Moderator: Hazing activist Andrea Ackerman long has claimed a connection between fraternity hazing at Wabash and activities of the Sphinx Club and the screaming match known as chapel sing at Wabash.
Theta Delta Chi Pledges Win Chapel Sing
Printer-friendly version | Email this article

by Jacob Clough ’11

October 3, 2008

As the moment of truth drew closer, the Sigma Chi pledges advanced toward the Chapel, arms linked, faces painted red and black, singing their chant.

Homecoming got off to a rousing start Thursday morning with one of the most interesting spectacles Wabash College has to offer: Chapel Sing.

This well-known and beloved rite of passage has freshmen pledges from the fraternities, as well as a group of independent freshmen, line up on the mall to sing Old Wabash, the longest school song in the country, for forty-five minutes straight. Unfortunately for the freshmen, that’s not all they have to do.

The Sphinx Club was out in force to test the freshmen class’s knowledge of the school song. Armed with nothing more than their wits and their pots (and cigars, noisemakers, a mechanical parrot, white spray paint and a whole host of other devices), they spent the time taunting and tricking the freshmen, searching out those who knew the song and those who didn’t.

If a freshman messed up on the field, he was sent back to the Chapel, still singing, where he awaited his turn to demonstrate his skills to a group of other Sphinx Club members. If he messed up in the Chapel, the freshman would have a red “W” spray-painted on his white t-shirt. If he sang the song correctly all the way through, he would be sent back outside to continue singing and to continue being heckled.

In the end, four fraternities pledge classes were taken back into the Chapel to sing the song in unison for the Sphinx Club. The fraternity that did best was declared the winner of Chapel Sing.

The Beta Theta Pi freshmen, who were guarding the Chapel, received fifth place. The Delta Tau Delta freshmen came in fourth, the Sigma Chi freshmen, with faces painted red and black, came in third. Phi Kappa Psi came in second, and the winners of the contest were the nine pledges of Theta Delta Chi.

“We’re really proud of our guys, said Grant Gussman, President of Theta Delta Chi and a Sphinx Club member. “The competition was incredibly close. A number of houses and the independents have clearly invested a lot of time and it showed.”

“Any of the four finalists could have won; we just happened to come out on top. The story of the day was the freshmen and how everyone united for Wabash. This is one of our campus’s most sacred traditions, and it was exactly you always want it to be.”

The freshman Theta Delt pledge class was especially excited to attain this honor.

“It was one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever experienced,” said Theta Delt freshman Ben Foster. “I don’t think I’ve been as excited as I was [at hearing the winners] since grade school.”

One of the most interesting perspectives was Dr. Ethan Hollander’s. This is his first time seeing Chapel Sing.

“I’m speechless,” Hollander said, “it was absolutely incredible. I asked a lot of people what it would be like, and everyone gave me a different answer. Now I see why. There’s no way to describe it to someone who hasn’t seen it.

“I do have one question for the Sphinx Club, though: do you think in the future there might be a line for the first-year professors?”

LInk to story

Wabash College freshman found dead at fraternity

The Associated Press

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. —

Police in Indiana say a college freshman was found dead over the weekend in his fraternity house and suspect that alcohol was involved.Officials say 18-year-old Johnny D. Smith had pledged to the Delta Tau Delta fraternity at all-male Wabash College. The Tucson, Ariz., native lived at the fraternity house but had not yet been initiated.

Smith’s mother told The Indianapolis Star that her son was found Sunday morning face down in a pool of vomit.

Jim Russell, the fraternity’s national executive vice president, declined to say whether there was a party at the fraternity the night before Smith’s death.

An autopsy was pending.

Wabash College is 40 miles northwest of Indianapolis.

Listen to the interview

Story update

Interview with Moderator Hank Nuwer on prior hazing scandal with Wisconsin band.
The band has been suspended and will miss the Ohio State game.

Excerpt:

That means the band will not perform at tonight’s Big Ten football game between the 18th-ranked Badgers and the No. 14 Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium, and it marks the first time the marching band has been suspended from a game show in at least 40 years, band director Mike Leckrone said.

“I thought the only thing I could do to send the message was to suspend,” Leckrone said.

Speaking at a news conference at the UW Welcome Center, Leckrone said he thought only a small percentage of the 300 band members were involved in any hazing, but that the members had a “shared responsibility” to behave appropriately.

“You don’t have any idea how hard it was,” he said. “It was like I can remember my father saying, ‘This is going to hurt me more than it’s going to hurt you.’ ”

Leckrone did not describe the allegations in detail but said they involved alcohol consumption and “inappropriate sexual behavior.”

He said he learned of the allegations from a tip but would not say if it came from a student.

Dean of Students Lori Berquam, whose office will investigate the allegations, said the band will remain suspended during the investigation, but she declined to say how long that might take.

In October 2006, the university put the band on probation for seminude dancing, sexualized banter and hazing that occurred during a road trip to the University of Michigan.

Link

excerpt

riday, October 03, 2008

Campus police and other law enforcement agencies are investigating a hazing incident at Elizabeth City State University that apparently involved either a fraternity or sorority and resulted in injuries to at least one student.

ECSU Chancellor Willie Gilchrist confirmed in a prepared statement Friday that the hazing incident occurred. But he did not say when or where, adding that officials are still compiling the facts on what took place.

“We are continuing our investigation into the alleged incidence of hazing involving our students,” he said. “It is important to have all of the facts before we take any disciplinary action. The safety of our students is our top objective, and we take the potential violation of our hazing policy very seriously.”

According to stophazing.com, an anti-hazing group, hazing “refers to any activity expected of someone joining a group (or to maintain full status in a group) that humiliates, degrades or risks emotional and/or physical harm, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate.”

ECSU spokeswoman Kesha Williams said on Thursday that ECSU campus police were collaborating with both the State Bureau of Investigation and the district attorney’s office on the probe.

A SBI spokeswoman said Friday, however, that the agency has not yet received a request to investigate a hazing incident at ECSU.

District Attorney Frank Parrish said his office is looking into the incident, which apparently involves injuries.

“There is an investigation that is active at this moment of injuries that were sustained in a hazing incident at the university,” Parrish said. “Whether anybody will be charged with anything is still unknown at this point.”

Williams said hazing of students is a punishable offense at ECSU, and is not tolerated.

“University administrators do not condone hazing and will make every effort to make sure Greek organizations abide the hazing policy published in our student handbook and calendar,” she said.

“University administrators have a zero tolerance for hazing and will fully punish violators for their actions.”

School officials declined to confirm further details of the alleged hazing incident.