US college greek life reader

39But Chad also wanted a social life. Before fall semester started he accepted a bid from Phi Delta Theta, an AU fraternity. Chad’s parents were against it because Chad's grades might suffer that would kill his chances of getting into a vet program. He might get paddled too. Chad enjoyed the fraternity’s life. Like the members of other social fraternities, the Phi Delts were ready to accept a member as long as he did whatever was required to get into the group. The fact that Chad was a community college outsider seemed to bother no one at the house. Cheating the system to pledge without AU administrators catching on wasn't hard. At the Phi Delta house Chad's pledgeship was kept secret because the school's written policy stated that «a rushee may not be for-mally pledged until enrolled at Auburn University». Besides, fraternities signed an anti-hazing policy agreement that made AU's campus «dry». Chad enjoyed many things about fraternity life. He enjoyed the company of other pledges, and he liked playing sports and attending AU football games. He also loved the campus, which was always green and had a sweet scent of flowers. The Phi Delt pledgeship gave him hope that some day he would belong at «Sweet Auburn». For Chad the fraterni-ty served as an anchor to Auburn's glorious past and present. Despite the anti-hazing policy, Phi Delt headquarters had learned that Phi pledges at AU were involved in hazing. Pledges were made to perform different rituals like sleeping crammed in a bathroom like packaged shrimp or eating and drinking unpleasant concoctions, large amounts of water and alcohol. Chad continued to pledge even after he had incurred a back injury […]. He hated to think that the hard work he had put into pledging would be wasted. In early December Chad […] had a fraternal order to buy a silly costume for the Phi Delt Christmas Party. The traditional chapter party was scheduled for the Thursday evening before «Dead Day», which marked the end of AU classes and ...