This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s summer editorial intern Jordyn Centerwall. Find her on Instagram at @jordyncenterwall. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Move over Bama rush, the boys are ready to dance too. You might have come across the pledgetok hashtag over the past few weeks attached to a video made by @officialbigred0 on TikTok. In the viral video, a pledge from the University of Michigan went viral for catching a football at various girls’ dorm rooms while asking “You all right ladies?”. One girl in particular’s reaction caught viewers attention. The interaction had millions of people shipping the two, and resulted in thousands of comments describing the interaction as an “80s romcom.” People even made edits about them. The creator accumulated more than 78 million views, and all of his other videos also have views in the millions. What is pledgetok? And why are you just hearing about it now, years after the peak of Bama Rush?
What are Pledges?
As an ex-sorority girl, it feels oddly nostalgic to see pledgetok trending. But before answering the question of what pledgetok is, you have to first understand what a pledge is. New members are given the title of “pledge” after rushing. The pledge period is a probationary period after going through rush leading up to initiation. During this period, pledges are not full members of their chapter. To become full members, they must go through new member education. This education consists of learning about the organization’s philanthropy, history, and the rules they must follow. However, historically this period is also when hazing takes place.
Hazing and Problems with Pledge Culture
Even if you aren’t dialed into rush or other aspects of Greek life, chances are you’ve heard about hazing through watching movies like Animal House or from a tragic news story. Hazing can take the form of physical or emotional degradation, and it can often be dangerous. It is a problem that the universities that oversee these communities have tried and failed to put an end to. Stories of being forced to binge drink, sit on washing machines naked or receive a spanking via paddles all circled during my years in a sorority. I was fortunate enough not to experience hazing when I was in Greek life, but the stories still surfaced.
Hazing also remains one of the biggest critiques of Greek life, along with the racist past of most of the organizations. To combat this over the last five years most sororities and fraternities have implemented Diversity, Equity and Inclusion officer positions on a national level, and within each university chapter. My organization had a DEI officer whose job was to source related education and diverse events on campus as well as advocate for ways to be more inclusive. Universities have also tried to set up structures that punish hazing. Reports filed can lead to chapters being put on probation or removed from campus, but this doesn’t always solve things. Some Greek life communities operate separately from the university and these structures rely on the members being hazed coming forward.
Pledgetok and Pledge Tasks
Pledgetok is community on TikTok that has emerged over the last couple of years. Similar to Bama Rush, the content is primarily directed at members of the Greek life community or potential future members. More recently though, the videos have reached a more mainstream audience. This expanded audience has introduced the world to pledge tasks.
Pledge tasks are a form of hazing that pledge masters—initiated brothers who oversee the new member process—assign to each pledge. These tasks last the duration of the new member period, and normally are embarrassing in nature rather than dangerous. There’s even a whole Reddit thread dedicated to inspiration for these tasks. My favorite was always the puppy pledges. For this task, the pledge has to send daily puppy pictures to a list of (normally female) friends of the fraternity (sweethearts, etc.). Another harmless task is the weather pledge. This pledge must send a weather report to the frat each day.(Although not so harmless if you go to school in the path of a hurricane). There are other tasks that are more obnoxious. I knew of a fraternity who had a “brick pledge” who had to carry a brick around with them at all times.
Recently some pledges have been assigned TikTok as their task. These TikTok videos feature everything from relatable “we’re pledges” videos to dancing videos, to videos made with sororities. It’s unclear whether the goal for these pledges is to simply post a video every week, or if they’re assigned certain videos to make by initiated members or the pledge master.
Hazing or Marketing?
It is now nearly mandatory for sororities and fraternities to have social media accounts. Organizations post videos and square posts throughout the year to keep alumni and incoming students informed about their philanthropic efforts, social events, and the general vibe of their members. It’s also a tactic to encourage incoming freshman to join their organization over others.
For sorority recruitment, potential new members must visit all the sororities. For fraternities, recruitment is usually much more lax, with those seeking to join getting to choose which chapters they initially go to. This makes the reputation that fraternities have more crucial in their rush process. In the past, popularity might have been determined by the caliber of the parties a fraternity throws and the relationships they have with sororities. However, with the increased interest in pledgetok, frats that continue to leverage TikTok could see increased popularity based on the online communities they cultivate.
A Less Harmful Hazing?
Pledgetok has led some to assert that hazing is becoming more wholesome. But while pledge tasks seem all fun on the surface, they can quickly become problematic. There is often a punishment associated with pledges not following through on their assigned task. Reading through some of the threads on r/Frats is enough to confirm this. It’s one thing to have the tasks itself, it’s another to enforce them with the threat of other physical or demeaning tasks.
At this point you might be wondering, why would someone put up with hazing? Hazing is far from isolated to Greek life. Other social clubs and sports teams have been known to haze their new members. Hazing is portrayed in these organizations as a right of passage or a shared experience that bonds members together. Get through this, and then you’ll be one of us. Freshmen on their own for the first time may be desperate to find a group of people they connect with. Fraternities not only offer this, but also offer social experiences and avenues to meet girls. The patriarchy could be to blame as well. The same norms that reinforce the idea that men should not show weakness, also likely keep victims of hazing from holding fraternities accountable.
Many of the people I was in a sorority with had a complicated relationship with the Greek life system. Most were critical of the problematic underbelly, while also recognizing the leadership opportunities and philanthropic efforts that each organization championed. Now that I’m out of the college environment, it’s a relief to put the politics of the Greek life system behind me. Still, I continue to be surprised at the internets fascination with the inner workings of the Greek life system. As far as whether pledgetok represents a shift toward more wholesome hazing, I’m not convinced. There are other more constructive ways to bond with people. Even if the TikTok pledges are just for a laugh, it can be equally problematic to publicize the degradation of the people you plan to call “brothers” on the internet for all to see.
So, what is pledgetok? We hope this articles answered your questions! Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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