Here is the link. Reader discretion advised.
Author: Hank Nuwer
Journalist Hank Nuwer tracks hazing deaths in fraternities and schools. Nuwer is the Alaska author of Hazing: Destroying Young Lives; Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, High School Hazing, Wrongs of Passage and The Hazing Reader. In April of 2024 and April 2025 , the Alaska Press Club awarded him first place in the Best Columnist division and Best Humorist, second place.
He has written articles or columns on hazing for the Sunday Times of India, Toronto Globe & Mail, Harper's Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. His current book is Hazing: Destroying Young Lives from Indiana University Press. He is married to Malgorzata Wroblewska Nuwer of Fairbanks, Alaska. Nuwer is a former columnist for the Greenville (Ohio)Early Bird and former managing editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska.
Nuwer was named the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists columnist of the year in 2021 for his “After Darke” column in the Early Bird. He also won third place for the column in 2022 from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He and his wife Gosia, recently of Union City, Ind., have owned 20 acres in Alaska for many years. “The move is a sort-of coming home for us,” said Nuwer. As a journalist, he’s written about the Alaskan Iditarod sled-dog race and other Alaska topics. Read his musings in his blog at Real Alaska Daily--http://realalaskadaily.com
Toxicology results up to 30 days away.
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New scholarship noted
Here is the link to the new scholarship
Living the creed: How chapters of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc., contribute to civic engagement by Manuel Del Real
Here is the link and an excerpt
Colleges are suspending Greek life. Don’t expect the ban to last.
It may have been common to look away from fraternities issues in the past, even deadly ones.
Not any more.
This year alone, the deaths of four pledges in alcohol-related incidents and various hazing infractions have led to the closing down of some or all Greek life activities on several college campuses and the filing of criminal charges against more than two dozen students.
John Hechinger, a senior editor at Bloomberg News and the author of a new book, “True Gentlemen: The Broken Pledge of America’s Fraternities,” described this time of year, when freshmen arrive at college campuses, as “a peak death season.”
“They rush to decide what fraternity they’ll be in, and then they pledge,” he said, referring to the scene at fraternity and sorority houses across the country. “We’re in that time when people are heading into the basement.”
Hazing deaths have many questioning the future of fraternities1:36
While college administrators, for the most part, have acted quickly after the most recent deaths, it is still highly unlikely that any would move to permanently ban fraternities outright, experts say.
In the last two months, Florida State University, Louisiana State University and Texas State University all suspended Greek life activities after each had a fraternity pledge die. (LSU later allowed Greek life activities to resume.)
Penn State University implemented new regulations for its Greek life and suspended some fraternities after the death of a sophomore pledge, Timothy Piazza, after an alcohol-filled hazing ritual in February. Prosecutors filed charges in the case last week against 17 people linked to the fraternity. A school spokeswoman said the university president will meet with his counterparts at other colleges in the Big 10 conference next year to discuss potential solutions.
The need for that dialogue has been underscored by recent events. This month, the University of Michigan’s student-run Interfraternity Council suspended all Greek Life social activities in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct, hazing and drug use, and Ohio State University suspended most of its fraternities Thursday amid a wave of investigations into member misconduct.
“That’s a lot of schools to be shutting down Greek life all together at one time,” said Hank Nuwer, a journalism professor at Franklin College in Indiana who has been researching hazing deaths since the 1970s.
Nuwer said that in the past, these “Animal House” kinds of incidents were often dismissed as a “boys will be boys” mentality.
“There was such defensiveness, and the big words being used were these were ‘unfortunate accidents’ and ‘isolated incidents,'” said Nuwer, whose book, “Hazing: Destroying Young Lives,” is due out early next year. “That can’t happen now because there’s careful attention to minute-by-minute accounts.”
Those accounts are often propelled on social media, forcing schools to react quicker and more forcefully, Hechinger said.
