Over a week has gone by since Dean Tom Bambrey met with fraternity presidents to describe the administrations new, temporary policies on pledgeship. Despite all the initial uproar and indignation, there have been no protests, sit-ins, or strikes. Fraternities and even the Sphinx Club have complied, as the Rynies’ green legs this week demonstrate the arrival of their “hell week.”
The campus seems to have developed a sort of somber, resigned tone on the issue. One professor commented recently he returned to campus immediately following the Bell game to find students not caught up in their usual zeal for victory. While the issues surrounding security and the actions of the police following the game could have also contributed to a tainted victory, nearly every Greek on campus has the issue on his mind.
However, few students seem ready to talk about the issue publicly. Only one fraternity president returned requests for comment. However, as president of Delta Tau Delta and a campus leader, Robert Van Kirk ’07 offered some valuable insights.
“The student outcry has been panicked and unorganized thus far, although I'm aware of Josh Coons’s attempts to unite the Inter-Fraternity Council,” Van Kirk said. “A rational, codified Greek system requires cooperation and recognition of the fact that society and a majority of the faculty may disapprove of our customs and way of life.”
According to Van Kirk, the Deans of Students are in the very difficult position of having to moderate between the conflicting world views of the faculty and the students. “The faculty is obviously organized and like-minded; the Greek system must be the same if it hopes to survive future trials.”
Van Kirk also pointed out the problems Wabash fraternities have experienced this semester were bound to occur. “This situation was inevitable if fraternities could not adjust to the trends of society as they slowly trickle into Wabash culture,” he said. How to adjust to incoming students with an increasing sense of autonomy is now up to fraternity leaders. Associate Dean of Students Michael Raters said last week that conversations and dialogues on the subject, presumably facilitated by the Dean’s office, will occur next semester. Fraternities have until then to decide what problems, ideas, and attitudes they will bring to these discussions.
One of the biggest problems of fraternity pledgeship at Wabash centers on the conflict between Wabash traditions and national fraternity regulations. Wabash is one of the few, if not the only, school in the country where students not only pledge in their first semester, but also live in the fraternity house. That causes several problems. First, picking a fraternity is more difficult, though Wabash has worked to minimize this problem by incorporating rush with school recruitment. Second, while living in the fraternity house promotes healthy interaction between pledges and actives, it also increases the likelihood of hazing incidents.
These are all problems the Wabash fraternity system has grappled with in the past, but they are problems the fraternity system and possibly the IFC must deal with as they contemplate the future viability of fall freshman rush. It should be noted that one of the possible consequences Bambrey laid out was the removal of fall rush.
Another problem is the length of pledgeship. The idea of an entire semester of pledgeship runs contrary to many national fraternities’ regulations. Limits run from eight weeks to 60 days to 12 weeks. All national fraternities have strict no hazing rules and alcohol policies.
Wabash, of course, is not the only school to deal with problems of hazing. At Franklin College, Journalism professor Hank Nuwer has made hazing the focus of his academic research. While Nuwer was not available to talk with Bachelor, his books are available in the Lilly Library and his website offers resources on hazing as well.
One component of his website is a hazing blog, which lists links to hazing stories in the news. One such incident took place at the University of Central Florida on November 2 at a chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which does not have a chapter at Wabash. Police officers were called to the house in response to a hazing rite. They found students extremely intoxicated and wearing bizarre costumes. SAE has suspended the chapter’s charter until it can conduct a full investigation.
However, Nuwer notes that there is hope. According to his website, no fraternity pledge, new athlete, club member, or established member has died of hazing or reverse hazing (when pledges “get even” with their actives). If this continues until December 31, 2006 would be the first year without a hazing death since 1970.
Nuwer is the editor of The Hazing Reader, which features essays by victims of hazing. He has written several other books on the subject, including Wrongs of Passage and Broken Pledges. Three of his books are available in the Lilly Library.