Driving in this morning, listening to the Sunrise Special, I heard John Silva report on the investigation scandalizing the UConn campus. It seems the Associate Director of community standards is looking into allegations of hazing committed by members of the Delta Zeta sorority. The acts were performed upon members of an unnamed campus fraternity on or about March 7th at a university residence hall as reported by the Courant.
Pending the outcome of the investigation, Delta Zeta has been placed on interim suspension. Kimberly Hill, the Associate Director, notified the sorority that the action was preliminary, but information received brings up the possibility that Deltas presence on campus could “pose a threat to the health and safety of the campus community.”
It’s clear that hazing can be dangerous, and even fatal. A quick search on Youtube makes that clear. Certainly, there can be physical pain involved, as was the case in Animal House as the Omegas inducted their new pledges; “Thank you sir! May I have another!”
When I was at Trinity, I joined the Phi Psi frat on Vernon Street. I was awakened early one morning and taken to the house in the early morning darkness. Unlike the Deltas, no fire extinguishers were used on us. Anyway, the brothers got us drunk, we did some oath that escapes me to this day, and by daylight it became clear that we wouldn’t be heading for class that day. By the way, Connecticut Alpha was disbanded and the house was torn down in the early 70’s. We did not, however, retaliate by wrecking the Homecoming Parade.
But back to the Delta Zetas. How did their alleged acts endanger the health and safety of the campus community? Well according to some reports-(and what follows make shock some) the accused forced their victims to:
Consume alcohol
Eat dog treats
Paint their bodies
Wear women’s thong underwear
And take shots off each other’s bodies.
And this differs from any other weekend on any other college campus in America…exactly how?
As the investigation continues new, more serious revelations may come out. But for now, this seems to be nothing but a case of “being stupid”. Something of which most of us are guilty once or twice in our lives.