Related: Eighteen Charged Over Pledge Timothy Piazza’s Fatal Fall
“If you go back 20 years, a death in a fraternity might not become national news so quickly,” he said.
Despite the surge in examining its flaws, Greek life is an institution designed to last in America’s collegiate landscape.
“Fraternities are a huge draw for universities, and they’re more popular than they’ve ever been,” Hechinger said, adding that there has been a 50 percent increase in membership over last decade.
Fraternities can also be a source of income for schools.
In Hechinger’s research for “True Gentlemen,” he examined the Indiana University Foundation, which raises money for the university. He found that although only 19 percent of alumni in its database had been members of Greek life, they accounted for 60 percent of donations.
The leadership opportunities that fraternities offer and the career networks that graduates have access to make Greek life even more appealing to colleges, students and alumni, Hechinger said.
“The bottom line is, most college fraternities are so central that they’re here to stay,” he said, adding that the question is whether they will be properly regulated — not whether they will be banned.
Banning Greek life altogether would also drive fraternities underground, where, with virtually no oversight, they can be even more dangerous.
But experts say there are other avenues schools can take to reduce hazing and protect against alcohol-related deaths, such as banning alcohol and eliminating pledging — which Hechinger says “is just a polite way of saying hazing.”
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which has had 10 members die in hazing rituals since 2005, according to Hechinger, saw a 90 percent drop in its insurance claims after it eliminated pledging.
10 Fraternity Brothers Charged in Freshman Hazing Death at LSU 1:33
Related: Penn State Fraternity Death: Why Did No One Call 911 After Pledge Timothy Piazza Got Hurt?
Through his research, though, Nuwer said a few positive trends have begun to emerge, despite the recent rash of fraternity deaths.
The “old guard” of fraternity leaders from the days before anti-hazing education became popular are gone, he said.
“There’s a new wave of executives, but many are younger, and they’ve grown up through hazing education,” Nuwer said. “They’re more aware of dangers and less likely to cover up.”
Colleges are suspending Greek life. Don’t expect the ban to last.
It may have been common to look away from fraternities issues in the past, even deadly ones.
Not any more.
This year alone, the deaths of four pledges in alcohol-related incidents and various hazing infractions have led to the closing down of some or all Greek life activities on several college campuses and the filing of criminal charges against more than two dozen students.
John Hechinger, a senior editor at Bloomberg News and the author of a new book, “True Gentlemen: The Broken Pledge of America’s Fraternities,” described this time of year, when freshmen arrive at college campuses, as “a peak death season.”
“They rush to decide what fraternity they’ll be in, and then they pledge,” he said, referring to the scene at fraternity and sorority houses across the country. “We’re in that time when people are heading into the basement.”
Hazing deaths have many questioning the future of fraternities1:36
While college administrators, for the most part, have acted quickly after the most recent deaths, it is still highly unlikely that any would move to permanently ban fraternities outright, experts say.
In the last two months, Florida State University, Louisiana State University and Texas State University all suspended Greek life activities after each had a fraternity pledge die. (LSU later allowed Greek life activities to resume.)
Penn State University implemented new regulations for its Greek life and suspended some fraternities after the death of a sophomore pledge, Timothy Piazza, after an alcohol-filled hazing ritual in February. Prosecutors filed charges in the case last week against 17 people linked to the fraternity. A school spokeswoman said the university president will meet with his counterparts at other colleges in the Big 10 conference next year to discuss potential solutions.
The need for that dialogue has been underscored by recent events. This month, the University of Michigan’s student-run Interfraternity Council suspended all Greek Life social activities in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct, hazing and drug use, and Ohio State University suspended most of its fraternities Thursday amid a wave of investigations into member misconduct.
“That’s a lot of schools to be shutting down Greek life all together at one time,” said Hank Nuwer, a journalism professor at Franklin College in Indiana who has been researching hazing deaths since the 1970s.
Nuwer said that in the past, these “Animal House” kinds of incidents were often dismissed as a “boys will be boys” mentality.
