Sorting Skittles by Color in Idaho
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Sorting Skittles is a common, harmless hazing ritual in colleges nationwide. However, it’s believed to have originated from Boise State University in Idaho. A person is blindfolded and led into a dark basement. The room is empty except for a blasting stereo and Skittles on the floor. Pledges are expected to sort the Skittles by color within 10 minutes.
Wearing Uniforms in Indiana
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Pledges in a Purdue State University sorority must wear private school uniforms as their initiation. Weird, right? That’s not all! They’re also not supposed to leave the library before 8 p.m. throughout their rush week. Finally, the pledges should present what they’ve been studying to the seniors at the end of the week. With all the scary and disheartening stories, we read about sorority initiations, it’s a breath of fresh air to learn about such a wholesome tradition.
Prank calls in Texas
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If you plan to attend Southern Methodist University, practice your prank call skills because they might be handy! Pledges are supposed to call someone close to them (typically parents or love interests) and tell them shocking things, then hang up. Their phones are then taken away for the rest of the week. So, you might be forced to call your boyfriend and say, “It’s over!” Then, only tell him it was a prank after a week. Sounds risky!
Making a Home in Utah
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Pledges at Southern Utah University have a unique experience where they must build their living space for the next year. The girls are expected to paint and decorate a section of the sorority house that will be their primary living space. The event culminates in the girls building a giant makeshift bed they’ll sleep on for the rest of the initiation period.
Nicknames in Tennessee
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Nicknames are a huge part of introducing freshmen to sorority life. However, the Seniors at Tennessee State University take it a step further. Each pledge is supposed to come up with a nickname for another sorority member, seniors included, and give a convincing reason why they deserve it. It’s interesting to see the lengths these pledges go to convince the seniors why they deserve a specific nickname.
Stealing Art in Maryland
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If you’d like to join the Kappa sorority at the University of Maryland, you’ll have to reenact “The Bank Job!” Pledges are grouped into two teams. One team is handed the sorority’s traditional painting for safekeeping. The other team is supposed to find and steal the painting by the end of the week. Some groups are really creative with where they hide the painting, while some keep it in plain sight and dare the opposition to fight for it.
Dressing Like a Baby in Delaware
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Students at the University of Delaware go through a bizarre sorority house initiation tradition. Pledges are required to dress like babies and serve the sorority president. Seeing big sorority girls wearing bibs, adult diapers, and colorful socks feeding a grown woman is a surprising and hilarious sight. The pledges are supposed to keep the baby attire on for the entirety of the rush week.
Walking Naked to Class in Montana
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Many sorority initiations involve stripping naked to prove your loyalty. Pledges at Montana Technological University are dared to strip to their briefs and go into each of their classes. While they’re not required to be naked for a whole week, they should ensure everyone in their classes sees them naked. If a pledge is uncomfortable with this initiation, they must do all the house chores for the rest of the year.
Eating Cat Food in Massachusetts
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Harvard is one of the most coveted Ivy League schools. However, not even the most prestigious college in the country is above sorority initiations. A few years ago, it emerged that a sorority in Harvard was asking pledges to eat cat food as an initiation. Unfortunately, this ended up causing food poisoning, leading to the closure of the sorority. That said, it’s unclear whether hazing is still happening at the school because Harvard sororities are secretive.
Staying awake all night in Louisiana
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Grambling State University students must go through one of the most draining exercises to join a sorority. Pledges stay awake throughout the whole weekend. Sounds easy, right? The pledges are also supposed to participate in drinking games and other tiresome activities that might wear them out. Any pledge who falls asleep or passes out fails the initiation.
Tattoo of the Sorority Letters in Florida
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Tattoos are another common sorority tradition, especially with Greek sororities. In fact, if you watch a hazing-inspired movie, you can bet the frat boys will get a tattoo of their fraternity name at some point. Pledges in the Kappa sorority at the University of Central Florida have to get a tattoo of the house’s Greek symbols. It shows their commitment to becoming lifelong members.
City-Wide Scavenger Hunt in Delaware
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Sororities at the University of Delaware are subjected to a fun and educational experience prior to joining sororities. Seniors organize scavenger hunts through historical points in Wilmington. Pledges then group into pairs and compete for the scavenger hunt prize: no chores for a year. However, some scavenger hunts are so difficult that everyone drops out and decides to do the chores.
A Chase Through the Woods in North Carolina
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If Appalachian State is your dream college, you’d better start shopping for lingerie! One of the biggest sororities in the school initiates members through a weird chase through the woods. At midnight, pledges dress up in lingerie and run to the App State woodlands. The seniors chase after them, with each caught pledge failing the initiation. If you fail the initiation on the first day, you can try again every day throughout the week. However, if you still can’t run through the woods after the first week, you’re kicked out of the sorority.
Sitting on a Shaky Washing Machine in Oregon
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At the Oregon Health & Sciences University, plus-size pledges go through a humiliating time. Some former students claim they were told to strip and sit still on an old, shaky washing machine. Some seniors then came with Sharpies, circling any body part that shook as the washing machine vibrated. The pledges were supposed to lose the “extra fat” in the circled parts in a certain period.
Fighting Ring in New Hampshire
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While sorority house initiations are generally less violent than frat house hazings, there’s the occasional sorority that enrolls members through a fight. One example is a sorority at Keene State College, New Hampshire. Pledges are required to wrestle in a fighting ring, with the first person to leave losing. That said, the school has been narrowing down on violent initiations, endorsing friendlier tug-of-war matches.
