Worst Hazing Stories ever heard about.

[Firehouse]

OK. Here's my contributions: two of the worst hazings I ever saw, neither of them involved physical hazing.
I travelled for my national, and I enjoyed visiting other fraternities to get ideas and get a feel for the campus.
I visited the Kappa Sigs at one school. The guys were very friendly to me, good hosts. While I was in the living room, pledges were busy all around, fixing things, cleaning, getting yelled at by the brothers. One offered to shine my shoes. It was March so I just assumed this was the spring pledge class going through hell week.
The brothers explained to me that, no, this was the fall pledge class. They had started with twenty something and were now down to fifteen pledges. "We've said all along we were only going to intitiate twelve," they said. "We let them eliminate themselves. When we're down to twelve, we'll initiate."

That was the first one. The second incident was at the SAE house on another campus. Again, the guys were great to me. They bragged about one of their chapter traditions they thought was really funny in addition to being useful in disciplining the pledge class.
"Every rush we make a point of pledging one marginal guy who shouldn't be here," they said. "He's the sacrifice, the example. At some point usually around the end of the semester we'll blackball him and scare hell out of the pledges. It really shapes them up."

[macallan25]

..........and how are those bad stories?? Thats the way it is.

[EE-BO]

Most of the stories here don't strike me all that bad either. If this were not a public forum, I would have some to share. There are creative ways to do some really crazy stuff without alcohol, nudity or physical danger being involved. And it is the stuff that makes for good stories later for those who endured it.

But I gotta say, the whole thing about taking a guy you know in advance you are going to blackball really sucks. A good pledgemaster doesn't need to blackball a pledge to keep the others in line. If a house needs to pledge guys who they intend to blackball- that is a sign they don't know how to keep control of their pledges.

But back on point- the worst hazing incident.

The worst one I know of (and that I know to have actually happened even though it was not my house) is actually not that bad in the grand scheme of things- but it was just so freakin' stupid and dumb because it made the 2 pledges and the house look really bad.

A few years ago at UGA, two fraternity pledges were forced to hold hands and walk the full length of Milledge Avenue (where many of the fraternities and almost all of the sororities are located) and then walk down Baxter from Milledge to the UGA campus and back (a major thoroughfare with lots of traffic.)

And one of the pledges was wearing the chapter's letters when they did this.

That was just about the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

[TedMichaelMorg]

In the early days of the internet, someone there posted a link to a page on "Dear Lucie" (www.lucie.com), which is a Dear Abby type site for young adults. I printed the page out and today, while going through a stack of old papers, I came across it. It was posted, I think, in 1999. I went to lucie.com and didn't find it in the archives,

PART I

Dear Lucie--I have a very unusual problem and would appreciate any help you can give me. I am a freshman at a university and a member of a sorority. Recently we participated in a charity fund-raiser with several other sororities. To encourage more competition we made a pact that the sorority raising the least money would shave the head of one of its members. Although I did not like the idea, I went along with it. I don't really think most of us took the bet very seriously. We lost, and to choose who was to be shorn, we drew from a deck of cards to see who would get the lowest one. Well, I drew a "two!"

Now everyone is excited about it; even the girls in my own house think it is a neat thing to do. They claim this was done several years ago and the girl looked great without hair. I think it is just because I have very long beautiful hair and many people are jealous of it and want me to cut it off. (My hair is blonde and 21 inches long). I can't stand the thought of being bald. Everyone says I will look great, even without hair. Even my boyfriend, who adores long hair, doesn't seem to mind! He says he will still love me even if I don't have any hair. He agrees that I will look great. (My parents don't know about this yet. I can't possibly tell them I'm going to be shaved. I did tell my older sister and she was horrified and says I should not do it even if I have to give up the sorority. We are very close and I value her opinion, but I feel trapped into this. I don't want to quit the sorority because I have many friends here).

We are having a big party with the other sororities after Spring Break and that is when they are going to do it.

Yesterday they bought an electric hair clipper, razor, and a can of shaving cream, so I know they are serious. One of the girls told me today that they are going to ride me around campus in a convertible after the shave so everyone can see me.

Lucie, I know it is just hair, and will grow back, and I know I was foolish to go along with the bet, but I just can't stand the thought of losing my hair. There is no way I can tell you how upset I am over this. Most of the girls in the house read your column and pay attention to what you say. If there is anything you can suggest which will change their minds, I will forever be grateful to you.

Upset

Dear Upset--Your letter is long, but I wanted to publish it so my reply will be brief. In addition, it will be directed mostly to your sorority sisters.

Every girl in every sorority who took time to raise money for charity deserves praise not punishment--cheers not jeers.

I feel sure that if these charities were aware of these plans, they would strongly oppose them.

As far as your sister not wanting her hair shorn, this is more than just a vanity issue. This demoralizing technique has been used throughout history.

I have no problem with healthy competition, but I feel this is too much. You are putting this girl in a terrible bind: she must choose between you her "sisters" and suffering embarrassment for some time to come. What is the point? How many of you feel that the idea is so harmless that you are willing to fall in line behind her. What do you pledge to each other as sisters?

PART II

Dear Lucie- A couple of years ago I wrote to you for advice and I do not believe I ever wrote to thank you for your response.

You may not recall, but the sorority of which I am a member lost a contest, and the penalty was to shave the head of one of the members and I was selected. I did not want to have my long blond hair cut off and did not know what to do. I still have your reply
in my scrapbook.

I want to let you know what finally happened. The sorority did not want to call it off. Therefore, unbelievably, one of my best friends volunteered to be shaved in my place. Her hair was almost as long as mine. I could not let her take my place, so I let them shave me.

