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At Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), the Delta Sigma fraternity has a big-little tradition as part of their initiation process for pledges. Big-little is a mentorship program where a pledge (new member) is paired with a brother (active member), and the big (brother) helps the little (pledge) get adjusted to the new frat. As part of their initiation to becoming an official brother, the pledges are required to complete a scavenger hunt in one night, where they are tasked with various tedious tasks, such as taking a picture with a statue on one end of campus, and then having to look for an item on the other side of campus. The pledges are not allowed to return to the frat house until they complete their scavenger hunt, and once they are finished, they need to guess who their big was based on the type of tasks they were given, as each task is often representative of a specific brother. The pledges are given a punishment for wrong guesses, and are only given an official big once they complete the scavenger hunt and correctly guess their big.

Context

The informant is a 22 year old man living in Cleveland, Ohio, and a former CWRU student. He was a part of the delta sigma fraternity during his time in college, and this topic came up when I asked about if he had any interesting folklore to share about his university. The informant’s first encounter with this tradition was during his freshman year of college when he was pledging, and he remembers that it took him until 2 AM to complete this process. When asked to reflect upon this experience, he believed it was tedious at the time, but looks back at the memory as something that honors a unique tradition of his frat. Ultimately, he told me that he was glad he had this experience, as his frat was where he made some of his best memories in college and found his closest friends.

Analysis

This initiation ritual, which blends a fun activity like a scavenger hunt with real consequences, uses this contrast to function as a rite of passage for new members and a building block for brotherhood. The long and tedious tasks becomes a way to see the commitment the pledges are willing to put in, and this ritual being something every member had to go through allows it to hold its place as a significant tradition that characterizes this frat. This ritual is also a reflection of Victor Turner’s concept of communitas, as it creates a tight bond among the pledges from a shared struggle, and the scavenger items being personalized to the pledge’s big becomes a fun way for new members to learn about their new peers in this folk group.

To me, as someone who never took part in Greek life, it’s easy for an outsider to see frats as unneccesary – from the yearly dues and the weeks of doing pointless tasks as a pledge, it may seem like one is paying to get hazed and make friends. Listening to the informant’s experience, however, and through the lens of folkloric significance, I can see the camaraderie this ritual would build and its importance towards becoming an official member of a particular group where you can find lifelong connections.