Nothing displays the GA personality of WELS better than the MLC video being defended.
I. Anyone who questions the video is a Pharisee, someone who needs to "get a life," and spend time on more important things.
II. The video was fun, an homage to another video , and a whole year has passed since the last obnoxious MLC video (statues fighting, cursing).
GA is the lowpoint of the WELS hazing tradition, which begins at the prep level. GA is secretive, promoting thuggish behavior in the name of creating unity. GA is based on deception, lying about it from the beginning. I hear two stories about GA:
1. GA is banished.
2. GA is still going on, secretly.
Yes, that sounds like GA. The old ritual was to call it off in public, debate having it, fooling the incoming class. Isn't lying fun?
Another essential characteristic of GA is arrested emotional development. I do not need to describe that, since the video is posted. Needless to say, many solemn WELS leaders turn into Max and Moritz the moment they relax. They are just joking. See, they are laughing. Ha ha. That was fun.
They like to yell Pharisee and legalist, but what better display of Pharisaical piety can one imagine than this video? They will develop into WELS leaders, always looking around as if someone just opened a pound of Limburger cheese. But in private! - whoopee!
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "MLC Video Comment - But Wait - Does Everyone Know ...":
In response to DK, my sentiments! I too shook my head and did not leave a comment on the earlier post. Copying gay and lesbian videos are we. I just viewed the FIP video one minute ago. If GJ is not going to discuss information that he found, then it can't be real good. I did not attend MLC. I got into the WELS back in 2001.(husband is a life long WELS) I teach children in Sunday School who will someday attend that school. I can be found in the company of MLC graduates on a daily basis. Could toss around some sir names, but I won't. What was their interest in FIP video to begin with?(probably something I would not want to discuss)The marriage bed is to be kept pure. God put Eve with Adam, not Steve. "New Ulm, We Have A Problem"!
from WELS church lady
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS GA Personality":
I think DK may have something here. I did not go to DMLC, but I knew plenty of classmates who did. Many of them went simply because they were pressured into going by the Lutheran high school, the DMLC recruiters, or their partents (or all three). Some went because they honestly had nowhere else to go and thought, "well, I guess I'll just be a teacher by default." Most of the people I knew who went to MLC under those pretenses have since droppd the teaching ministry.
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Kenneth Schmidt has left a new comment on your post "WELS GA Personality":
No problem, DK. Apology unnecessary, but accepted. Its not always easy to know how academic authorities should handle undergrad excesses.
You are onto something about a Stockholm Syndrome-like issue at work here. I have also been thinking about the fact that most Lutheran pastors marry straight out of Seminary. These guys go from being under the thumb of their parents, to college life and then, usually, right into married life. There are some good things about this, but also costs. That very short time of freedom between living with one's parents and the onerous responsibilities of being married might tempt these fellows to perhaps over-romanticize their college days. This might be the cause of these odd tribal customs and folkways.
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Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS GA Personality":
After eight years in the prep/MLC system I don't remember GA. Perhaps I was brainwashed and can't remember it.
And perhaps all of my family and friends who have gone through the Seminary are just really good at lying to me.
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GJ - GA is reserved exclusively for incoming students at The Sausage Factory. A reliable source says it is officially banned but secretly kept, apparently for a limited number of lucky victims.
21 comments:
Oddly enough, the one charge that we have not seen leveled yet is that of a conspiracy theorist.
After things like this, WELS leaders mumble under their breath that WELS does not get the respect that it deserves...that people say bad things about WELS...that people are not attracted to WELS...that membership is shrinking due to tight-wad members...
They live in a make-believe world where they just do not get it.
One thing I always found very odd about Lutherans in the Missouri and Wisconsin Synods ever since I became a Lutheran 25 years ago is the fierce, bordering on the fanatical, devotion to one's alma mater. I have degrees from three public universities and while I have some warm feelings toward my old schools, I can still think objectively about them and assess their faults and strengths.
Why the cult-like devotion to one's seminary or theacher training college? Why the bizarre hazing rituals? Is this a wacky mid-western thing (I am originally from the East coast) or is there something else here at work?
Hi Ken
I just wanted to apologize for my part of our exchange regarding the MLC video. I see the issue differently now.
Regarding your question about fanatic loyalty, if I may weigh in on that: perhaps it's like Stockholm Syndrome. Alot of these WELS pastors had ZERO choice about their vocation, and the ones who did choose to go to Prep decided their career path for the rest of their life at age 14. I think that's a little like kidnapping. Does the follow quote from Wikipedi's article on Stockholm syndrome sound like synodical schools?
<<<"One theory to explain the Stockholm syndrome is cognitive dissonance. Specifically, people don't like being unhappy for long periods of time, but when people are kidnapped for a long period of time, they will be unhappy for that time, unless they come to love their captors. Thus, to resolve the cognitive dissonance, the victim may begin to identify with the captors.">>>
I think DK may have something here. I did not go to DMLC, but I knew plenty of classmates who did. Many of them went simply because they were pressured into going by the Lutheran high school, the DMLC recruiters, or their partents (or all three). Some went because they honestly had nowhere else to go and thought, "well, I guess I'll just be a teacher by default." Most of the people I knew who went to MLC under those pretenses have since droppd the teaching ministry.
