Looks like sombody stepped in it again. As much as chapters are told, lectured, counseled, or ordered that hazing in any form is not acceptable they just keep doing it. Why?
Thirty one pledges of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity were found in a crawl space under an off-campus house on Bonnie Drive early Saturday morning, authorities said.
Major Jim Russell of the Florida State University Police Department said they received a complaint of possible hazing so an FSU patrol officer went to the area in an unmarked car.
"(The officer) heard what seem like screaming from the back of the house," Russell said, reading from the probable-cause affidavit.
The FSU officer called the Tallahassee Police Department for assistance. Russell said officers approached the home and "several men fled on foot."
Police were able to capture four men. Upon further investigation, 31 pledges were found wearing sweat pants and white T-shirts with profanity and vulgarity written on them.
What part of "NO HAZING" do the undergraduate members not understand? Now 31 young men are probably going to have a lot of 'splainin' to do to their parents, and 4 'brothers' (and I use the term VERY loosely) will probably have their college careers, and possibly much of their future, clouded over by this incident. And that does not even consider how many kids and parents will read about this incident and decide that a fraternity is not the best way to experience college.
Yes, I know about "only allegations", "innocent until proven guilty", and all that. But why is it even an issue? Why do members continue to see how close they can come to that imaginary line between "fun hi-jinks" and "hazing"? It is beyond me.
Tallahassee Democrat - www.tallahassee.com - Tallahassee, FL.
(Update - the headline now reads "Four Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers arrested for hazing". And it the the Tallahassee Democrat's "Top Story". How many of these stories will it take to counter this publicity?)
