Pledging the frat

The recent spell of cold weather reminded me of an incident that occurred when I was in college.

One year a young guy moved into our rooming house. He was eager to join a fraternity, or rather, his father in Dallas was eager for him to do so.

When he was pledging the particular fraternity, he was invited to an event at the frat house. He told me the next day that the fraternity members had made all the pledges remove their clothes and participate in some activity that was disgusting and sickening.

I told him he should forget about joining the fraternity and he could make friends with whomever he chose. He said his father would be furious if he did that.

It was a very cold night the next time he left the house to attend a pledge event. He did not return the next day. We could not locate him at the frat house, so we called the police. They interrogated some of the fraternity members and other pledges and started searching in the north Dallas area.

He was found in a field — naked, unconscious, and almost dead from the freezing cold. He was rushed to a hospital, and eventually was able to speak somewhat. He told investigators he had been stripped and thrown into a lake, and abandoned without any clothes. There were only a few houses in the area, he had knocked on doors to get some clothes and call someone, but the doors had been slammed in his face and no one would let him tell them what had happened. He had kept searching for help, until he collapsed and passed out from the cold.

He was found to be suffering from severe exposure, frostbite, and dehydration. He died the next day.

The fraternity that caused his death was disbanded. I am sure there are good fraternities, but I never had a desire to join any fraternity. All my experiences with them were unfavorable. They distracted young people from their educations and used copying from other students more than anyone.

I am sure there are some who disagree. I don’t know how the father reacted to the tragedy.

— Louis Houston is a resident of Siloam Springs. His book “The Grape-Toned Studebaker” is available locally and from Amazon.com. Send any questions or comments to louis1931@gmail. com or call 524-6926. The opinions expressed are those of the author.