No problem, DK. Apology unnecessary, but accepted. Its not always easy to know how academic authorities should handle undergrad excesses.
You are onto something about a Stockholm Syndrome-like issue at work here. I have also been thinking about the fact that most Lutheran pastors marry straight out of Seminary. These guys go from being under the thumb of their parents, to college life and then, usually, right into married life. There are some good things about this, but also costs. That very short time of freedom between living with one's parents and the onerous responsibilities of being married might tempt these fellows to perhaps over-romanticize their college days. This might be the cause of these odd tribal customs and folkways.
After eight years in the prep/MLC system I don't remember GA. Perhaps I was brainwashed and can't remember it.
And perhaps all of my family and friends who have gone through the Seminary are just really good at lying to me.
Ah, fond memories of freshman year at prep school (MLS)....the "ZEX" year (from the German sechs, meaning "six" (6) in English).
The smiles and good manners of the upperclassman on registration Sunday...that is, until the parents all departed.
Then, it was pretty much the beginning of "The Terror". I suppose if you did not have to go through it, it would seem somewhat comical. Like when the Army recruiter is so polite and nice, until the papers are signed and the recruit enters boot camp. Well, you get the picture...
No Stockholm Syndrome with this boy. After about 2 weeks, I KNEW I was not going on to any WELS college. One of the reasons I ended up at MLS in the first place was because the public high school in my home town was going through such a bad time. I suppose if I was a teenager now it would either be homeschooling or enrolling at the local community college. How I wish those options would have been available to me back in the day.
What about the other audience members? Anyone serve a hitch at any of the other preps (Mobridge, Northwestern Academy, Prarie Due Chien, etc...) Any tradition of a ZEX year (or do they call it something else) ???
Just visited MLC, and did you know that they are drugging the food and water, putting subliminal messages in their hymns, wearing white robes and hoods, have a secret brand on their right rear cheek, and are being brainwashed with "Come to the WELS" as they sleep at night? Rumors persist that they keep the "aliens" (lost Bethany students) in the cooler.
I went through the whole system. Prep was definitely the worst. The "running" by seniors lasted the whole year and some (not all, not by a long shot) was very cruel and humiliating). There are some pastors and teachers who are two and three years than I am to whom I still can't talk because those memories won't go away. I vowed that I would not run freshmen the way I was run (ran?). The seniors said, "We all said that when we were Freshmen. Look at us now." For the most part, though, I kept that promise. The only exception was when I allowed myself to get into a group mentality when I was with a few of my classmates who did like running freshmen. NWC, on the other hand, had the tradition of initiating the freshmen during Homecoming week. Most who were involved with that did it all very tongue and cheek and it didn't carry over throughout the rest of the year. GA at Sem was rumored to be the worst of the bunch. I found that it was actually more of a spoof of initiation than an actual initiation ritual proper. It was sort of, "I got fooled by this when I was a Junior. Now it's your turn." So, there it is. The whole experience wasn't as innocent as some claim (high school was bad), nor as bad as others claim (college and Seminary was almost comical).
P.S. I take it you still haven't figured out the literary reference in my pen name.
@IJ Reilly
I had a similar experience only without the problems at MLS.
I was a pretty cocky freshman and my roommate had an older, attractive sister, so we got the worst of our class. It wasn't bad at all. The year after ours, nationwide "hazing" crackdowns hit MLC/Prep as well.
My senior year at MLS was actually spent making sure the juniors didn't do anything stupid to the freshmen.
As for college, getting "knighted" at the homecoming game is as good as it gets, and that isn't even a real tradition. The bulk of the festivities were done away with this year due to the cold.
When I went to WLS last year for the senior trip, we were "warned" by teachers who were in on the joke and there was a comical lead up to the last evening's meal, nothing happened. My classmates who are there now say the same thing you did. It's a farse of what may have once been a ritual right of passage.
I only went through prep (MLS) and never went on to NWC/DMLC...
Yeah, it was pretty nasty when I was there. I heard in recent years they get rid of the zexing. In our litigious age, I am sure this kind of thing would be a law suit just waiting to happen.
I also never did much "zexing" when I was an upperclassman. I figured the last thing any 13 or 14 year old wanting to study for the ministery needed was some older jerk making life hell for him.
People that admit to actually ENJOYING either the giving or receiving end of that tradition are in real need of psychological counseling.
So far in my life I have not had a pastor come to my church who was at MLS during the same time I was. Depending on who it was, I am not sure I would feel comfortable staying or receiving communion from him.
Michael Schottey said...
"...Perhaps I was brainwashed and can't remember it..."
ha! you said it, not me
GA - the rite of passage intended to "humble" the proud by using fear and intimidation as devices to work a change of attitude.
In contrast, the Law of God exposes the sinner for what he is and with the force of God's hatred for sin and sinners, puts the sinner to death. Anything less is merely manipulative moralizing - the world's law, but not God's.
GA is an attempt to psych; any change it works is not of the spirit but of the law.
