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I think this story takes the cake as, "Strangest hazing story Alf has ever heard".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/08/testicle-frat-hazing-wilmington-college-ohio_n_4240350.html

A Wilmington College fraternity pledge lost a testicle in a recent hazing incident.

According to an affidavit obtained by The Smoking Gun and other outlets, the 19-year-old was undergoing a battery of rituals Oct. 30 at Gamma Phi Gamma, aka Gobbler House, on the Wilmington, Ohio, campus.

Stripped naked and blindfolded, pledges were swatted with towels and shirts with the ends balled up in knots or with items inside. The affidavit noted that Tyler Lawrence was struck in the testicles and collapsed to the ground in pain, but that the ceremony continued. Afterward, Lawrence complained of intense pain and was taken to a local hospital, where doctors removed a testicle, police confirmed.

Up to 20 students witnessed the hazing or participated, TV station Local 12 notes in the segment above.

The outlet also reported that Lawrence said in an interview that he feels the incident was accidental. On Friday, school spokesman Randy Sarvis told The Huffington Post that he was surprised by the student's reaction.

Police are investigating, and the frat has been placed on temporary suspension, Sarvis said. That means the frat can't host any activities or participate in any activities as an organization.

In the meantime, the school is looking into the matter. "The college has interviewed some students and is conducting its own investigation while cooperating with law enforcement," Sarvis said, adding that part of Wilmington's response "will take into consideration how law enforcement proceeds."

kronk wrote:1. Is that where you went to school, Alf?
2. Was that your frat?
3. Do you still have both boys?

1. No
2. No, I'm a Teke
3. Possibly, not sure though, I received tappers almost every day for a semester thanks to a bully in my phys ed. class.

Kilkrazy wrote:Fortunately men can usually function perfectly well when "firing on one cylinder". Prosthetics are available to restore cosmetic balance.

I know, but still, a strange ritual and an even stranger outcome.

hotsauceman1 wrote:Looks like he didny have tha balls to be in that frat.
And I hazing rituals. It is just another power play people use to exert influence over one another and it makes me sick.

1) Pledge, your ball joke sucked go back and come back with something better. Perhaps something about testicular torsion, you sicken me.
2) In 95% of college fraternity chapters hazing of this extent doesn't go on. Most of the time it's by calling someone a pledge and asking them to take your drunk arse to Wendy's*, or driving drunkards back at 3 in the morning and being told to ask the Manager at McDonalds for his phone number*, etc... The justification for hazing of this level is to build you up to be better (there are better ways to do this), and the "we went through it, you have to as well." mentality

Medium of Death wrote:Hazing seems to be very homosexual... is it intentional? Just seems a bit weird if you're a straight guy.

It's not whether it's homosexual or not, hazing in this way is to degrade a person, to make them feel like less of a person. The idea behind it is that if you can deal with stuff like this, you're "good enough" to make it in the fraternity. I mean god forbid the active members do team building exercises to see the test of a person's character (like a Ropes course or something)

Jehan-reznor wrote:Never understood it, the torture people will go through to be part of a club.

Again, most fraternities are not like this. As someone that entered college saying, "I won't ever pay for friends or go through hazing just to join a club." this doesn't go on because if you haze and get caught hazing, you lose your charter at the school, you face suspension or expulsion, or other penalties like loss of scholarship, fines, etc... These kids probably went through this "ritual" and the people that did it to them went through it, etc.. It probably wasn't more than 5 to 6 years old, so hardly a tradition, and they only did it because they thought it built the idea of brotherhood up, and created a bond between the members of the fraternity. They hadn't been caught and so much like college students believe, they felt they were untouchable. But again, this doesn't happen in most fraternities

hotsauceman1 wrote:Well, Frats being alot of social connections later in life.
And you get a free house at school

The biggest thing about joining a fraternity is not the fact you have consistent drinking buddies for your time in college, but that you have connections instantly with people you've never met. I wouldn't have the job I currently have if it wasn't for my connections with TKE (teke). The guy that told me about the job interview was is a teke, the guy that mentored me for my first three months was a teke, and a few other people around the office were tekes, all connections we made in college. When I go to gaming conventions with my big brother (mentor in the fraternity) one of us will always be wearing something TKE related, whether it's a t-shirt, hoodie with letters on it, a lanyard, or a hat, we do it because we like to meet other people that were in our fraternity. My first time in Philladelphia, I was on the south side with a few brothers and we were looking for Genos Cheesesteaks, we found a guy from a chapter in Louisiana, but was from Philly. He showed us to where it was, and event bought my first sandwich (since I was the only one wearing letters). I get asked by newer members (while I was an active member, and now as an alumni) why I joined a fraternity, and I always say, "I was a shy kid before I joined, forcing myself to meet new people I had a vague connection with (other fraternities and sororities) forced me to learn social skills I didn't develop in high school because I was a quiet kid. I still get that way, but I can force myself to be social in situations that would have made me tense up with terror.