Before the event I confided in my parents, and to my surprise they agreed I should do it. They were supportive all through it. At the time of the shave another of my friends offered to be shaved to. So all three of us were shaved together. My hair has now grown long again, and I am going to let it keep growing until it either stops or gets down to the floor.

I learned several lessons, which I would like to share with you:

*don’t be afraid to get advice
*Stick to your commitments. People will respect you. (Very few people made fun of us while we were bald).
*Value your friends and pick them carefully. (Frankly, I doubt if I would have volunteered to take anyone's place).
*Trust and confide in your parents, mine were great.
*Don't get yourself into things you don't want to go through with.
*Make the best of bad situations. (Even though the actual shearing was the worst experience of my life, we still managed to have fun bald. Most people said we were still pretty).
*Finally, you can survive almost anything, even being slick bald!

Therefore, even though you could not save my hair, you tried and that is what counts. Thanks a million, Lucie.

A Friend

P.S. I kept before and after photos to remind myself. They took off my hair with clippers, put lather all over my head, and shaved me again with a razor. It was horrible and humiliating at the same time, but I'm glad I went through with it.

Dear Friend- Thanks so much for the update on your dilemma. I have often wondered what the long and short of such a hair-raising experience was.

Seriously, your advice is great and can be applied to ANY of life's situations. I appreciate your kind words and your taking the time to share.

[TedMichaelMorg]

This is not a hazing story, of course, but the young woman in the account was a freshman. Her experience was both positive and negative for her. I have no idea whether the story is true. I personally feel what the young woman endured (if the story is true) was untenable.

[sdbeta1]

Originally Posted by TedMichaelMorg

This is not a hazing story, of course, but the young woman in the account was a freshman.

This is clearly a hazing story, and one of those times the entire class should've stood together and said 'no'.

[TedMichaelMorg]

Originally Posted by sdbeta1

This is clearly a hazing story, and one of those times the entire class should've stood together and said 'no'.

I simply posted this as the worst hazing story that I have heard or read. Howver,Lucie may have published this story, but I don't find it plausible.

I have lived in several college towns (cities). I have lived in university communities. I have never heard or seen anything like this. I know of no sorority that would inflict this horrible humiliation on a member. Sisters might sponsor a so-called charity head shave, but no one would humiliate a sister in front of other sororities or within their own chapter.

I recall another story from a newspaper advice column where members of a chapter sheared a W onto the head of pledge who dated the boyfriend of a member of the chapter. That might have happened. However, again, no one has ever documented such a case.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by TedMichaelMorg

I simply posted this as the worst hazing story that I have heard or read. Howver,Lucie may have published this story, but I don't find it plausible.

I have lived in several college towns (cities). I have lived in university communities. I have never heard or seen anything like this. I know of no sorority that would inflict this horrible humiliation on a member. Sisters might sponsor a so-called charity head shave, but no one would humiliate a sister in front of other sororities or within their own chapter.

I recall another story from a newspaper advice column where members of a chapter sheared a W onto the head of pledge who dated the boyfriend of a member of the chapter. That might have happened. However, again, no one has ever documented such a case.

I took the time to look tru my collection of UL sites and found nothing to prove or dis-prove this story......

[TedMichaelMorg]

Stories such as this one about a forced head shave perpetuate negative images about Greeks. For four decades, I have heard these stories. I rarely hear any documentation or testimony to support them.

[Drolefille]

Ok, but was it really hazing? This wasn't an active vs. new member thing. It seems all members of the sorority could have been up on the chopping block...

I'm not really supporting this, but the chapter shouldn't have made a commitment if it wasn't ok with following through (and maybe this girl didn't speak up at a meeting or something)

[TedMichaelMorg]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

Ok, but was it really hazing? This wasn't an active vs. new member thing. It seems all members of the sorority could have been up on the chopping block...

I'm not really supporting this, but the chapter shouldn't have made a commitment if it wasn't ok with following through (and maybe this girl didn't speak up at a meeting or something)

I agree, but I don't think that this shearing and shave ever happened. That is my point. It is a story that appears to be a fantasy, not a real event.

I love the quotation about medical books and lawyers.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by TedMichaelMorg

I agree, but I don't think that this shearing and shave ever happened. That is my point. It is a story that appears to be a fantasy, not a real event.

I love the quotation about medical books and lawyers.

lol it was actually someone trying to sound smart

I'd agree that this seems like a fantasy, however in and of itself it isn't strictly negative. If I were going to make GLOs look bad, I'd write a much much worse story. (And a better one if I were trying to make them look good

[KAY10]

Worst hazing stories I heard was XYZ sorority gave a pledgee XYZ sorority earrings. The sorority girl stapled both of the pledgee's earlobes. Ouch!!! Their rival sorority made their pledgees sit on coke bottles for several hours.

It's funny seeing sorority pledgees going to class as a GDI then a pledgee. As a GDI they look damn good but when they've been pledging for a while they look really, really bad. That's how I could tell who was pledging. LOL.

Originally Posted by KAY10

Worst hazing stories I heard was XYZ sorority gave a pledgee XYZ sorority earrings. The sorority girl stapled both of the pledgee's earlobes. Ouch!!! Their rival sorority made their pledgees sit on coke bottles for several hours.

It's funny seeing sorority pledgees going to class as a GDI then a pledgee. As a GDI they look damn good but when they've been pledging for a while they look really, really bad. That's how I could tell who was pledging. LOL.

WTF is a 'pledgee'?

Did you just pull that one outta your ass?

[KAY10]

Originally Posted by OTW

WTF is a 'pledgee'?

Did you just pull that one outta your ass?

You don't know what a pledgee is? Damn!!! Are you greek? It's one who is pledging to get in an org. Get it.... pledgee. The one who is in the org is the pledger. You don't this????