Were you initiated into a sport, school or club?

I was initiated into a fraternity in college. It involved working around the house and fixing things up, cleaning, exercising every morning as a pledge class, etc. This work gave everyone a feeling of ownership in the house and taught us to respect what we had. Classwork was NOT allowed to slip during the initiation week as grades were very important. There were typical pranks that we played on each other throughout our college careers and all were done in good fun, no malicious or hurtfull acts.

I participated in two more initiations as an upperclassman and the only regret I have is not becoming a member of the fraternity earlier in my college career.

Initiation into this fraternity helped to build me into the person I am proud to be today and taught me that when a seemingly unsurmountable obstacle is placed in front of me I have the power to excel as part of a team and as an individual.

Yes... every service man Navy and Marine who crosses the equator goes through what is called CROSSING THE LINE.. or the journey from become a DIRTY Polly WOG to a SHELLBACK.. What does this involve?? If you have gone though it you know all to well. If you have not, the events of the day are not for your DIRTY POLLY WOG eyes or ears.
OOORAAH

College Frat, no big deal, chains and padaloks, chants and marching..later did it to another class..No one got hurt just easy fun.
Eagles Club, not hard at all and never did it to anyone else.

My brother wrestled @ CHS in the 80s @ 98-lbs. During practice he was 4-wayed (each of victim's limbs are violently pulled in outward direction at once) by the coach's son and 3 other seniors, all of which outweighed him by at least 70 lbs! What came of it? My brother missed of week of school due to a severe groin injury, my parents endured a medical bill well beyond their means and NOTHING happened to the coach's son and the other senior participants. Seems like not much has changed in almost 3 decades--ugh!

I was subject to an 8 week initiation in mid 1970 - yelled at, threatened with physical violence, forced to participate in physical activity until the point of exhaustation. Everything was completely scripted for those 8 weeks - clothes, activities, even free time. It was called Army Basic Combat Training and I lived through it!

yes buttpirate often whipped us with long painful branches

I went to Lakeview, so has a Freshman I had to push pennies in the pit, play leap frog during lunch, and had to sing Happy Birthday to the seniors. One of my class mates had to wear a sign that said "DOG OF THE YEAR" that one went a little too far. On the last day for the seniors, we were taken to lake north and pushed off the dock, but then the seniors joined us. When I was a senior- we "kidnapped" some freshmen and drove out to the "glowing graveyard" and scared the you know what out of them. We also did the lake North thing. I think the Lake thing was something we all looked forward too. In fact some of the Freshmen girls wore their swimsuits that day! What do the kids at LHS do now??

First, one know that most initiations do not involve "hazing", a form of initiation involving harrassment, humiliation, and psychological and/or physical abuse. Most adult groups do not practice hazing.

Most initiations promote team building, loyalty, and a bond not only with other initiates, but both active and alumni members of the organization.

I've been initiated into more than a dozen fraternal, social and professional organizations since High School. The high school stuff tended to run along the lines of "mild hazing". The college and adult initiations were quite symbolic and left lasting impressions.

I also 'pushed pennies' in the pit. But it went far beyond that and I will never ever forget it.
I will never attend a reunion, never gave to lakeview fundraisers as a business person in Columbus, will slam that cowpie high any and ever time I get and I graduated 30 years ago.

UNL was my saving 'educational' grace. What happened there was so different, I graduated at the top of my class and other cowpie UNL grads there became friends.
The admin. swept it under the rug. This kind of activity is a chief reason why kids commit suicide.

Now, when I see the Lakeview people who caused me so much misery as a highschooler, I turn the other way, I am successful (thanks to therapy) and verbally spit on them!

I was never mean enough to do anything cruel to a weaker kid. That made me kind of a loner but at least I can keep my head held high about my school years!!!!

I am a senior at Lakeview now and we don't do any of the stuff the two LHS grads mentioned. I don't even know what penny pushing is about. And the whole lake thing doesn't happen anymore. If a teacher hears of hazing or the Lake North initiation your *** is grass.

Ok Telegram. This is going way too far. You seem to instigate many arguements but you are also very selective and biased in what is posted. If you would let all blogs be posted then I would be ok with this. All you are doing is adding fuel to the fire and you should be ashamed of yourselves for this. Once again, you have done nothing positive and your ignorance is obvious!!

I went to Schuyler Central in the 80's. Our initiation into high school was the seniors making us sing in the hallway and then if you were caught walking after school hours, any of the upperclassmen would pick you up and "haul you out". They would take us out in the country somewhere, usually the Platte River bridge, take your shoes so you had to walk on the HOT cement and make you walk back to town.

It wasn't an initiation as much as a punishment. When I was in the service there was a guy that kept sneaking out and spoiling it for those that earned a pass. Then he would make smart remarks about it (edited for blogging). He had the whole platoon PO'd. We gave him the silent treatment for a day and the drill sgt knew something was up. When he left that night, he said, "you can shake the tree, just don't break any limbs." We all learned something that day. By majority rule, everyone would take part or they would be punished too.

Let's just say that boy learned how to be a team player and respect people.

I'll spare you the details. If you are appalled by a swirly, you'd lose your lunch over this one. No broken limbs, but the next time a storm passes through town with 70mph winds..., take a look at the trees and remember this. That helps me remember to be nice to people. Not because I have to be, but because I can.

