19 Signs You’re Hazing Too Hard

5 Things That Trigger Hazing PTSD

We love some good, old-fashioned hazing here at TFM, but everything has its limits. In the blink of an eye, a light-hearted (for the actives, at least) first lineup can get very, very real, and spiral into an entire semester of hellish sadism and fucked up one-upsmanship. Some of the TFM freelance writers and I brainstormed some signs that your fraternity might be hazing juuuuust a little too hard.

  1. A few of your JIs are diagnosed with PTSD.
  2. Your pledges’ farts no longer make any noise.
  3. At least one pledge gets social services called on his parents after some professors notice his bruises.
  4. A pledge breaks down during an icebreaker involving a blindfold in his Econ 101 discussion.
  5. You finish the semester with far fewer pledges than you started with, and not because any dropped or were blackballed.
  6. You discover detailed plans to kidnap and dismember the pledge master while conducting a cavity search of the pledge class president.
  7. Butter hot dogs are a featured item on your fraternity’s meal plan because it’s what all the brothers are used to.
  8. One of your pledges shits his pants.
  9. One of your pledges shits another pledge’s pants.
  10. There are knee-height butt-shaped indentations in your basement wall.
  11. The majority of your JIs can’t fall asleep at night without listening to “Crazy Frog” at full blast on repeat.
  12. A pledge voluntarily goes to jail.
  13. A pledge voluntarily enters himself into a medically-induced coma.
  14. The value of one of the pledges’ 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee was cut in half because he put 75,000 DD miles on it.
  15. Your university health center issues a PSA regarding elbow injuries.
  16. One of your pledges smokes his first-ever cigarette on bid night and develops lung cancer before initiation.
  17. Your JIs gut their dip spit because they’ve grown fond of the taste.
  18. You walk in on your pledges practicing their elephant walk ahead of the upcoming lineup.
  19. One of your JIs drops the fraternity to become an advocate for man-goat love.

To listen to TFM’s writers tell their worst (read: best) hazing stories, subscribe to The Inside TFM Podcast on iTunes.

  1. authentic_con

    Buddy of mine in a different house had one of their pledges shit his pants during the bid day festivities. The guy got so much shit (ha) for it he ended up dropping himself.

    9 years ago at 5:01 pm
    1. fuckasu

      You’re the guy who keeps telling everyone he’ll rush next semester and that he’s “guaranteed a bid because he knows guys in frats.”

      9 years ago at 8:20 pm
      1. authentic_con

        Already in one, and yeah I’ll admit my story was dumb and take the laps. Fuck it, I got drunk on my day off.

        9 years ago at 8:23 pm
    1. JakeFromState

      False if your pledges are bruised on a REGULAR basis, and have been admitted to the hospital due to pledging, there’s a chance that’s a bit too much.

      9 years ago at 8:47 pm
  2. Jackpittman

    I am in middle school but one time my brother made me go get him ice cream or else he would tell mom about me raiding the liquor cabinet. Is this crossing the line?

    9 years ago at 5:22 pm