One Of Tennessee’s Largest Fraternities Suspended 5 Years For Some Soft Hazing Allegations

Harrison Lee10 years ago

Lambda Chi Alpha at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville has been suspended for five years. Lambda Chi has been on campus since 1932 and had about 122 active members in the chapter, 22 of whom lived in the house. Those guys now have until March 6th to find a new home after nationals decided to shut down the fraternity’s operations on February 22nd.

From WBIR:

The Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity board of directors voted to suspend operations of the Epsilon-Omicron chapter at the University of Tennessee due to multiple hazing incidents over a three-year period. The chapter will stay closed a minimum of five years, according to Lambda Chi Alpha’s national headquarters spokesperson Tad Lichtenauer.

So what exactly happened in those three years? Are we talking about some extreme hazing? Maybe forcing pledges to brand themselves, the elephant walk, forced butt chugging? Nah, just a little physical activity that doesn’t even sound bad.

In 2013, the chapter was suspended for forcing pledges to do military-type physical training. In the fall of 2015, UT Police reported some members were forced to do push-ups and swim 300 yards.

300-yard swim and some push-ups? Sign me up. I want a fraternity who is looking after the well-being of its new members. The biggest threat to incoming freshman when it comes to college is the “freshman 15,” so Lambda Chi was just nipping that shit right in the bud with their new member program. Do you want your son or daughter to become fat and have high medical bills later on in life? No, you want them to be healthy and fit. I bet those kids were in prime physical condition and their pledge intramural teams destroyed everyone.

Here is the thing about “forced” physical conditioning: if you don’t want to do it, just walk out. It’s that simple. If being in shape isn’t something you want to be a part of your life, then you picked the wrong fraternity to join. Hell, if this is hazing, you should see the forced workouts that the football teams have to go through during the summer here in Texas..

[via WBIR]

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