Pledging To Drink?

This story was reported by Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Lori I. Diamond, Rebecca F. Lubens, Olivia E. Ralston and Pamela S. Wasserstein and was written by Geoffrey C. Upton.

Last Friday night, 18-year-old Scott Krueger was rushed to Beth Israel Hospital after the MIT student was found unconscious amid vomit and bottles in a Boston fraternity house basement. He died three days later.

The incident occurred at a celebration for pledges of the Greek society Phi Gamma Delta. Krueger reportedly consumed 16 drinks during the festivities.

Although authorities have yet to conclude whether Krueger was forced to drink, the incident-along with other recent alcohol-related fatalities on campuses nation- -wide--has raised questions about the role of drinking in the initiations of American fraternities and sororities.

Here at Harvard, where fraternities hardly exist, students say annual initiation rites involving the heavy consumption of alcohol are practiced nonetheless.

Members of various Harvard organizations recount rites of initiation that encouraged or pressured them to engage in a variety of embarrassing and potentially dangerous activities, many including alcohol.

According to a student punching a final club, for example, part of the club's initiation is a trip to the oceanside home of a club alumnus, at which new members must do keg stands in the Atlantic.

Sports teams also involve alcohol in their initiations.

One male varsity sports team requires new members to participate in an elaborate scavenger hunt through Cambridge for approximately 35 items. Drinking is encouraged.

"We had to pose naked in [public]...and take a Polaroid picture of it," says one team member, on condition of anonymity. "For every minute we were late [getting] back we had to drink. If you didn't want to drink, you didn't have to; you had to eat tabasco sauce or do something worse."

After the scavenger hunt, new members were given clothing to wear for the next stage of the initiation.

"Some of us had to wear frilly women's underwear," the student says. "Two guys were handcuffed together."

And the drinking continued.

"The ones of us who were drinking had to consume a large amount of alcohol and do keg stands," he says.

During the keg stand, he explains, new members were held in the air by their teammates and given the nozzle of the keg, which they then held in their mouths and drank from for as long as each could take.

After the cross-dressing and keg stands, the team "had a party," the student adds, at which "anytime anybody saw you walking around they'd put a drink in your hand."

The student says all team members participated in the initiation voluntarily, and that it could not be considered hazing as a result.

"No one refused to do all of it, [although] not everyone did the drinking," he says. "It was a friendly atmosphere. There was a big feeling of bonding."

Hazing is illegal under Massachusetts state law, which defines the practice as "any conduct or initiation into a student organization...which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person." The law specifically includes the forced consumption of alcohol among potential means of endangerment.

Athletic Trials

One female varsity athlete says initiations get a bad rap that they do not deserve.

"Initiation is supposed to be a fun thing," the student says, on condition of anonymity. "No one's ever forced to do anything."

Her team's initiation includes a treasure hunt in which members drink at each stop and a version of Russian Roulette played with glasses of vodka and water.

Another female varsity athlete who spoke on condition of anonymity says that although sports teams are not supposed to have initiations, it happens anyway on her team-with the knowledge of the coach.

Although alcohol is a central element of the initiation, she adds, team members who do not want to drink do not have to and the choice to abstain is respected.

Other teams also permit students to choose not to drink at their initiations.

"One or two guys didn't want to drink, so they didn't have to," says a male varsity athlete of his team's recent initiation. "The rest of us drank tequila. You had to tell a joke, and it if wasn't funny you had to do a shot."

The student says he lost count of how much he had to drink, but it was probably seven or eight shots.

"I didn't feel uncomfortable about it," he says. "It was fun, bonding stuff. It was voluntary."

One male varsity sports team gives new members the choice to drink, says a member who spoke on condition of anonymity. If students agree, however, they are likely to drink a large amount.

"At my initiation, 12 people were locked in a room with a keg and told to finish it in half an hour," he says. "We figured out that was about 13 or 14 beers per person, not counting the beer that spilled."

Most of those drinking seemed to like the ritual, the athlete says, and no one needed medical assistance.

