A Chapter Sixteen Excerpt
Path Perilous: My Search for God and the Miraculous
A True Story in Behavioral Conditioning
The original Gamma Sigma ATO house in 1959 was a rickety relic on Institute Road’s fraternity row. The place smelled of stale beer and ancient varnish, its floors sticky from a thousand parties and broken hearts. At age seventeen, I attended a party there and got myself drunk. After the dizziness and nausea that followed, I vowed never again. Regrettably, I broke that vow; I seemed destined to learn everything the hard way.
In my freshman year, Gamma Sigma bought an aging mansion in need of repairs, across the street from the college president’s house at 10 Regents Street. That ritzy address added prestige to ATO’s image, while complementing several years of the President’s Trophy won for all-around excellence—a major reason I joined. My conservative Polish-Catholic brothers hoped the stately setting might tame the rowdy parties of a radical faction. It didn’t, of course.
In the spring of 1960, at the end of my sixteen-week probation as a pledge, I entered Hell Week there, a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood. My most vivid memory was washing the hardwood floor with cotton swabs … naked and on my knees; then sleeping on that same floor throughout spring break, performing trivial chores for task masters. The floorboards hurt my knees and elbows; the room reeked of sweat and humiliation. I obeyed every order without protest, silence being my only defense.
We had to craft decorative paddles about eighteen inches long—which soon became instruments of torture when forced to run the initiation gauntlet, bent over naked, protecting ourselves while the blows fell. At times the frenzy went too far; the air rang with howls. I remember climbing into the attic for that ritual—anything but happy.
The purpose of that hazing ordeal was to instill respect for hierarchy and the chain of command. In life, taking hard orders from those ruling above is inevitable. Hell Week was—and still remains—a rite of passage: for some, a brutal lesson in obedience; and for others, a revolting but riveting exercise for endurance and discipline. The ability to follow orders to the letter is vital for teamwork—whether in politics, science, law, religion, business, marriage, or the military.
Hell Week teaches that important social lesson, unless the ritual turns cruel and deadly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hazing_deaths_in_the_United_States
[i] Hazing activities go largely unreported, due to the secretive nature of Greek letter organizations, and the fear of negative repercussions. Changes have occurred at the national and campus level; ATO now closes down chapters that consistently partake in illegal or risky activities and pose threats to their local and university communities. So do 60 other fraternity and sorority national organizations. Hazing is now a crime in 44 states, as typically defined in the Arizona 2001 Statute adopted by the University of Arizona; Attempts to stop hazing altogether are difficult, especially in a military setting, where it is now illegal, but covert.
From the memoir-in-progress, nearing publication:
Path Perilous: My Search for God and the Miraculous
—a spiritual epic for truth-seekers, contemplative mystics, and all who long for God.
Visit www.RMDellOrfanoAuthor.com and pass it forward.
THE TRIQUETRA OF LIFE: Wisdom, Wealth, and Wellness 
Leave a comment