And the houses aren't free . Many campuses own the Greek housing, and you generally have to fill the houses to prove that you give a gak about it, and it's rarely cheaper to live in the fraternity houses than it is to live in the dorms. You just know the donkey caves in the house

Edit: It's very tough to describe what it's like to be in a fraternity, but it's like being a DCM. You pay for the privilege to be associated with other people (like minded and not so like minded), you build relationships with these people, a DCM recently got engaged, and even though only a handful of us have met him IRL, we all congratulated him, because 1) we're not all donkey caves, but because we built a relationship of sorts with this person. In a fraternity you make really close friends, inside jokes are abundant, and in some cases the men you meet in your fraternity will be the groomsmen at your wedding, the godfather of your kids, and the pallbearers at your funeral. It's been quite the experience.


* - These are things Alf may have done while he was a pledge.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
1) It wasnt meant to be funny
2) I understand that. I just dont like hazing in general. A high school around not to long ago had a hazing not to long ago. The players tackled the new guy in the locker room(H was naked) and held him down with towals on the bench and bet him, in their words, for good fun. And the "You have to as well" Is just a stupid argument and an appeal to tradition.

1) If it wasn't meant to be funny, then why did you say it?
2) If someone likes hazing, there's something wrong with them (hey I bet these fethwads liked hazing!) And I never said the, "you have to as well" was a good argument, but it's what you hear in most of these cases. I've had to put on more anti-hazing things than I care to recount, and the ones that I didn't have to help put on were boring as feth.

 Gentleman_Jellyfish wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
2) I understand that. I just dont like hazing in general. A high school around not to long ago had a hazing not to long ago. The players tackled the new guy in the locker room(H was naked) and held him down with towals on the bench and bet him, in their words, for good fun. And the "You have to as well" Is just a stupid argument and an appeal to tradition.

As long as everyone is a willing participant I have no problem.

Technically that still doesn't make it not hazing... If a person does something and says they're okay with it, it could be construed that they only went along with it because they thought their membership hung in the balance of that act.

Hotsauce's example is less hazing and more bullying/assault... Hazing is giving one of the guys the towel and saying, "If you don't beat Jimmy, we're going to kick you out of Synchronized Swim Club and do this to you."

Hazing can also be seen in Full Metal Jacket with the sock party scene...

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Dont most frats fraternities have a Paddle with their Frat Fraternity name carved out of it?

Depends on the chapter really. Where I went to school we had (when I was there) 3 fraternities and 4 sororities. The fraternities were all (by national and local bylaws) allowed to make decorative paddles and pass them on to older or newer members. In my chapter we made paddles for our big brothers with our fraternity name, chapter designation, and our fraternities numbers. The local chapter of Phi Mu was not allowed to make paddles, but they made wooden plaques using one of the public symbols of their sorority and decorated it in their colors, with their symbol, etc... those were usually presented to the little sisters upon initiation.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Why paddles though?

I'd make a joke about beating pledges, but the paddle is, in today's Greek Life, a decoration and a gift given from one person in the fraternity/sorority to another. In my fraternity, we give paddles to our big brothers as a token of saying, "Thanks for being my mentor." Other times it's to welcome the new person into the long standing traditions of the organization. Some universities and campuses don't allow greek life organizations to give paddles because of the negative image that they have (which you're reaching for), because 25 years ago the paddle was used by some hazing rituals to paddle the new member. But to be fair, 30 to 50 years ago, paddles were a common sight in some high schools (my dad's high school had plenty of paddles) and were used for corporal punishment at the time. They're outdated now, but for Fraternities and Sororities, they're a decoration, not a weapon.

 hotsauceman1 wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Why paddles though?

I'd make a joke about beating pledges, but the paddle is, in today's Greek Life, a decoration and a gift given from one person in the fraternity/sorority to another. In my fraternity, we give paddles to our big brothers as a token of saying, "Thanks for being my mentor." Other times it's to welcome the new person into the long standing traditions of the organization. Some universities and campuses don't allow greek life organizations to give paddles because of the negative image that they have (which you're reaching for), because 25 years ago the paddle was used by some hazing rituals to paddle the new member. But to be fair, 30 to 50 years ago, paddles were a common sight in some high schools (my dad's high school had plenty of paddles) and were used for corporal punishment at the time. They're outdated now, but for Fraternities and Sororities, they're a decoration, not a weapon.

Well if the zombies ever come, The paddle can be a weapon

Nah, a baseball bat works better. The zombies aren't going to bend over and grab their ankles so I can teach them whats what.

 Asherian Command wrote:

 Sparkadia wrote:

 Asherian Command wrote:

 hotsauceman1 wrote:
Dont most frats have a Paddle with their Frat name carved out of it?

