Respectful or Disrespectful?

Normally I don't really pay attention to what is going on around me while I'm walking to class. I'm either walking with friends and talking, listening to music, or going over note cards on my way to a test.

Yesterday I was on my way to Women's Choir with Laurabeth and when we walked out the door we heard bagpipes being played. At first her and I didn't think much of it because it is International Education Week or something like that so we thought someone was just outside of the library playing the bagpipes. As we walked out the door we saw about 30ish guys walking behind the bagpipe player all dressed in suits. Some of them were carrying a casket with their fraternity flag draped over it, one was in front of the bagpipe player carrying a picture, and the rest were behind the casket walking. Laurabeth and I looked at each other and stop to show respecting thinking someone in their fraternity had passed away recently. I started thinking and I hadn't heard anything about a fraternity guy passing away, so we were really confused.

As we were standing there a professor walked out and said "Are they doing that again?" I looked at the professor and asked "Are they doing what again?" The professor proceeded to tell us that every year the SAE fraternity walks around campus with a guy playing bagpipes and they pledges carrying the casket to show "respect" of the death of their founder. I was floored by this!! I couldn't believe that they were doing this.

After dating someone who was in a fraternity at a different school I understand that their founder is a big deal to them but why does it have to be a big deal to everyone on campus? Did their founder go to WKU? Was he that important? What good did he go on to do in the world?

I feel that because President Ransdell is a memeber of the SAE fraternity then they can get away with this! It isn't right or even respectful in my eyes. I understand wanting to remember someone on the anniversary of their death but you don't have to make a show of it. Some of the guys who were just walking behind the casket were laughing at the students who thought that it was someone who really had passed away. Recently there have been many deaths of students who were enrolled at WKU and the SAE fraternity going and doing this was a poor decision on their part. I didn't know any of the students who have recently passed away but a week from yesterday will be the 4 year anniversary of my grandfather passing away. So seeing that brought up all of those emotions of missing him and the week that I was in Alabama before he passed away.

I just don't understand why they did this or why WKU allows them to do this. Someone told me that they do it every year. What do you think?