I will never forget that day for as long as I live. That kids life changed as he was morphed from spoiled brat to a man. We knew it when he apologized to everyone a few weeks later. That was the day he earned our respect.

seniors took us out to the bridge right outside town and if you were dumb enought to get out of the car then they left you there to walk back. If you stayed in the car like I did then we went back to town, I told them I was going home and went back and got my classmates. I didn't graduate from here, but am hearing it's alot different. Pathetic...

c'mon realist. i'm lik'n the new telegram and the gutsy topics. i think it is good for the community. tends to make us all a little more real and a little more equal. i'm in a much better mood, and i am starting to be a little more proud of columbus.

maybe you were just being initiated ;)

When I look back on school, I remember we were against this one fellow in my class, and I alone started an group against him. He was the typical cocky kid, and I simply did not like him. But no matter, I initiated quite the number into my group, for they all agreed with me. I admit, I felt satisfied afterward that I had formed it. It was high school though...that was years ago.

What a perfect time to ask that question-just add more fuel to the fire.And YES I was initiated when I was a freshman like a lot of kids were what is the big deal??????

yes, i would have to agree with 'the pain'...this buttpirate fellow was quite rude to us and wip us with sticks in which he called part of his 'initiation' for us into a group...we of course were all horrified and didn't fall for his trick...i think he wanted something else from us...

To C'mon: While I totally agree with your statement and norally I would agree with this topic. However, I do feel that the telegram uses this in a biased fashion. Whenever a post/blog is presented on the forum to talk about, we do. But, they are very selective in what they accept as a post. So that goes to my original post on this subject. While I have been initiated and do not think that there is anything wrong with it, the telegram is going to select posts that show the initiation is bad. Many of people have put blogs on here and the Telegram will not put them on here because it either a remark about the usual horrible reporting by the telegam, lack of information, biased stances, comparing situations that deal with the subject, etc. If you are going to open this up, you have to remember that you can't do it selectively and at any time you want. To be objective, you have to post all and let all sides voice their opinion so all sides can be heard and that is then where you as a reader can make a decision based on what you have read. The telegram does not do that at all and would rather protect certain people, groups, organizations and whatnot. I applaud your comment but I do think that you have given this paper way too much compliments. If you compare the telegram from 10-20 years ago to now, I will take the telegram from then. They were way better, much more informative, honest, risk taking, will to take a stanace, and just more objective and shows both sides. It is a joke now. That is all I am saying!

It was my freshman year of high school back in 1961, it was a humiliating initiation by the seniors. the intire freshman body had to come to school dressed as a baby diapers, t-shirts, booties. a bonnet, had to carry a bottle, were blindfoled and made to eat baby food spooned by a senior,(NOT baby food)horseradish, ground liver, etc. when you met a senior in the hallway your had to bow down carry their books to their class, (let for your own) if you failed to do so you were brutely spanked with a wooden paddle, the teashers stood by and laughed,it was horrid. and no we all refused to initiated the next incomeing class, that was the end of it. it seams like yesterday.

realist,

i have found that as of late the Telegram manages the delivery as well as the content. It appears as if they have adopted an unwritten "play nice" rule. I have also found that if I use an obvious "cheap shot" at someone or something, I stand a much greater chance of having my comment rejected.

That makes me a liitle angry sometimes, but I think if they intend to publish more controversial subjects, they probably need to keep it clean, and keep it fair.

I like these topics and would like to see the Telegram continue. But, I do not think they are obligated to provide the medium for me to make an anonymous cheap shot. I think they need to maintain some journalistic value. I assume that you or I are free to open our website with a more unregulated forum?

Mostly interesting reading so far. Although I am rather surprised they haven't caught on to the mockery of "pain" and "very painful" and their buttpirate.

To everyone who says initiation was no big deal, and they lived through it. The humiliation and embarrassment has been the cause of suicide and mass school shootings. What's so funny about that?

to cmon,

i do not appreciate your mocking, ridiculing, and jeering at the pain and i...this was an immensley depressing matter...we were all afraid of buttpirate! we received enough harassment from him, and i do not respect you for thinking this is a joking matter...until you have perverts in your school who try to take advantage of you, do NOT judge others EVER again

All freshmen were intiated at Lakeview by either getting thrown into the lake off the dock or even rolling a peanut with their nose around the commons area. Didn't kill anyone. Made the underclassmen respect the upperclassmen as they should. But in this day and age respect is not always taught at home. And its the winey crybabies that probably need the initiation more than anyone.

Somehow-Somewhere education has taken a wrong turn. School is for study, it is free education for America's children. Eliminate everything and get back to the basics of education. If you don't have other activities then there is no need for any type of initiation. When was the last time you got initiated into a math or science class? History? English? Nope can't say I've ever heard of it. Any child that inflicts harm upon another child should be arrested and go for the real initiation which is the "real" world.

If you have ever initiated someone and caused humiliation then you are without a doubt an idiot.

Back in the 70's I was attending Camp Augustine in Grand Island for a summer Boy Scout camp. One evening as I walked to the showers a group of counselors who were older scouts jumped me and beat the crap out of me. They told me I was being initiated into the camp and if I said anything I would have to endure this every night. I was too scared to say anything so I just let it go. I didn't stay in scouts much after that.