Prohazing

Received 3/9/99

I viewed your web page and was humored by the definition of hazing.  Pretty
soon my employer will not be able to ask me to perform a task for fear he is
creating stress in my life.  

I was initiated into the walls of Tau Kappa Epsilon, the largest fraternity
in the US.  I became president, graduated with a BS in Mechanical
Engineering, managed a small company that supplied to the automotive
industry, I am a father of three and a husband for the past 10 years to the
same person, and I now work at a Nuclear Power Station near you.  I own my
own house and a 1999 truck.  I am respectable to others, a loving husband, a
good father and am responsible.  I pay more taxes in the state of NH than
approx. 85% of the population.  I still see and talk to my parents.  My dogs
get fed once a day and I don't kill wildlife.  I drink Jack Daniel's and
Pete's Wicked Ale regularly.  I have received a speeding ticket.  I don't do
drugs, murder, rob banks, internet fraud, or smuggle U-235 home from work.
You can say I turned out pretty well.

Much of the way I conduct myself and interact with others stems from my 4
years in TKE.  Pledging and HELP week allowed my to see more of myself and
others than most people will ever know of themselves.  I was under violation
of approx. 95% of your definition of hazing.  What was being done to me by
others, I intern did to others, plus some.  Please, do not get alarmed and
report me to the DNR, NAACP, Child Abuser & Wife Abuser Clinics, AAA, NRC,
or local authority.  There was no cutting or eating human flesh, eating
glass, ingesting poison, jumping off high platforms, I could use the
restroom.  Granted I did have to answer a house phone, call actives sir, do
some house work, interview actives, get demerits, go for long walks ( real
long ones), I got use to no sleep or food for a few days (kinda like when I
got lost in the woods with my children and wife), when I did get to sleep
for 45 minutes in 3 days the quarters were very cramped, I ate some nasty
food, drank alot of beers, chewed tobacco and smoked cigars the branding
turned out to be a psyche rush rather than a real burn.  I got through it
all and became a stronger person.  My physical and mental endurance was
exceeded and now I know I can reach any platform required of myself.

Hazing taught me to humble myself, listen to authority, interact with
several people closer than most people do with their best friend, siblings
or family.  Most of all, hazing taught me my personal limits on pushing
myself beyond what I ever have had to overcome.  It taught me to me mentally
and physically resourceful, both by myself and with others.

Hazed Human,
(name removed)