Not the one I went to. Of course mine is filled with a bunch of video game designer nerds.

I envision an alternative approach, like being forced to play Desert Bus for 3 days or E.T on the Atari.

THE HORROR!

Actually ours was just playing really bad games. I mean really REALLY bad games. Someone actually purchasing them still boggles my mind.

I and one of my pledge brothers had to write a song about how the president and vice president were in love with each other, we then had to sing it in front of the chapter. I also volunteered to DD one night at a party (since I didn't drink at that time), stayed out an hour later than normal, and ended up driving three people to McDonalds just after the menu changed from dinner to breakfast (3am), and since it took so long one of the guys said he'd give me 10 bucks if I asked the manager for his phone number.

Nothing like the "snake pit" from when another fraternity occupied our house.

 Steve steveson wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

but that you have connections instantly with people you've never met. I wouldn't have the job I currently have if it wasn't for my connections with TKE (teke). The guy that told me about the job interview was is a teke, the guy that mentored me for my first three months was a teke, and a few other people around the office were tekes, all connections we made in college.

...

You pay for the privilege to be associated with other people (like minded and not so like minded)

And that is the real problem with frats. It reinforces the "old boys" network, which is extremely damaging. Just take a look at the amount of work the UK civil service is having to do to brake down the old boys network here. Making connections and getting jobs not through merit but through happening to be in the same "club" at university. At least in the UK it is Oxbridge colleges that are the problem, where entry is based on merit. Where it is based on just being willing to go through whatever "ritual"it is even worse and just strengthens social exclusion.

Seeing how getting top jobs works in the US, between frats, unpaid internships and other socially exclusive actions, it is no wonder the US is becoming more and more socially divided.

I was notified about the job because I knew the guy was in my fraternity, I was recommended for the job because I worked at my university's IT department while he was a student there (working in the same department), I got the job on my own merit, I kept the job on my own merit, I was almost fired from the job 6 months ago because of my own lack of skill in an oft-used skill I had not mastered in that time period.

In my experience, the fraternity method is not an old boys club, it's a foot in the door. I could get the job because of who I know, but I can just as easily lose the job because of my own inability to do the job.

 Monster Rain wrote:
Networking is for fools without bootstraps.

I only have velcro

 Gitkikka wrote:
Alf, did you have a fraternity name?

And was it Otter?

I bet it was Otter.

Depends on who you asked.
My big brother called me Little, and I called him Big.
Most people called me by my last name (but that was pretty much everyone anyways)
A few people called me "fething donkey cave"
And one guy called me Captain Ahab because it had gotten out that I had boinked a fatty in high school. But that was better than the kid who got hammered on his 19th birthday, and took a woman back to his room so large we dubbed him Red Leader, and her the Death Star. We got in trouble for that one, half of the fraternity was 'studying' in the hallway of our house to see who he had taken back to his room.

 Steve steveson wrote:

 Alfndrate wrote:

I was notified about the job because I knew the guy was in my fraternity, I was recommended for the job because I worked at my university's IT department while he was a student there (working in the same department), I got the job on my own merit, I kept the job on my own merit, I was almost fired from the job 6 months ago because of my own lack of skill in an oft-used skill I had not mastered in that time period.

In my experience, the fraternity method is not an old boys club, it's a foot in the door. I could get the job because of who I know, but I can just as easily lose the job because of my own inability to do the job.

Would he have recommended you if he only knew you from working in the IT department? In which case that is nothing to do with being in a fraternity. If not then that there is the problem. Getting fired or not is irrelevant, its the matter of getting a recommendation because of being in the fraternity with someone. In your first post you specifically said that you would not have your job without your connections you made in your fraternity, and how people you didn't know treated you better because of your fraternity. That is the very definition of an old boys club. Not that you get to keep a job no matter what, but that you gain an advantage because of membership of a particular exclusive group, In the US normally your fraternity, in the UK your university or Oxbridge college.

Nothing wrong with connections, or groups or clubs. It is when those connections are abused that there is a problem. Networking is when you use those connections.

It's possible, there were several student techs in our IT department that graduated at the same time I did, all of them just as good at their jobs as I was. It's quite possible that my name jumped to the top of the list simply because he and I were in the same chapter of our fraternity, but he had graduated from university the semester before I joined, so we were never active members at the same time. As to the people I don't know treating me differently, it's never anything more than, "Hey you're a teke, I'm a teke?!" and if we're in the appropriate setting, a drink or, in my case, food might be bought.

In turn when we had an opening, one of my fraternity members asked me to give my resume to the manager (he had been stalking our company's job board for a few months). He emailed it to me, I printed it out, and said, "Here is that resume I was talking about, he's a pretty good guy and a hard worker." that was it.