• Hazing Deaths: 1737-2019
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Bio
  • Video
  • Hazing: Destroying Young Lives
  • Storytelling
  • A Play
  • Sons of the Dawn

Author & Speaker Hank Nuwer

Author, and Educator

Follow me on Social Media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

“Ill Met by Moonlight” a brief excerpt from “Hazing Destroying Young Lives”

January 14, 2018 By Hank Nuwer Leave a Comment

Excerpt halfway through Chapter 11, “Ill Met by Moonlight” by Hank Nuwer

Around 9:00 p.m. or shortly after, while Mortimer Leggett was marching with Northrup, about nine Kappas and one pledge headed from Ithaca toward the rough country near Giles Street with plans to meet the duo. Lee was the first to catch up with Northrup and Leggett. Three weeks earlier, Lee himself had passed all preliminaries  and been initiated into the society. The three paused at a fence, and the next preliminary ritual commenced. Northrup, with Lee’s approval, blindfolded Leggett and then helped him get over the fence into a field appointed for additional rituals.

Not long after the blindfold went on, KAS members Wason and William Sturges, both Cleveland residents, vaulted the same fence and approached Leggett, Lee, and Northrup at the rendezvous point. Wason and Sturges had been here in this appointed field several times previously with pledges that now were initiated members. Thus, this was a planned chapter event, albeit mild hazing in the eyes of outsiders. Cornell KAS men who cherished fraternity membership all their lives regarded it as nothing less than a dignified ceremony with gravity and merit they would reminisce about as old men.

Usually, at this point, two Kappas were supposed to link arms with the pledge so that he didn’t trip or fall over potholes and rocky dodges. Wason, one of the strongest members, alone linked Leggett’s arm in his, although Lee was close at hand.

There was time for the trio to relax as they waited for others to show. Northrup and Sturges walked about the field and shared light conversation. Wason saw a hemlock tree and decided he’d take Leggett over to rest up against it for the grueling preliminaries that remained. Lee followed.

The Hemlock above a Gorge

The lone hemlock’s roots dug like claws into uncultivated earth at the edge of a gorge. Its roots were misshapen, bulging, and ready to trip all interlopers. The tree’s leafy lower limbs resembled small bushes that blanketed the roots. Blindfolded pledge Mortimer Leggett leaned against the tree with the two society members at his side. The two would continue the preliminaries as soon as the second blindfolded pledge arrived in the escort of additional KAS members. Had these other men come a few minutes earlier, the trio would have never approached the tree.

As with most hazing incidents, when a death occurs, both reckless disregard and the absence of common sense are to blame. Neither of the two brothers with Leggett had carried a lantern to the dangerous gorge area; it was lit only by moonlight. Had Wason and Lee brought an oil lamp, they would have spotted the yawning gorge hidden behind the hemlock and backed away.

Leggett did not know where he was or precisely what the brothers expected of him. He assumed that he was in good hands. The blindfold was part of a trust-building exercise.

Lee, later described by a New York reporter as a beardless and handsome lad of twenty years old, observed that the pledge appeared tired after the long pledging walk.

Wason also saw Leggett slump from fatigue. He sprang to give the pledge a helping shoulder. Leggett, unable to see through the blindfold, took a step toward the sound of tree limbs cracking under Wason’s footgear.

Lee watched his companions begin to sink through the leaves. He threw out his arms to save them, concluding that a ledge must lie beneath the canopy of leaves and roots. Lee dropped through the tree leaves and over the hidden cliff wall, the bodies of his friends flailing in the air beneath him.

The trio plunged more than forty feet ….

Get your copy ordered

Filed Under: Hazing News

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Contact Inquiries

Contact

Professor Hank Nuwer, c/o Franklin College, Shirk Hall 209, 101 Branigin Blvd., Franklin, IN 46131. Email:  … Email to book a date.

Sons of the Dawn

Sons of the Dawn: A Basque Odyssey: Hank's novel is for teens 11-18 but also meant to be enjoyed by … Read More

Hazing Deaths: 1737-2019

Moderator: A map of hazing deaths that The Economist created from raw data kept by Hanknuwer.com. … Read More

One death on campus fails to deter LSU DKE

This is disturbing. Moderator Hank Nuwer

Some FAQ thoughts on my hazing deaths database, 1978-2019

Guidelines for Collecting Original Data and Publishing Conclusions: FAQ Sheet I attempted to clearly state my purpose in publishing the first much shorter database back in 1978. I had started to put together a list, having no guidelines or existing database, following a death in a University of Nevada social club, I wanted to know […]

Link to BBC documentary

Great job by interviewer Nicolas Jackson.  Interviews with activists Pam Campion and Emily Pualan of HPO

New York Times opinion article by Alexandra Robbins

Here is the link Here is the opening: And a Kirkus Review of the new book During a fraternity party at a West Coast college in 2016, a drunk boy and an equally drunk girl went into a bedroom. Two freshmen noticed them go upstairs. They rounded up several other students and found the couple. One student, […]

Archives

News & Reviews: Nuwer Books

Amazon Hank Nuwer Page. Barnes and Noble Hank Nuwer Page The HazingPrevention Hank Nuwer

Hazing: Destroying Young Lives

Hazing

Hazing: Destroying Young Lives by Hank Nuwer, Indiana University Press. Amazon Order

Hank Nuwer

A Play

Looking for something different for your hazing education needs?  Consider finding a male

COPYRIGHT © 2019 HANK NUWER | AUTHOR & HAZING SPEAKER

Built with RainStorm Foundations & WordPress