calisthenics and cayenne at nwu λφε

In an unusually searching take on ostensible hazing in fraternity initiations, Peter Jackson of the Northwestern University daily records the experiences of a class of Lambda Phi Alpha pledges who opted to drop en masse. The decision was reportedly a communal one among the seven (remaining) pledges, with some quitting in solidarity with their fellows against their own wishes— an interesting testament to the Lambda‘s pledge process’s stated goal of fostering pledge class unity above all else. The travails visited on them range from the muscle-building (extended exercises) and purportedly character-building (pledge piggyback rides) to the stomach-turning (drinking a brew of hot sauce). Still, to all reports the ex-pledges bear no ill will to the Lambdas: “the pledges stressed that they didn't leave because of the hazing, but because they were more interested in the partying.” Not strictly kosher, but hardly the “hazing: a greek tragedy” that the article’s title claims.