“There was such defensiveness, and the big words being used were these were ‘unfortunate accidents’ and ‘isolated incidents,'” said Nuwer, whose book, “Hazing: Destroying Young Lives,” is due out early next year. “That can’t happen now because there’s careful attention to minute-by-minute accounts.”
Those accounts are often propelled on social media, forcing schools to react quicker and more forcefully, Hechinger said.
Related: Eighteen Charged Over Pledge Timothy Piazza’s Fatal Fall
“If you go back 20 years, a death in a fraternity might not become national news so quickly,” he said.
Despite the surge in examining its flaws, Greek life is an institution designed to last in America’s collegiate landscape.
“Fraternities are a huge draw for universities, and they’re more popular than they’ve ever been,” Hechinger said, adding that there has been a 50 percent increase in membership over last decade.
Fraternities can also be a source of income for schools.
In Hechinger’s research for “True Gentlemen,” he examined the Indiana University Foundation, which raises money for the university. He found that although only 19 percent of alumni in its database had been members of Greek life, they accounted for 60 percent of donations.
The leadership opportunities that fraternities offer and the career networks that graduates have access to make Greek life even more appealing to colleges, students and alumni, Hechinger said.
“The bottom line is, most college fraternities are so central that they’re here to stay,” he said, adding that the question is whether they will be properly regulated — not whether they will be banned.
Banning Greek life altogether would also drive fraternities underground, where, with virtually no oversight, they can be even more dangerous.
But experts say there are other avenues schools can take to reduce hazing and protect against alcohol-related deaths, such as banning alcohol and eliminating pledging — which Hechinger says “is just a polite way of saying hazing.”
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, which has had 10 members die in hazing rituals since 2005, according to Hechinger, saw a 90 percent drop in its insurance claims after it eliminated pledging.
10 Fraternity Brothers Charged in Freshman Hazing Death at LSU 1:33
Related: Penn State Fraternity Death: Why Did No One Call 911 After Pledge Timothy Piazza Got Hurt?
Through his research, though, Nuwer said a few positive trends have begun to emerge, despite the recent rash of fraternity deaths.
The “old guard” of fraternity leaders from the days before anti-hazing education became popular are gone, he said.
“There’s a new wave of executives, but many are younger, and they’ve grown up through hazing education,” Nuwer said. “They’re more aware of dangers and less likely to cover up.”
Categories
No Swaps, please, we’re British
Here is the link and an excerpt
Revealed: How Cambridge students go drinking
Two Cambridge graduates explain the tradition of ‘swaps’ and some of the more off-putting ‘drinking society’ initiations…
Drinking port out of a condom, vomit on shoes and passing out in a restaurant bathroom all feature in tales of Cambridge University’s drinking culture.
The News tracked down two graduates to give us the inside story on the ancient institution’s boozier traditions.
They explained the culture of college ‘drinking societies’, student clubs which organise heavy drinking sessions and have initiations similar to US fraternities’ ‘hazing’ rituals.
A Cambridge graduate who asked to remain anonymous said: “So the way it works is that each college has a college drinking society, and they all have different names, like the Girton Green Monsters and the Jesus Caesarians.
“When you’re a fresher, you go on lots of swaps, where girls from one college will go to a curry house with guys from another college and carnage ensues.”
Swaps and superswaps
Swaps are a Cambridge tradition where two societies or groups from different colleges meet in a restaurant and carry out wild drinking challenges.
She continued: “There are usually about 20 people at swaps – 10 a side, so 10 girls from one college, 10 guys from another. Unless it’s a ‘superswap’ involving 10 girls and 10 guys from both colleges.
“The girls and guys who go on lots of these usually get invited to join their college drinking society at the end of the year and have to take part in secret initiation ceremonies, which involve things like drinking port from condoms, licking squirty cream from belly buttons and the like.
