When I joined my fraternity, after initiation they told us what the purpose of it all was.

"This was to break you down so we can build you back up using our values as a brotherhood as a foundation"

I took an oath not to go into too much detail, but some of the stuff they had us do really did push that envelope of "hazing" without ever touching it for fear of school involvement. (We werent even allowed to bring up the word hazing per the schools instruction)

Blindfolds. Being locked in rooms. Sound torture. A whole week designed to turn the initiates against each other by tricking us into snitching on each other for breaking the initiate rules.

The dynamics of it was crazy. And I hated large chunks of it. But after I got in, I was elected to be one of the heads of the whole ordeal the next rush season and i was excited to do it.

I dropped out before i got to live on the other side of it.

I only lived the initiate side.

Note: they did nothing PHYSICAL to us. We werent physically or sexuality assaulted as the rumors of some greek organizations go. But I will not deny there were elements of them treating our psychology as something that can be used against us.

From the outside looking in, it does seem extremely cultish. But from the inside I didnt have the ability to look. I was too focused doing everything they told us to do.