What Happened At A Texas Frat When They Thought No One Was Watching

[Coach Bill Lewis]

When Derek Elrod was rushing a fraternity at the University of North Texas (UNT) in the fall of 2013, he was having, as he puts it, “the time of my life.” The brothers at the fraternity of his first choice, Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp), were surprisingly warm and welcoming.

Elrod — a transfer and commuter student — hadn’t spent much time on campus, but after hanging around with the SigEp guys, he finally felt like he found the big social opportunity he had been craving. “I was on top of the world,” he recalled. “It was extremely inviting and friendly. I met so many people I thought were really nice people. The feeling was just like, ‘how did I not know that this existed?’ It felt like this was UNT’s greatest secret.”

So when Elrod finally got an offer to join SigEp on bid day, September 7, 2013, he was thrilled. It was a raucous event. Members of Greek life and other UNT students rallied inside the football stadium, donning bright facepaint, chanting, and waving fraternity flags in the air. Elrod was gifted a turquoise SigEp T-shirt and crouched in a group photo with the other pledges, smiling and holding up a peace sign.

After the ceremony, the new SigEp pledges made their way to the fraternity house to celebrate. That’s when, for Elrod, the joyous atmosphere took a sharp turn. According to police reports obtained by ThinkProgress, Elrod called 911 around 3 p.m. to report hazing, telling UNT police that SigEp’s then-President, Richard Randall, forced pledges to drink straight vodka and, according to the report, “complete countless push-ups” in a room inside the fraternity house. In a written statement to UNT police, Elrod also identified student Kenneth Grunden as having been involved in the process. Grunden did not respond to request for comment from ThinkProgress.

At that point, Elrod, who had been diagnosed in 2005 with a permanent medical condition involving abnormal nervous system functions, began to panic.

Read more:  http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/07/16/3680595/untold-story-scandal-one-nations-largest-frats/

[KingDL1]

Sounds like a setup. 

Do a shot and push-ups them bastards! 

[Army of Dad]

So someone yelled at him and made him do pushups, boy my drill sergeant would have LOVED him...

---

[MeanGreenTexan]

Fraternities haze their pledges?!?  I never knew that.  

[oldguystudent]

Fraternities haze their pledges?!?  I never knew that.  

In theory, not like they used to.  Since risk management insurance came into play in the early nineties, the national offices have really tried to put the kibosh on that stuff.  

Of course, old traditions die hard, while sensitivities have increased exponentially.  Kids go through rush where the official party line is that fraternities are going to treat you like an entitled heir to some mythical throne from day one.  Bids get handed out, reality hits.  

As @armyofdad mentions, it's not unlike military recruiting.  Promise you the world until I own you.

I've got mixed feelings on this stuff.  There are certainly more productive methods of pledge education than shots and pushups.  Back in our day, pledges had to remain sober at parties, collect car keys at the entrance, and act as designated driver for the duration of the evening.  Then, they had to come back in the morning and take the lead on cleanup.  

Way I've always seen that is teaching responsible recreation.  I've never much understood how pushups and shots on command help better a young mind. Young minds will take care of the shots on their own if they're so inclined.

The more "hazing" inclined activities were more geared toward teaching them to work together as a group.  Some of the tasks may have been interpreted as unpleasant, but there was always a reason for them with a positive outcome.  There were always at least two active members participating in ever meeting alongside the pledges as insurance that things wouldn't get out of hand.  When I looked back on it, the actives hazed themselves a whole hell of a lot more than they ever did pledges.

I've got my own bents with my national fraternity in that we really used to see our fraternity as a place to take in misfits, then build them up into men.  The national office has moved more toward only taking the kids who are already 4.0 students with multiple campus leadership positions, blah blah blah.  If I follow the money, it's all about risk management, keeping the insurance premiums to a minimum, and reaping those sweet, sweet dues.  

Nonetheless, those kids still drink and smoke like it's going out of style.  They just do it with better transcripts.

 

Edit:  Dammit.  I don't think I've got that whole member tagging feature down yet.

Edited July 17, 2015 by oldguystudent

[Cougar King]

Wasn't surprised as soon as I saw Sig Ep. lol

[Cr1028]

‌@oldguystudent

Hey bud, I had the same problem, you have to type the @‌ sign wait a sec and then type the first letter and wait until it starts bringing up names, then continue the process.

 

[oldguystudent]

@Cr1028 ha! Thanks!

 

[Army of Dad]

I loved @oldguystudent version of hazing. 

Edited July 17, 2015 by Army of Dad

[oldguystudent]

I loved @oldguystudent version of hazing. 

Some people do take it too far though.  Think of initiation as an interactive play with lots of perceptual illusions where the new initiate is the main star.  There is part of ours that represents struggles in life.  If done according to the instructions in the manual (yes, that exists), it is perfectly harmless and a great learning experience.  One of our chapters out in California decided to take this illustration and turn it into reality.  The kid died.  Dumbshits.

(I'm sorry I can't give more detail on that, but imagine something along the lines of engaging someone in an imaginary battle with a cardboard paper towel tube vs. deciding that you want to use real swords)

[EagleMBA]

This thread brings back fond memories of being both a hazee and, later, a hazer. My personal favorite was being dropped on a country road in a T-shirt, underwear and shoes about five miles from campus at midnight. Being the smart pledge that I was, I always had a quarter taped to my arse for the nearest pay phone I could find. It was great life experience.

When I was bussed from the Reception Center at Fort Bliss to the barracks and Smokey the Bear yelled at me to "Drop Fat F**k and give me 20!" I was able to comply without pizzing myself or calling 911 (actually, was there a 911 in 1967?), thanks to my fraternity experiences.

It was all good clean brotherly fun in those days, people.  The current crop seems to be a little soft, IMO, or am I just an old curmudgeon?

 

[UNTcrazy727]

Wasn't surprised as soon as I saw Sig Ep. lol

I sense a little envy in this post.

[HoustonEagle]

I read that and could only think wow kids are p_ssies these days.  I had a blast as a pledge.  Sure there was drinking but it was pretty much fun and team building.  Though I hate to give the pledge trainer that much credit.  I guess on the flip side fraternity grades are probably rising. 

Edited July 20, 2015 by HoustonEagle

[Got5onIt]

Someone was babied a little too much growing up?  

This is what we call hazing nowadays?

[Cerebus]

 Being the smart pledge that I was, I always had a quarter taped to my arse for the nearest pay phone I could find.

[UNTexas]

I read that and could only think wow kids are p_ssies these days.  I had a blast as a pledge.  Sure there was drinking but it was pretty much fun and team building.  Though I hate to give the pledge trainer that much credit.  I guess on the flip side fraternity grades are probably rising. 

They are worthless and weak now a days. Not the coeds though. They are great.

Edited July 23, 2015 by UNTexas

[Got5onIt]

I'm guessing this kid never played "Letter B" or "Open Chest" in elementary school.