Blessed are the hazers

(The Signal 2.1)

Kudos to pledge week for its immeasurable contribution to the morale of our campus. Whoever invented this tradition should have won a Nobel Peace Prize, and I’ll tell you why. Imagine a large group of girls or guys having to work together every single day and live in the same small place for four long years. This clearly has nuclear fallout written all over it. But then, in a sheer act of divine inspiration, someone comes up with a way to get all of that emotion, hardship, and warring out in one short week in order to offset the next three years. Simply brilliant! Unfortunately, there are some who feel compelled to voice their disdain for the week and its “non-hazing, team building exercises”, but what these people do not know is that there is actually a Biblical basis for pledge week and “non-hazing, team building exercises.” Did you think the twelve disciples just walked into Jesus’ club unscathed? Of course not. What they don’t tell you is that there were about 50 de-pledges before they whittled it down to the twelve survivors. Imagine going through line-up with someone who knows all of your past thoughts and actions as well as the ones that haven’t even happened yet -- Pledge Master Alpha and Omega. So if you think about it in perspective, it really isn’t that bad (the untimely death of most of those twelve notwithstanding.) The fact that it always rains on bid day is even a blatant sign of God taking pleasure in His creation just like the flood in the Old Testament. Keep fighting the good fight pledges. This week of hardship will payoff over the next three years of bliss…or however long it is until your next duty.