Recommended Citation Ellis, Christopher Keith, “THE EXAMINATION OF HAZING CASE LAW AS APPLIED BETWEEN 1980-2013″ (2018). Theses and Dissertations–Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation. 59. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/epe_etds/59

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By Johnson Huynh May. 3, 2018

Alpha Class
Directed by Danny McManus
Co-Produced by Danny McManus and Joseph Forte
Released March 9

There is an emblematic scene in the documentary that encapsulates the height of frat life and ultimately the tone of the film. An immense sea of brothers is dancing the night away in the courtyard of an apartment complex. Red Solo cups are carelessly strewn about. Some of the brothers make out with pretty girls as the camera zooms in to capture the action. The air is rife with the sound of carousing, which becomes deafening as the night goes on. This would be the perfect depiction of the Greek Bacchanalia minus the togas.

When you think of frats nowadays, you think of parties. You think of men in muscle tanks doing keg stands as a group of their buddies cheer them on. While Alpha Class does show these scenes quite often, it’s not the the focus of the movie. Instead, filmmaker McManus focused on the aspect of frat life that is often overlooked: the enthusiasm of joining a community.

Of course, the film never shies away from the grimy parts of frat life either. Hazing, the process in which pledges prove their worth to the fraternity, is extensively looked at in the beginning of the film. Brothers Forte, Jamie, and Bobby describe their hazing experiences for Phi Kappa Psi. No time to spare, the pledges are shuttled into harsh militaristic drills by the Vice President of Pledges. “Balling,” they called it, or weeding out the weak, was at the center of it all. The trials that the upperclassmen put their pledges through were horrific, dehumanizing. However, a brother comments, “It’s fucked up, but it’s tradition.” In order for the pledges to “know their place,” they are subjected to acts that border on sadism.

All the while, the brothers interviewed for this portion never flinched from telling the truth. They told their horror stories with the lightness of a comedy routine. Undeniably frat-centric in its documentation, Alpha Class wants to show that a true sense of brotherhood is established at the end of grueling initiation. Unfortunately, Phi Psi wouldn’t last long afterwards. Hit with allegations of hazing, the chapter’s charter was revoked.

The next part of the film is a little bit cringey at points. Forte and other brothers decide to start a colony, a group of brothers that could become a new frat. Reminiscent of cheesy college movies, Alpha Class describes the journey to become the fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa. I had the impression that it was supposed to be inspirational, but the film fell flat. The scenes often felt disjointed, made even more apparent by the awkward choice of background music. Even more frustrating were the moments of aggressive male chauvinism depicted in the scenes, which made me tense up.

The film as a whole lacked a momentum that could have made moments feel more bearable. Devolving into a tangle of anecdotes and cutaways, Alpha Classmakes it hard to fall in love with or be interested in any of the people in the film. It couples this with plot points that just seem to drag on for far too long.

It eventually acquired an intrigue that made the story more interesting. Bouncing back from nothing, Phi Sigma Kappa gets to work throwing its parties once more. This time around, hazing would be a thing of the past. The brothers would have a new community, one revolving around aspects of leadership and unity. Antiquated ideas of wild partying still remain, though, and ultimately damages Phi Sigma Kappa’s attempt to break away from tradition. In the Big Brother-Little Brother scene, we see the brothers in the zone. They dance, laugh, and call over strippers.

But Joseph Forte says it best: “You join Greek life, you’re destined to fail.” In time, even this new fraternity would have its charter revoked. Forte, Bobby, and other brothers would be hit with allegations that caused them to be placed on suspension. In this long chain of dominoes, even the frat house was demolished along with all the other frats on that street. Fifty years of culture and history are destroyed for retail space.

While this documentary didn’t necessarily add anything new to my understanding of fraternities, it was an interesting glance into how the brothers viewed their world. It shows the viewers that fraternities aren’t always about the parties, but the politics as well. And that there are always more things than just the hazing horror stories that populate the news. Filled with parties, booze and girls, this is truly a brave new world.

Here is the story link and an excerpt

By Ilyas Sholihyn May. 3, 2018

Full-time national serviceman (NSF) Dave Lee Han Xuan, 19, died on Monday after being hospitalized on Apr 18 for heatstroke. The guardsman trainee had just completed an 8km fast march at Bedok Camp when he collapsed from heat injury — something that could have been prevented, according to an individual who claimed to be from Lee’s battalion.

In a viral Facebook post, the anonymous individual accused his superiors and senior commanders of cruelly overworking the battalion the night before the fast march, putting trainees through grueling activities for no other reason than to toughen the men up. Hours before the march, Lee and his fellow trainees were allegedly forced to crawl to the Standard Obstacle Course grounds and made to roll in the sand with water poured on them.

The term used for these punishing bouts is known as “tekan sessions” — the Malay word “tekan” meaning “press”, but is commonly used to describe being abused and mistreated. “Tekan sessions” are typically conducted across all vocations by older NSFs to build up endurance in recruits. And also as a sort of hazing ritual

The claims aren’t verified yet though. Following Lee’s death, an independent investigative body called the Committee of Inquiry has been convened to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident.

But while the investigations are currently pending, it should come to no surprise that the family of the deceased is concerned about how the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are conducting their training, and what safety precautions are put in place to prevent these deaths — especially young conscripts like Lee. In a brief interview arranged by the Ministry of Defence at the teen’s wake yesterday, Lee’s parents spoke to the media for the first time but reserved their comments about the rumors and accusations about his death.

Read the linked story here.

Police investigating death at Murray State fraternity house

UPDATE 3:30 p.m.: In a public letter sent Monday afternoon, the president of Murray State University says his heart goes out to the family of a person who died in an off-campus fraternity house over the weekend.

You can read the full letter from MSU president Bob Davies below.

Colleagues, Students and Friends,

I am very saddened to write this letter.  On Sunday morning we learned that a friend of one of our students who was visiting him in Murray passed away at an off-campus fraternity house.  

An investigation into the cause of death is being led and handled by the Murray City Police Department and the Calloway County Coroner.  As a reminder, University Counseling Services will be available for students who need them as we all cope with the loss.  Students may contact Counseling Services at 270-809-6851.  Faculty and staff needing assistance are encouraged to contact the University’s Employee Assistance Program at 800-441-1327.

My heart goes out to the individuals and families affected by this tragic loss of life.  Please keep the family and friends of the individual who passed away way too soon in your thoughts and prayers.  And, please send the individual’s friend special prayers as he deals with the loss of his friend.

Sincerely,

Bob Davies

President  

UPDATE 11:24 a.m.: Murray Police say the person that died over the weekend is not a Murray State University student. They say it was a person visiting a student over the weekend.

MURRAY, KY – Murray Police say they are investigating a death over the weekend, but they do not suspect foul play.

Officers did not give much information about the person who died, but previously stated the person was a Murray State University student. They now tell us it was not a student.

We are waiting on more details like when the death happened and the person’s identity. They did confirm the death happened at 1505 Main Street, which is the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house.

We will update this story when we get more information.