Let me begin by stating this question to you, Ms. Bottos, “What the hell were you thinking?” You asked this same question to the pledges and members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., that I am, in turn, asking to you. What gives you the right or experience to write about the two sides to hazing when you have never been on either side? Were you ever a pledge? Are you a member of a fraternity or sorority? NO! So don’t write anything about Greeks when you don’t know what you’re talking about.I don’t know if you knew, but to tell the two sides of anything, you have to know something about each side to be unbiased. What side are you on? Neither since you have never been a pledge or a member!Furthermore, your article is implying that all Greeks haze, and that is definitely not true. Most, if not all, of us are non-hazing organizations. We know that hazing is illegal, and we know the consequences of it. I’m sure you didn’t know that since you are not Greek. Also, you asked if the pledges knew they would be hazed; uh, that’s a stupid question. It’s stupid because no one knows what their pledge experience is going to be like until they are pledges. (You would know that if you had ever pledged anything.) How were they supposed to know what was going to happen? All they knew is that they wanted to be a part of a brotherhood that made a difference in and around Sam Houston.True enough, you do read about hazing in newspapers all across the world, but that does not mean everyone participates in hazing. You are stereotyping all Greeks in your story.Moreover, the members of the fraternity did not think what they were doing was funny or something the pledges had to do. The members weren’t thinking plain and simple. I am not here to defend what they did. It was wrong. But who are you to insinuate that they thought it was funny? You don’t know what was going through their heads. Maybe you should have talked to them before you made that snap judgment. If you truly know some of the members, like you claim, they would’ve talked to you and let you know the actual other side of the hazing case.And another mistake you made, was putting other fraternities in your story. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., doesn’t have anything to do with the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and what is happening here at Sam. Just because you didn’t have any other information on the Kappas does not mean that you can use other fraternities as an example. Don’t make everyone else look bad because of one fraternity. You said for everyone to forget about all the great community service the Kappas have done, awards they’ve won and parties they’ve hosted NO!! Why should everyone forget about that? These guys made a difference on this campus and in Huntsville. The people who wanted to join that fraternity wanted to join because of the things the Kappas did. The people the Kappas have helped in Huntsville surely won’t forget the things they’ve done for them. What you fail to understand is that Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc., and every other fraternity and sorority on this campus, is bigger than Sam Houston. We have members and chapters all over the world. When you join these organizations, we have an understanding that we are not just making a difference here, but have sisters and brothers all over the world making a difference at their schools and in their communities. We are all in this together. (But I’m sure you wouldn’t understand that either.)As for anyone else who thinks the same as Ms. Bottos, please don’t believe the stereotype. Don’t think all Greeks haze and we all make the same mistakes. Don’t judge the rest of us because one fraternity or sorority did something wrong. Everyone makes mistakes, some bigger than others, but none of us were put on earth to judge anyone else. There is only one being that can judge me and that is Jesus Christ. So, Ms. Bottos, unless you are reincarnated as God, keep your judgments to yourself, because nobody wants to hear them.
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