Human Alarm Clock in Pennsylvania
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Do you remember the old alarm clocks you’d put on your nightstand a decade ago? Imagine meeting a living one! Pledges at the Clarion University of Pennsylvania must take turns staying up all night watching the seniors sleep. At the beginning of the night, the senior “sets” what time she wants to be woken up, say 7 a.m. So, at 7 a.m., the pledge will tap her gently to wake her up. If the senior is not ready to wake up, she smacks the pledge for a 5-minute snooze.
Sleeping in Dog Kennels in Nebraska
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One of the sororities at Chadron State College has a puppy as a mascot. As a result, pledges are forced to act like dogs during initiation week. They might be chained to a post at lunch, bark as communication, and even sleep in a kennel. Fortunately, no real dogs are on campus, so the kennels don’t have fleas. However, it’s still quite humiliating to sleep in a kennel. Would you consider it?
Eating Mash Potatoes in Virginia
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Pledges at the Virginia Military Institute go through one of the weirdest initiations on this list. First, they have to starve for 48 hours. But that’s not all; once the two days are over, they’re presented with a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, which they must eat until it’s empty. Why do they do this? Nobody knows!
Claustrophobia in Maryland
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Are you claustrophobic? If you are, you should be careful when choosing a sorority at Morgan State University. It starts as a fun night out for the pledges. Seniors buy them alcohol until a good number passes out. The “weak” girls who pass out before morning are sandwiched and tied up between two mattresses. It must be a nightmare!
Running Into a Door in Mississippi
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A creative sorority president devised a fun way to test pledges’ courage. The pledges are blindfolded and told to reach out and find the door. On finding it, they’re supposed to walk ten steps back and charge towards it. While this sounds dangerous, it acts like a “trust fall” to see if the pledges will trust the seniors to catch them before they reach the door.
Gross pizzas in Missouri
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Speaking of trust falls, seniors at the Harris-Stowe State University conduct the most hilarious prank on pledges. A pledge is led to a dining table with one old, moldy pizza. The seniors then add the most disgusting stuff they can find to make the pizza as gross as possible and tell the pledge to eat a slice. However, right before she takes the first bite, they congratulate her for passing the test, and a fresh pizza is brought in.
The Tickle Monster in Kentucky
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Do you find yourself laughing longer than everyone else after a joke? If your answer was yes, then the University of Louisville might be the school for you. In one sorority, pledges’ hands are tied to their backs, and seniors tickle them for hours. While this might sound fun, it’s only bearable for the first few minutes. Most pledges end up quitting within the first hour.
Don’t Pop the Balloon in Maine
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Sororities at the University of Southern Maine love to play high-stakes games during rush week. Pledges have to pin three balloons to their back and walk around with them all day. Their goal is to keep them from popping. Seniors, however, hunt the pledges and try to pop the balloons. Pledges with 3 popped balloons at the end of the day fail.
Passing the Egg in Arkansas
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Pledges in a sorority at the University of Central Arkansas have to engage in a difficult and disturbing ritual called “passing the egg.” In this initiation ritual, all the pledges lie on the floor next to each other. They’re then supposed to pass a raw egg through their mouths from one end to another. Finally, the last pledge crushes the egg with their teeth and drinks its contents. The process is then repeated until everyone has eaten a raw egg.
Hell Week in Indiana
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Many sororities call rush period hell week for a reason. At Ball State Universities, pledges have to spend the night in a room with loud, high-pitched music for a week. To make it worse, the seniors, who control the music remotely from another room, might switch off the music for an hour (just enough for the pledges to fall asleep). Immediately after everyone falls asleep, the annoying music is turned back on, waking them up.
Big Sister in California
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As one of the most prestigious universities in the country, UCLA has strict rules against hazing. However, most of the sororities still have crazy initiation rituals. For instance, during the rush, girls are not supposed to be seen with members of the opposite gender. If they are, they’re shamed in front of a big sister, a senior, who decides their fate. While this sounds mundane, rush can last for weeks or months, which is a long time to sneak around with your boyfriend.
Century Club in Georgia
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Sorority girls at Clayton State University like to party, and you can tell that from their initiation rituals. Pledges are required to drink a shot of beer every minute for 100 minutes straight. The seniors keep track of time through an iTunes playlist that changes every 60 seconds. Any pledge who quits or passes out before the end of the playlist fails the initiation.
Branding in Washington D.C.
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The Delta Sigma Theta is an African-American sorority established at Howard University. The sorority is known for initiating members by branding them, which some find interesting, considering African-American history. However, members have defended the initiation as part of the sorority’s way of reminding members of their ancestors’ history and keeping the sisterhood alive.
Donkey Kong in Illinois
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Sororities at Chicago State were Nintendo fans growing up. Pledges try to run up a hill as they dodge empty kegs and other objects rolled down the hill by seniors. Once the seniors are out of stuff to roll, pledges go down the hill and carry the barrels back up for the game to begin again. At the end of the day, the pledges who fell over more times are eliminated.
Catch a squirrel in New Jersey
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Do you like squirrels? If you don’t, avoid a certain sorority with a squirrel as a mascot at Kean University. Seniors pick a pledge who “looks the most like a squirrel” and tell her to find a live squirrel by the end of the week. If they can’t catch the squirrel. They fail initiation. However, the other pledges are not off the hook. Each has to live with the squirrel as a pet for a day.