I think IJ Reily's comment about the severity of hazing is quite perceptive....
The bad thing is that the severity of hazing (at least in years gone by) can linger for many years. After all, you are only 13 or 14 years old when you are living away from home for extended time periods. While still a WELS member in "good standing", I will always be mistrustful of giving the WELS my unqualified devotion, support, or confidence.
I always thought these traditions developed and continued to exist in WELS prep schools for several reasons. One reason is as follows:
Imagine a family has 3 kids and 2 parents. The ratio of supervision is 2 to 3, or 66 percent
Now imagine a dorm full of minors, numbering about 140. Imagine there are only 2 or 3 tutors residing in that dorm. The ratio of supervision is now only 3 to 140, or 2 percent.
Quite a difference !!!
So, much like prisons have used the "trustee system" in which certain prisoners are given authority within the prison system, upperclassman are given (or were given) certain authority over the underclassmen.
Unfortunately, abuse in such a situation can often creep in. Few 16, 17 or 18 year olds have the maturity of using power wisely.
Here's a thought to keep you awake at night. Imagine if WELS had boarding school for middle school (6th through 8th grade) students!!!!
William Golding's "LORD OF THE FLIES" comes to mind
There really isn't GA at the seminary anymore. It was over at least 5 years ago. The administration was (rightfully) afraid of a lawsuit. The dean of students, at least in years past, addressed the seniors and explained that seriously, really, not a joke, they can't have GA, because it could lead to a lawsuit. It's kind of funny that GA is so ingrained in their minds that he has to be emphatic that he is not kidding.
It's been replaced by a new activity with a German name, which I can't recall at the moment. They still pretend that something is going to happen. For the first few weeks, the seniors and middlers don't talk to the juniors in the cafeteria, but that is as bad as it gets. A few weeks into school, the juniors are told to come to the dorm basement on a Thursday night. There is a speech about what used to happen in GA. It ends along the lines of, "but we can't do that anymore. Oh, it's time to go." A line of cars is waiting to drive the juniors to a mystery destination... for a moment they wonder what will happen... then they pull up to a local bar. They skip the chasing, swimming, or whatever used to happen, and instead go straight to drinking, the merits of which I reserve for the reader to judge.
The secret isn't tightly kept. Some students inform their friends in advance (I was warned by someone who knew I might not attend otherwise), but let the the more enthusiastic have their fun and pretend to be surprised. Then Friday afternoon there is a quirky-but-harmless scavenger-hunt type activity in the Milwaukee area, followed by a pig roast, a devotion, and a party with skits in the basement. There aren't negative consequences if you skip out. It's admittedly unusual for a seminary, but an improvement over GA.
Pastor Jackson, I understand your suspicion. Given the secretive nature of GA and the animosity of some towards you and your blog, I would be suspicious as well. I agree 100% with your assessment of GA. But please don't report that GA continues. They really have stopped. I feel bad about spoiling the fun for future classes, but I would hate to see a qualified young man shy away from WLS because he is afraid of being hazed. And that's what might happen if he stumbles across your blog. If he is worried about GA, he should call seminary president Wendland (whose phone number is available at the seminary website) and ask him about it. I'm sure he will be open about initiation with any concerned layperson or prospective student. WLS is the synod's school after all, so all WELS members have a right to know what's going on there. But GA has been over a while. Most WELS pastors have been through it, but each year that percentage will be smaller. I think it would be helpful for everyone if the rumors were finally put to rest. Yes, it was inappropriate and harmful, but the seminary has repented, in a manner of speaking; it's over now and time to move on.
This kind of thing used to (who knows if it still does) got on at some Lutheran high schools. I distinctly remember, as part of the first week of freshman year, "slave day." Yes, "slave day." Each freshman was assigned to a senior and became his save for a day. We had to walk around with signs around our necks indicating who our owner was. Until reading this thread, I was not aware this sort of thing was part of the larger WELS culture of education.
What do you think about the eight commandment? There is a whole lot of slander on this blog directed towards WELS, MLC, Called Workers and their families.
Just writing to suggest that after seeing the MLC video I think you need to entitle a post: "WELS GA(y) Personality"
It is absolutely true that GA still goes on underground, conducted by a few select Seniors against a few select Juniors [first year students]. Those Juniors are then instructed to select a few worthy candidates when they are seniors and to carry on the tradition underground, on a smaller scale. It is now in the deep shadows, and much smaller...but GA lives. I know. I saw it. Three years ago. I was there.
The "genius" of this system is that 90% of seminary students are left thinking that GA is in fact dead, because they are left out of it. So, 90% of recent graduates could say, without failing a lie detector test, "GA is dead." But they're just ignorant. It lives.
Went to MLS in the days of zexing...I LOVED my years at MLS...Went to NWC during the years of initiation...GREAT memories...Went to WLS during the days of GA...overall, these were some of the best 12 years of my life! And...I feel my experiences during these 12 years have helped my throughout my 15 years of ministry so far...you need a pretty tough skin to put up with some of the things that come your way in the ministry. I am sad to see these traditions lost. As the old saying goes, "What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger!"
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