MAE O’MALLEY / CONTRIBUTOR

Every spring, the fraternities and sororities welcome new member classes, or pledge classes, to campus. Before these typically doe-eyed first-years are officially initiated into Greek life, there is a probationary period. During this time, students can choose to drop out if they find these organizations are not for them. Fraternities, specifically, take this time to have a little more fun.

In an effort to weed out any guy who may not have an undying loyalty to the brotherhood, fraternities subject new “pledge classes” to tests of faith in the only way they know how: Are you willing to humiliate yourself in front of the entire campus? Yes, completing these tasks and risking minor embarrassment will undeniably prove capability to be a brother.

What if we all did whatever we want, whenever we want? Would people really care, or would something that happens in five minutes make them forget all about it? Is it really that deep? I think pledges answer this question for us. No, it isn’t that deep. Wear what you want, do what you want; we are only here for four years.

Pledge hijinks have historically included wearing wild outfits or causing spectacles throughout USD – I recently saw someone in a suit with a pink rolling backpack running across campus and screaming “My flight! I’m going to miss my flight!” I remember seeing one pledge drop an entire box of pennies on the ground and briskly walk out the doors. Sometimes they opt to stand on tables and just scream. For those of us lucky enough, a group of three or four pledges might serenade you with a song and dance — possibly even a rose.

The result of these displays? Nothing. People may turn heads for a brief moment, but for the most part pledges’ actions go unnoticed. I, and other displeased girls on campus, are not afforded the same leeway of “Oh, he’s just a pledge.”

I once walked to class behind a guy blasting “SICKO MODE” by Travis Scott from a speaker connected to his backpack at 10 a.m. on a Monday. I attempted to tell my friends about what I witnessed, as it was uncharacteristic for a student to be doing such a thing so early in the morning, and they quickly dismissed him as being a pledge. Basically saying, “It’s not weird. They’re just forced to do it.”

I do acknowledge the argument that pledges are joking around and their outfits or actions are not necessarily their choice, though a fraternity member may disagree with that statement. And honestly, if someone wants to play music from their speaker and walk through campus, that’s fine by me. My issue is that there is an immense double standard in terms of the fact that guys can get away with anything under the guise that they are being forced to do it, and nobody would ever assume that for a girl. After giving it a second thought, maybe I do want to wear a full American flag onesie to campus.

My frustration reached a boiling point when I dropped a can of Sprite in the SLP. As expected with a shaken can of carbonation, the soda exploded and may have simultaneously spiraled and sprayed some innocent bystanders. A complete accident turned into a moment of extreme embarrassment. I have never seen my friends run so fast out the double doors of the dining hall, leaving me stranded and red in the face. Thanks, guys.

I didn’t ask anyone what they were thinking, but I do know that nobody thought, “There goes another pledge.” I wasn’t playing a practical joke, I just dropped my soda by accident. Why do I have to feel so ashamed?

Though this campus may be small, we still have about 6,000 undergraduates. We don’t know every pledge on campus, but we do know pledges are guys. So, boys can really do whatever they want with the assumption that they are pledges. They can get away with anything.

There is no doubt that the tasks pledges are subjected to can be super funny and — compared to universities in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) or Big10 — minimally harmless. Pledges might walk home with a slight tinge of embarrassment, but at the end of the day it’s all a joke, right? And it will be worth it in the end to say they are an official member of the fraternity they have chosen or, rather, has chosen them. They’ve proven themselves.

I’d like to think that maybe, along the way, pledges discover their own self-worth and strengths. We could learn something from pledges: nobody really cares what you are doing. People might look for a second, but everyone moves on with their day and their lives and finds something else to look at. Worst case scenario: someone posts about it on Fizz. Regardless, we will survive.

So really, this is a letter of gratitude to pledges. In fact, I’m going to call you new members from now on. You deserve that much. Thank you for teaching me not to be afraid, thank you for entertaining us. And don’t give up – one day you too will be an initiated member and get to wear the clothes you want to wear and sing the songs you want to sing, one day you will eat meals in the SLP peacefully and walk through campus undetected. I believe in you.