In earlier years, the student adds, the team's initiation also included "ass-chugs," in which new members drank beer poured through the buttocks of other team members.

The men's varsity swimming team also has an initiation ceremony that once involved the heavy consumption of alcohol.

New members of the team compete to be elected "Ironman," a position considered to be of great honor, according to swimmer David O. Schwartz '97-'00.

Until the arrival of the current coach, Schwartz says, teammates would get the Ironman drunk before the workout so that he would be led to vomit once the meet began. The Ironman would also be forced to do shots during the meet.

Despite changes in the initiation process, the swimming team still requires new members to jump off the high diving board naked, Schwartz says.

Members of many teams say alcohol is a presence at initiation ceremonies, but that there is little pressure to drink.

At a recent women's water polo initiation, according to team member Leslie Bennett '00, players sat in a circle and told stories.

"The water polo initiation involved alcohol, but there was no pressure to drink and everybody was relaxed," Bennett says. "The intent was not to embarrass anyone but rather simply for the upperclassmen to get to know the first-years."

Low Tolerance

Yet representatives of many Harvard organizations-including fraternity and sorority chapters not officially recognized by the college--say drinking is emphatically not a part of their initiation rites.

"Our initiation process has absolutely nothing to do with alcohol," says Ethan G. Drogin '98, president of the Harvard chapter of the residential fraternity Sigma Chi. "We don't force people to drink in our chapter at any time."

Drogin, who is a Crimson executive, says the initiation, which he characterized as "more of a ceremony" to culminate nine weeks of pledgeship, "is a special moment not to be marred by alcohol."

A member of the Phi Iota Alpha fraternity says the organization does not permit brothers to drink while wearing the fraternity's letters.

"Our fraternity is a Latino fraternity; the process is more educational, learning about the culture," he says. "Our processes are totally dry rush."

"We wouldn't want to embarrass ourselves, nor cause a tragedy like the one at MIT and other various colleges," he says.

Instead, the student says, the initiation involves "research projects" involving public service in the Latino community.

"We don't shave heads," he adds. "We wear a shirt and tie and work on projects together. Through working together, that's where we build up friendships."

According to Elizabeth A. Hanselman '99, a member of the Harvard Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta, the sorority also has a "very strict no hazing policy."

Members of several sports teams also say alcohol does not play a role in their initiations.

For example, at the initiation to a male varsity athletic team held in winter the night before anCrimsonAmanda L. BumhamA-6ALCOHOL

Here at Harvard, where fraternities hardly exist, students say annual initiation rites involving the heavy consumption of alcohol are practiced nonetheless.

Members of various Harvard organizations recount rites of initiation that encouraged or pressured them to engage in a variety of embarrassing and potentially dangerous activities, many including alcohol.

According to a student punching a final club, for example, part of the club's initiation is a trip to the oceanside home of a club alumnus, at which new members must do keg stands in the Atlantic.

Sports teams also involve alcohol in their initiations.

One male varsity sports team requires new members to participate in an elaborate scavenger hunt through Cambridge for approximately 35 items. Drinking is encouraged.

"We had to pose naked in [public]...and take a Polaroid picture of it," says one team member, on condition of anonymity. "For every minute we were late [getting] back we had to drink. If you didn't want to drink, you didn't have to; you had to eat tabasco sauce or do something worse."

After the scavenger hunt, new members were given clothing to wear for the next stage of the initiation.

"Some of us had to wear frilly women's underwear," the student says. "Two guys were handcuffed together."

And the drinking continued.

"The ones of us who were drinking had to consume a large amount of alcohol and do keg stands," he says.

During the keg stand, he explains, new members were held in the air by their teammates and given the nozzle of the keg, which they then held in their mouths and drank from for as long as each could take.

After the cross-dressing and keg stands, the team "had a party," the student adds, at which "anytime anybody saw you walking around they'd put a drink in your hand."

The student says all team members participated in the initiation voluntarily, and that it could not be considered hazing as a result.

"No one refused to do all of it, [although] not everyone did the drinking," he says. "It was a friendly atmosphere. There was a big feeling of bonding."

