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The New Animal Houses
Asian fraternities have created their own brutal hazing rituals based on physical punishment rather than alcohol abuse—with some tragic consequences. Dan Haley reports on Hell Night.
Kenny Luong died trying to start a Lambda Phi Epsilon chapter at California State Polytechnical University in Pomona, Calif. He and several other Cal Poly students approached the University of California at Irvine chapter of the nation’s largest Asian fraternity for permission to start a Lambda chapter at their own school. To do so, they were required to field a team of pledges to play football against the Irvine Lambdas.
The 10 pledges who showed up for the August 2005 game were, according to a later report in New University, the Irvine student newspaper, “significantly smaller and less physically fit than the bigger, more numerous Lambdas,” and “played without helmets or pads.”
Luong was tackled again and again. The last time, he didn’t get up. According to the student paper, Luong was left unattended for 10 minutes. When the brothers checked on him, they found his eyes were rolling into the back of his head. He was having a seizure.
"They claim they're teaching you life lessons," said one former pledge. "It's like the army. They're teaching you how to survive."
Lambda Phi Epsilon is one of a growing number of predominantly Asian college fraternities that eschew the alcohol-based hazing of the traditional—and traditionally white—Greek houses. Instead, they have developed their own traditions of violent physical hazing. New University reported that, as part of the pledge process, Luong was forced to jump into the air and land on his chest without using his hands to break his fall. He was also allegedly forced to rapidly drink two gallons of water, putting him at serious risk for death by water poisoning.
Though the Irvine chapter of the fraternity was suspended following the tragic football game, Lambda chapters across the country continued to haze pledges. At the University of Texas, the parents of a pledge named Jack Phoummarath, who died in a hazing incident, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Lambda in 2006 that was settled before it went to trial, for $4.2 million. During discovery in that case, it was revealed that the fraternity had been locking its pledges in a small, unlit room for days at time, forcing them to perform calisthenics while loud techno music blared.
Then, last July, Lambda was suspended at Northwestern University for a period of four years following an exposé of its hazing practices in the campus newspaper, the Daily Northwestern.
“With predominantly white fraternities, the hazing is generally alcohol-based,” said Walter Kimbrough, president of Philander Smith College and author of several books about ethnic fraternities, But with Asian, Black or Latino fraternities, “most of the hazing is physical.”
“Lambda’s way to lure you in was to tell you all this stuff about brotherhood and alumni connections,” said Mike, an alumnus of a northeastern university chapter of the fraternity who asked that his real name not be used. "Non-white frats are all about sticking together, overcoming racial barriers, and getting stronger as a racial group—basically, overcoming these white guys."
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I would like to point out that your so-called source, "Mike," is questionable. There currently is no chapter at Northeastern University.
Why is it so hard to find out who is in charge? Unelss organized as a for-profit entity, fraternities and sororities are exempt from tax under section 501(c)(7), (c)(9) or some similar provision. In order to get that exemption, they would have to file a Form 1023 or 1024 which requires disclosure of officers, directors, articles or incorporation, bylaws, etc. A simple FOIA request should reveal who is in charge of the organization. Research should include more than just looking at an organization's website.
Whats the purpose of this article? Is it:
1) to show your shock that Lambda's dont perpetuate the "normal" stereotypes that AA are suppose to,
2)to imply that ethnic fraternities, like Lambdas are inferior because there "white" counterparts don't haze,
or
3)to imply that ethnic fraternities are nothing more than just organized gangs to oppose the "whites"
Which one is it? Because I am borderline offended by this article.
@ boring...
But there is one at NorthWESTERN which is the school the article mentions.
More frat boys being stupid. Is anyone surprised? Does anyone really care?
"They're teaching us to survive"
Survive what? Apocalypse? Nuclear winter? Alien invasion?
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-yawn-
Well, that's just stupid. If I wanted to get beat up and drink too much, I'd join the Army and at least get paid for it.
The purpose of this article is to report that "white" frats are apparently full of drunk idiots, while "ethnic" frats are full of masochistic idiots. Take out the adjectives and there's no argument, leave them in and there's no offense.
If it's true, it's wrong. Let's see a study done.
as an asian american, I can't say that i'm offended by this article, but i am a bit concerned on how people will generalize asian american fraternities.
The matter of fact is, even within the asian american community, the lamda's have always had a pretty bad reputation. The majority of asian fraternities are usually smaller, but business and pre-med oriented. I feel as if this article is generalizing asian fraternities in a skewed way, forgetting the fact that, much like white fraternities, there are plenty of fraternities that do not practice the stereotypical drinking/hazing culture.
Is it true that they beat you on the a-s with a slide rule while making you eat bananas out of a toilet?
Every race has its own black sheep. Although the author has the interest to scoop up such an 'underground' subject, fine. But it would be foolish, on the readers' part, to judge and criticize a race based on a few troublemakers.
This is similar as to how the Muslims are experiencing right now; they feel like their forehead is labeled potential terrorist whenever they visit an airport in America. Thanks to an event nine years ago that changed people's perception about them.
So save your arguments on more critical stuff, like saving the global economy, you bunch of madoffs!!!
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I notice that you based a lot of your article off of ONE fraternity's experiences from ONE of their chapters (which actually is not in existence) from ONE anonymous brother. Just because the physical abuse happened to him does not logically follow that everyone else has gone through the same thing. To talk about Alpha Sigma Lambda and Pi Delta Psi is not legit. Why group them into the same stigma as Lambdas when you yourself do not know them.
On the national level, ASL's are a single chapter fraternity located at Cal Poly Pomona. Pi Delta Psi is actually a large fraternity itself with, according to their website, information on who to contact on their national board. I do know understand how hard it could be to contact one person via checking their website.
Physical abuse happens with white fraternities too. I see it from my friends who have pledged certain, anonymous fraternities.
Before you go bashing minority greeks, I'd like for you to check your facts, do more research, and contact each org's national board to get at least the other side's point of view.
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