Writes “by: Bro. Mitchell L. Flores, MDG
There is an era of hate and an era of love; an era of violence and an era of peace; an era of despair and an era of hope; as well as there is an era for hazing and there is an era for anti-hazing. The world is full of surprises and things seems to appear at a time we least expect, but that is life and we have to accept its realities. Is there really a need to abolish hazing in our initiation? Is it worth sacrificing our (hazing) tradition just to satisfy the call of time? Can we still produce quality and authentic Triskelions without hazing? Well, a yes or a no wouldn’t be enough. The best thing to do here is to evaluate things slowly and fair-mindedly. The enactment of R.A. 8049 or the Anti-hazing Law immediately imply that the need to abolish hazing is tremendous. In spite of all the good intentions handed down by Fraternities, they became futile for everything was negated by the ill-effects of Hazing. Sub-consciously, hazing is virtually the mother of all these fraternity violence. Why? Because hazing is in itself a violent act and violence begets violence. Although there could be an exceptional case where hazing emanates positive values but that would be a one in a million chance. It made me remember my early days as a Frat-man where I was so irritable, proud and easily got into trouble. The big deal was, I wasn’t like that before, it was a difference of a hundred per cent. Was it hazing that made me irritable and proud? Was it hazing that made me so mean and aggressive? Well, after all the thinking, my answer is definitely yes! I became so dominant among my peers not because of charisma but because of fear. I lost a lot of friends because of my new violent image and I felt so broken-hearted. Fortunately, I was able to recover my composure and real self after about 7 months or so. But the damage done within those 7 months is now so difficult to mend and I still grieve for those unfortunate moments. How did I recover myself?… Well, I recovered myself the moment I learned by heart the true principles of Tau Gamma Phi. We just have to remember that not too many Triskelions can recover their senses as soon as I did. Some don’t recover at all and that is a tragedy.
Hazing is said to be our Fraternal Binding Force or maybe not. Is it really because of hazing that made us Triskelions? Or is it because of the Tenets and Code of Conduct? Hazing for me is not the Binding Force but rather it is just an equalizer of pride; a rather brutal equalizer of pride. The question now is, is hazing the only equalizer of pride? Absolutely not! There are many to choose from but it was just hazing as the most accessible and probably the easiest method to implement. Let us all accept the fact that hazing is now against the law and once we can establish that in our minds, then that will prepare us to formulate an alternative equalizer of pride. What’s important is to preserve the degree of difficulty in joining Tau Gamma Phi. “Dura lex sed lex, the law may be harsh but it is the law”.
Triskelion is a way of life and we strongly believe that. I consider it as a unique and the best Way of Life because it can bring out the best in oneself. If you are a Christian then you become a better Christian once you become a Triskelion. If you’re a Muslim then you become a better Muslim once you become a Triskelion. But you can only call yourself a True Triskelion if you live by its Way of Life; only that it is very difficult to become a True Triskelion. As the saying goes, “Nobody’s perfect”, but it doesn’t prevent us from learning or knowing perfection.
The end of hazing will not be the end of Tau Gamma Phi. To adopt analternative “Anti-hazing Initiation Procedure” does not mean that it will be easier to join our Fraternity. It will just be a matter of innovation on how to make a worthy alternative process. What I think to be more important now is to preserve the degree of difficulty without violating the Law. The era of Hazing is now near its end. It is now the era of Anti-hazing and being a True Dynamic Fraternity, we can make this Era as a “TAU GAMMA PHI ERA.”
Long Live Tau Gamma Phi!
and Tau Gamma Sigma!
Long Live Triskelions!
Tau Gamma Phi Anti Hazing 