The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-02
HAVING AT SEWANEE

HAVING AT SEWANEE GORDON M'GEHEE BADLY INJURED
 BY FRATERNITY.
 A. T. D. Committee Sent te Escort Can-
 didafes to Court H0use-Ties His
 Hands and Forces Him to
 Run Blindfolded.
 with his chest badly injured. three of his upper front teeth knocked up into his gums. his head shaved, and his body covered with bruises. young Gordon McGehee has returned home from Sewanee. the University of the South. having experienced . most thrilling and awful hazing at the hands he says. of the members of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. and . few of the University students.
 Mir. McGehee had just entered the University as freshman. this being his first year off at school. His first experience was with the University students. who initiated him. being . new man, and one form of their initi- the scalp.
 MT. 'McGehee says he submitted t6 this. but after that time, up to the. time he left the University. his He was paid nightly visits, and 1t was never before 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning that he was able to retire in peace.
 MT. McGehee's brother Is member of the A. T. O. fraternity. and nat urally young Gordon favored that fraternity above all others. He was rushed" by the A. T. O.'s. and finally consented to join them. Last Tuesday tion. there being several other new students who were to be initiated into thes mysteries of the Greeks on the same night.
 Hasing on the way. Mir. McGehee says that a committee of several members of the fraternity were sent out to escort the new ini- the journey to the club they were sud- denly seized by the Greek letter men. and an advanced and unlooked-for in- itiation was begun.
 The young Montgomerian's hands were tied behind him and he was then blindfolded. After this he was ordered to run. Being completely in their power, he Twas compelled to do so. Being blindfolded. he was unable to see. and after running few yards he tripped and fell violently to the ground, injuring his chest seriously and sustaining other bruises on the body.
 Desite the intense pain he was suf fering from the fall, he was lifted to his feet and ordered to run again. The second fall resulted more seriously than the first. After running only a short distance he tripped upon an ob- stacle which MT. McGehee thinks was deliberately placed in his path, and he was hurled violently to the ground again. He knocked three of his teeth up into the gums, and completely sew ering the nerves in two of them, and received other painful injuries on the body.
 Taken - Physician. Seeing that their neophyte was in a serious condition and unable to pro- ceed to the club house, young McGehee was taken into the office of a physician and his wounds dressed. Then he was taken to dentists office and his teeth worked on, after which he was escorted to the club house and duly put through the regular initiation of the A. T. O. fraternity.
 Young McGehee, being a new col lege man. thought this was the reg ular initiation and made no complaints to the University faculty. but wrote to his brothers in Montgomery. Har-' die and Boyd McGehee. and informed them of the affair.
 The brothers immediately wired Gordon to resign from the University and return to Montgomery at once, which he did. arriving here Wednes- day.
 A called meeting of the Montgom- cry alumni of the A. T. O. Fraternity, was held yesterday afternoon. and the affair was investigated. Young Cor don McGehee was present and told of the whole affair from his entrance to the University, the rushing" by the frat. his initiation. etc.
 The local alumni chapter decided to demand an investigation and will take the matter up with the head offiuers of the fraternity. and also with the trustees of the University of the South. Until theDrat. officers and trustees are heard from. nothing else will be done in the matter at present
 MT. McGehee said yesterday that a majority of the members of the A. T. A. fraternity had expressed their re- grets over the unfortunate affair and were anxious for MT. McGehee to re- main at the University.
 Such acts by Greek letter fraternity men have never before been heard of in the South. especially when the frat was initiating one of it's own members, and 1t Is very deplorable from every standpoint. No blame is attached to the faculty or trustees of the Uni versity of the South. for it Is certain that they knew nothing of the occur renee.
 A Trustee Talks. MT. Hardwick Ruth, who is a trus- tee of the University of the South, was seen by reporter of The Advertiser last night, and he said the affair was much regretted and was the first oc- | currence of its kind in the history of l the University.
 "The A. T. O. Fraternity has taken the matter up," he said. Such an in- | itiation was unauthorized by the frater- | nity and Is not part of their regular | initiation The members who did the | hazing were affiliated with the frater- nifty, but their acts were certainly not | authorized The Sewanee chapter of | the A. T. O.'s have passed resolu- | tions of regret on the occurrence, and | have ordered full investigation of | the affair.
 '.rhe trustees of the University nave also ordered a full investigatio ton and will make an effort to apprehend the ! guilty parties, who will be summariiy xxyif