Hazing is illegal under Massachusetts state law, which defines the practice as "any conduct or initiation into a student organization...which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person." The law specifically includes the forced consumption of alcohol among potential means of endangerment.

Athletic Trials

One female varsity athlete says initiations get a bad rap that they do not deserve.

"Initiation is supposed to be a fun thing," the student says, on condition of anonymity. "No one's ever forced to do anything."

Her team's initiation includes a treasure hunt in which members drink at each stop and a version of Russian Roulette played with glasses of vodka and water.

Another female varsity athlete who spoke on condition of anonymity says that although sports teams are not supposed to have initiations, it happens anyway on her team-with the knowledge of the coach.

Although alcohol is a central element of the initiation, she adds, team members who do not want to drink do not have to and the choice to abstain is respected.

Other teams also permit students to choose not to drink at their initiations.

"One or two guys didn't want to drink, so they didn't have to," says a male varsity athlete of his team's recent initiation. "The rest of us drank tequila. You had to tell a joke, and it if wasn't funny you had to do a shot."

The student says he lost count of how much he had to drink, but it was probably seven or eight shots.

"I didn't feel uncomfortable about it," he says. "It was fun, bonding stuff. It was voluntary."

One male varsity sports team gives new members the choice to drink, says a member who spoke on condition of anonymity. If students agree, however, they are likely to drink a large amount.

"At my initiation, 12 people were locked in a room with a keg and told to finish it in half an hour," he says. "We figured out that was about 13 or 14 beers per person, not counting the beer that spilled."

Most of those drinking seemed to like the ritual, the athlete says, and no one needed medical assistance.

In earlier years, the student adds, the team's initiation also included "ass-chugs," in which new members drank beer poured through the buttocks of other team members.

The men's varsity swimming team also has an initiation ceremony that once involved the heavy consumption of alcohol.

New members of the team compete to be elected "Ironman," a position considered to be of great honor, according to swimmer David O. Schwartz '97-'00.

Until the arrival of the current coach, Schwartz says, teammates would get the Ironman drunk before the workout so that he would be led to vomit once the meet began. The Ironman would also be forced to do shots during the meet.

Despite changes in the initiation process, the swimming team still requires new members to jump off the high diving board naked, Schwartz says.

Members of many teams say alcohol is a presence at initiation ceremonies, but that there is little pressure to drink.

At a recent women's water polo initiation, according to team member Leslie Bennett '00, players sat in a circle and told stories.

"The water polo initiation involved alcohol, but there was no pressure to drink and everybody was relaxed," Bennett says. "The intent was not to embarrass anyone but rather simply for the upperclassmen to get to know the first-years."

Low Tolerance

Yet representatives of many Harvard organizations-including fraternity and sorority chapters not officially recognized by the college--say drinking is emphatically not a part of their initiation rites.

"Our initiation process has absolutely nothing to do with alcohol," says Ethan G. Drogin '98, president of the Harvard chapter of the residential fraternity Sigma Chi. "We don't force people to drink in our chapter at any time."

Drogin, who is a Crimson executive, says the initiation, which he characterized as "more of a ceremony" to culminate nine weeks of pledgeship, "is a special moment not to be marred by alcohol."

A member of the Phi Iota Alpha fraternity says the organization does not permit brothers to drink while wearing the fraternity's letters.

"Our fraternity is a Latino fraternity; the process is more educational, learning about the culture," he says. "Our processes are totally dry rush."

"We wouldn't want to embarrass ourselves, nor cause a tragedy like the one at MIT and other various colleges," he says.

Instead, the student says, the initiation involves "research projects" involving public service in the Latino community.

"We don't shave heads," he adds. "We wear a shirt and tie and work on projects together. Through working together, that's where we build up friendships."

According to Elizabeth A. Hanselman '99, a member of the Harvard Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta, the sorority also has a "very strict no hazing policy."

Members of several sports teams also say alcohol does not play a role in their initiations.

For example, at the initiation to a male varsity athletic team held in winter the night before anCrimsonAmanda L. BumhamA-6ALCOHOL