![]() “It makes me feel like I’m closer to living what our fraternity stands for.There is more information available on this subject at Sigma Chi on the English Wikipedia. The brand “represents the lifelong commitment to the ideals of the fraternity,” says Madison, 20, a University of Florida junior and Omega Psi Phi member who received his brand at the beginning of the semester. William Madison expressed a similar sentiment. “It shows I’m part of something big,” Jenkins says. He saw the organization as a way of life and wanted to show his affiliation with a brand. Yet when Jenkins was introduced to Phi Beta Sigma, he changed his view. When Brian Jenkins first arrived at the University of Central Florida, he viewed fraternities only through hard-partying stereotypes. “Why would any human being sit still and allow someone to burn and sear his flesh with a hot iron?”įraternity brothers counter that the brand reflects loyalty to their organizations. “We frown on it,” says Tyrone Patton, international grand executive secretary for Iota Phi Theta, a black fraternity. Still, even some fraternities dislike the practice Hazing researchers say they haven’t heard of involuntary instances of branding. Most fraternity brothers say branding is voluntary, but “certainly there is peer pressure,” says Hank Nuwer, author of Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing and Binge Drinking. Members say it hurts, for sure, but opinions on the pain level range from excruciating to a little sting. In fraternities, a brother usually performs the branding, and it is sometimes a ceremonial event. The Department of Health’s Board of Medicine views it as an extreme procedure that should be performed by a licensed physician. Unlike tattooing, branding is not regulated in Florida. No treatment can completely erase a brand, Spencer says.Īnd in doing so, there’s a risk of infection and keloids, puffy scars that are a particular risk for African-Americans, Spencer says. Petersburg dermatologist and professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. A wound forms in the shape of the metal and eventually becomes a scar, explains James Spencer, a St. It is achieved when a hot iron or piece of metal - often a hanger shaped like a Greek letter - is pressed to the skin for about 10 seconds. “I saw it as something nothing more damaging than a tattoo,” Jones says.Ī brand is different in character than a tattoo, however. ![]() Louisville professor Jones is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, and has two Kappa brands: one on his left arm and one on his chest. Posey points out that on the cover of the sports book Rebound: The Odyssey of Michael Jordan, Jordan appears shirtless, showing off his Omega brand. But when they are visible, bearers often display them with pride. Brown, editor of African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision, a book that features Posey’s research on branding.īrands often appear in discreet places such as the chest or the left upper arm. “It’s an indication: ‘I am a member, I’m proud of that fact,’ ” says Tamara L. “You are physically changing the shape of who you are.” “It’s one of the most prominent and personal ways you can adopt something into your identity,” Posey says. And they can be a symbol of manhood, of toughness. Brands can display a sense of belonging, a mark of the successful completion of a challenging pledgeship. Members acquire brands for a number of reasons. Jones, University of Louisville professor and author of Black Haze: Violence, Sacrifice, and Manhood in Black Greek-Letter Fraternities, estimates that more than half do. It’s hard to determine exactly how many black fraternity members have brands, but Ricky L. And while branding does have ties to slavery, fraternity men with brands dismiss that connotation. ![]() Some believe that the ritual was inspired by African scarification traditions. Bush is rumored to be branded with a symbol of his Yale fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon. ![]() But secret societies and religious orders, such as those in ancient Greece, also used brands throughout history to mark followers, Posey says.Īs for the college Greek system, the earliest recorded incidence dates back to 1931, but because of the secretive nature of fraternities and sororities, it is difficult to determine an exact timeline, Posey says.Īlthough the practice is associated with black fraternities, there are exceptions. The practice of branding dates back thousands of years, says Sandra Mizumoto Posey, a folklorist and professor at California State Polytechnic University who has researched the subject.īranding is most commonly associated with slaves and cattle. “It marks a time and a life, a milestone in your life and a commitment to the organization.” “It’s just like a tattoo,” says Aaron Brown, 23, Mitchell’s fraternity brother at FAMU. ![]()
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