy their fraternity. Pledges say they were not given satisfactory answers and announced that they all would be leaving as a result. In a period of a few minutes, the entire Kappa Sigma spring pledge class had quit.
Boucek said he was forced to leave because he would not lie for the brothers.
?I wouldn?t lie to the new fall pledges about what goes on in the house,? said Boucek.
Pledges say that the brothers told them that the new pledges would learn what they know later on and at the discretion of the brothers.
Four days after members of the spring class de-pledged, members of the fall pledge class did the same. The end result was that five out of ten members of that pledge class also quit. Members of the spring pledge class say they simply told the fall pledge class about their experience.
?The reason they de-pledged is because of what we told them had happened,? said Boucek.
Spring pledges say their experience changed distinctly after their first semester. A week after the class before them initiated, they said, the brothers started having ?midnight meetings.? These meetings involved yelling and verbal abuse and were held in a secluded part of the house. The larger brothers were present and the fraternity members had what the spring pledge called a ?commanding presence.?
?They would never look you in the eyes. They knew it was all bullshit,? said one member of the spring pledge class. Pledges also said that brothers tried to ?keep you up late and fuck with your academics? and that some pledges were told to run errands late at night, such as buying a pack of cigarettes for a brother. Pledges say brothers disregarded school and academics and that the pledge class? grades suffered as a result.
Spring pledge class members also discussed other aspects of their experience. Pledges had to carry around a ?pledge book? with them and gather signatures and quotes from the different brothers of the fraternity. Pledge books are common at fraternities, but if a pledge lost their pledge book, which happened to some members of the spring pledge class twice, the brothers would hold an auction dinner, where suggestions were taken from brothers as to how the pledges could get them back. The pledges would then be given the option to start a new pledge book and obtain signatures from brothers for it again, or perform the ascribed task. Pledges also say that they were forced to take and paint the fence to get two of the signatures they needed for their pledge books. They had to pay for the supplies with their own money. The night they took the fence also happened to be the night of a violent thunderstorm.
Spring pledges say that the fraternity strongly promoted the idea of moving into the house. Pledges that did move in say that were charged for items they were never told about which they discovered only later when receiving their bills. They also say they were charged for things they did not receive, such as t-shirts, or formals that they did not attend.
Pledges that moved in also added that they were inconvenienced many times by brothers claiming to need them to vacate their rooms for meetings. They say they would often come home to the fraternity to find a sign on their door saying that they had to leave the house for the duration of the meeting and they would have to find somewhere else to stay for the night. One pledge said on more than one occasion he ended up sleeping in the Morewood lounge.
?I was very disappointed in the whole experience. This was a house-specific problem,? said one of the pledges, also saying that he supports the fraternity system as a whole but was not happy with what happened at Kappa Sigma. Pledges also said that they felt that the entire pledging process at Kappa Sigma was really just a business transaction.
?[The fraternities] want double digits [number of pledges]. It?s a business pretty much,? said a member of the spring pledge class. Boucek also noted that the attitude of the brothers changed a lot once they were no longer pledges.
?It?s a business proposition. As soon as you?re out of the house, it?s like ?see ya,? ? said Boucek.
Pledges also say that brothers have apologized to them for what happened and made a concerted effort to get the pledges back.
?They have told us they fucked up,? said one of them.
According to Renee Camerlengo of the University?s Student Life office, the University has not a received a formal report of the allegations but the University would be willing to assist anyone who would like to file a report.
Michael Murphy, dean of Student Affairs, said he was not aware of the situation.
Adam Welander and Chris Racusen, outgoing and incoming Kappa Sigma Presidents, had no comment.
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