Investigative Report

For my report, I will be looking at issues of hazing at fraternities at Penn State. So far, I have not been able to experience any first hand pledging or hazing scenes, but I have been to many frats and the atmosphere there can tell a lot about frats and what they're all about. Most of the frats I have been to are pretty similar. You walk up and there is usually a couple brothers and maybe a bouncer that lets people in or turns them away. At many of these frats, you have to be on the list, know some of the brothers, or be in another frat to gain entry. Once inside, the atmosphere changes completely. It is usually packed with kids standing shoulder to shoulder, which makes walking through the frat difficult. With so many kids packed into such a small area, the frats are usually very warm and muggy. The smell of spilled beer and cigarette smoke overwhelms your nose. As you approach the dance floor, the music blasts your eardrums. In most cases, tables are set up for beer pong in which kids often crowd around to watch or wait for the next game. Recently, many kids I know and many I don't have begun their pledging process, which hazing is most commonly included in. Many of the pledges can be seen doing the work that brothers don't want to do; watching the doors, serving at the bar, and cleaning up the house.
I haven't been able to interview a lot of the people I want to interview yet, but I have been able to get some input from my friends and people I know who are currently pledging fraternities. Joe, a freshman who lives in East Halls, is one of these pledges. When I asked him what went on during the pledging process thus far and if he has experienced any hazing, he quickly replied "I can't tell you." Apparently, the fraternity brothers often tell the pledges to keep some of the things they do secret, possibly to keep the fraternities and the brothers out of trouble with the school and law enforcement. After some further inquiry, however, he did tell me that "The brothers smack you with a wooden paddle as hard as they can." I have heard this from a couple other pledges, and from what I have heard it is a common pledging tradition. Another freshman residing in East Halls who wished to have his name withheld told me him and his fellow pledges were going to be forced to eat some disgusting things including pizza topped with things such as chewing tobacco and animal feces.
During my research into this issue, I have found a couple relevant and interesting facts that I hope will help me in my writing of this paper. First, in an article I found on centredaily.com, the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity was recently charged with hazing and furnishing alcohol to minors. Also, on Penn State's Panhellenic Council website, I found out "any person who commits or participates in hazing is guilty of a misdemeanor in the third degree." On this website, there is actually a link where you can anonymously report hazing at Penn State.
One thing I found out through my preliminary research is that not only does Penn State have rules against hazing, the state of Pennsylvania has laws against it, which is something I definitely want to look into more. I also want to look more into how these fraternities try and keep their hazing and initiation secret. Many pledges are very wary about talking about their fraternities, and I would like to see how the brothers try and keep the pledges quiet about what happens behind closed doors.