“I did a few swaps as a fresher and then more as part of my college’s boat club, so I don’t know what goes on in hardcore drinking societies or initiations!
“The big event in the year is Caesarian Sunday on Jesus Green which the Daily Mail covers every year for some reason, where many societies’ initiations take place. Most college deans send emails out warning students not to go.
“Swaps were quite fun actually, though looking back it is pretty outrageous what went on!
“Everyone would bring their own bottle of wine, people would ‘penny’ each other aggressively, lots of never-have-I-ever-ing, and “5p-ing” – when someone puts a 5p on your plate and you then have to eat using just your face.”
Pennying and other games
“Pennying” is the tradition of dropping a coin in someone’s drink, meaning they must down it in one.
Some students create “engineer pennies”, which are folded in half so they can fit in the neck of a bottle of wine, forcing the student “pennied” to down the entire bottle.
And a five penny piece in a student’s food means they cannot use their cutlery – or even their hands – to eat it.
“Never-have-I-ever” is a drinking game in which players name embarrassing acts and anyone who has done the named act has to drink.
The graduate continued: “The Mahal, which has sadly closed now, was legendary for swaps.
“I believe Curry King is now the venue of choice, though I’ve heard of some swaps even taking place in Giraffe, which seems to me to be too nice a venue for it!”
When asked if the rumour of students vomiting on restaurant tables is true, she answered: “Oh without a doubt.
“I went on one swaps where a guy stood on a chair and his head ended up breaking a polysterene ceiling tile. I’m pretty sure he got his college banned from the Mahal, though memories are hazy.”
‘She passed out in a toilet’
What was the worst thing to happen at swaps?
“At my first swap in freshers’ week, we went to the Mahal, and [one student] went missing at the end when we were on our way to an “ent” [party in the bar] at the other side’s college.
“I couldn’t find her anywhere, and I had her bag and phone! Eventually we realised she was passed out (but OK!) in the Mahal bathroom… I got a cab back with her.
“She left her shoes (with vom on) in the cab though, but CamCab kindly delivered them back to her the following morning – for free I seem to remember!”
But for another anonymous Cambridge source, the experience was much tamer.
She said: “I didn’t really drink that much at Cambridge so I don’t have any first-hand experience of wild swaps and drinking societies.
“Swaps just involved going somewhere for food and drinking a lot through games such as ‘Never-have-I-ever’.
“They are probably a weekly occurrence, especially at the beginning of Michaelmas term [the first academic term, from October to December].
“I’ve been on swaps but I didn’t drink, so the experience was different for me.
“It was quite funny to watch everyone. Generally people got through a bottle of wine each.
“The restaurants that allow swaps tend to cordon off an area or put students in a separate room – they know what kind of thing is going to happen, there’s an understanding. It’s the raison d’etre for it to exist.
“Everyone pays a set fee per head and brings their own alcohol.
“The swaps I went to weren’t absolutely horrendous like all the rumours. I’ve heard they can be bad but I’d never seen that.
‘I’m not sure what Cindies is actually called’
“There’s also Caesarian Sunday, which is what people associate with Cambridge students and drinking.
“But there’s also just the normal pre-drinks and going out. How you drink at Cambridge does depend on the societies and clubs you’re part of.
“There’s Cindies on a Tuesday night… I’m not sure what Cindies is actually called, it’s just the name that Cambridge students call it.”
For the record, Cindies is Ballare in Lion Yard. Cambridge students also call Kuda in Sidney Street ‘Life’. You get the picture.
There is a calmer side to Cambridge’s varied drinking culture.
She continued: “It’s normal for people to go back to someone’s room after a formal dinner, have a drink and relax. It’s maybe more appealing to people who are not part of the sports clubs or drinking societies.
“You do get some students who have a liquor cabinet in their room and like cigars.
“Even in that culture there is a divide between the people who are just doing this because they think it looks cool, and the people who genuinely enjoy socialising that way.
“It can be performative or it can be an authentic experience.”