Your euphemistic portrayal of frat life is comprehensible to those who have been there. I doubt that it is to others.
As I remember frat-life from the 60's, it was composed of either hearty bluff, or, solemn bravado about the importance of this 'vital organization'. What you describe as 'initiation' is, more accurately, 'hazing'; 'partying' is, 'heavy drinking'. (You forgot to mention that getting drunk is, 'ära väsimine'.) I never sensed that there was a feeling of fraternity there because we were perpetually careful to avoid any lapse of the complex code of etiquette which would subject us to public humiliation -- "Rebane! Võta sisse!" This was called, 'kasvatus'.
I'm confident that the atmosphere is quite different today simply because few would put up with this sort of thing. In the Estonia of the 30's, by contrast, it was even worse; students had to tolerate an even harsher code because the frat was an essential source of connections for establishing a career after graduation. Only bohemians studying art or music could afford to avoid the frat.
In my judgment, our mutual acquaintance, Jüri Lipp, was a victim of frat-life. He was a talented singer with ambitions who saw the frat as an important stepping stone to making his mark in the Estonian community. Like the rest of us, he drank too much to make it bearable. In his case, however, alcohol exacerbated other health problems which lead to an early funeral. He wasn't yet thirty so, euphemistically, you say that he's 'forever young'.

The late Teet Koppel was a star in the 'Estonia teater' (with Jüri Lipp's father, as coincidence would have it) and in that capacity visited all of the Estonian fraternities as a "trophy guest".
Decades later, in Canada, he described the fraternities as organizations with no detectable purpose -- apart from hazing freshmen. He was appalled by the idea that behaviour that can be seen in prisons and military barracks might exist among organizations of the educated elite.

Fraternities have had their heyday, and I for one wouldn't miss the local Vironia crowd one bit! It's just an excuse for a big grogfest and next to no intellectual content. I have seen my talent blossom tremendously since I got short -shrifted from Vironia, and I encourage others who have been badly done by their fraternity to throw in the towel, and start afresh. There is a life beyond the frat life!!

its a shame that some can not see the lifetime of good fun, the friendships, the history, the traditions and the ideals that are also associated with every Frat and Sorority.
A few drinks and having some laughs with rebased is just part of the fun. lighten up and stop the criticism

I don't have a problem if a commenter has a different opinion or a different view, but when they begin to attack people and their choices (especially anonymously), the academic, civil debate that should take place becomes the equivalent of Delfi commentary.
Back to the topic, participating in the organised academic life offered by fraternities has greatly contributed to who I am today. Being a member of a fraternity gave me the opportunity to practice my Estonian by providing instant connections to my brothers in Vancouver, Seattle, New York not to mention Estonia. My best friends are all members of my fraternity. We sing together in a choir, we have our own band, we play bridge and most of all we love discussing politics, Estonian/European affairs and other topics. Now that we are reaching the a point were we can also participate in forming and developing society, we are organising conferences, composing books, attending memorial events (Tief re-burial, Pitka monument) and invite intellectuals to give lectures at our meetings.
I am not going to deny that there is no partying. But I would rather have young men learning these social skills with respected members of society, then in parks and shopping malls. Also, forced drinking of alcohol does not exist in my fraternity. We have some members who are “täis karsklased”.
Having grown up attending “korpide jõulupuud ja suvepäevad” with most of Toronto friends having links to fraternities/sororities and now being an active alumnus, I can only recommend that all young Estonians at least give fraternities a try.

It's unfortunate that an article about the anniversary of a fraternity turns into a critique of fraternal organizations in general.

Congrats C!F!E! on your anniversary and welcome to the 100 club.

What you say about sororities may be accurate. But with respect to frats, you should know that men are crude in the absence of women and in the presence of alcohol, and the proud traditions that you refer to, upon inspection, look more like ceremonies and posturing.
My experience in the Estonian community is enriched by volunteer work with our youth, choral singing, and the Church. I'm a frat member but more in name than spirit.
Frats are generally crying for members. That makes me wonder what on earth Maxim might have done to get expelled from Vironia. It must have been something intolerably obnoxious and sustained over time. He has let fly with some lulus on these pages. (My favourite was his suggestion that the Estonian Ministry of Education should move to St. Petersburg and I imagine that it was something like that got him stripped of his Vironia colours.) Maxim has been criticized viciously, here, but never disproportionately.
But Maxim isn't the only fool in the room. Every Estonian organization has at least one frustrated soul that is going to vent his anger on whoever happens to be vulnerable. That's life and we simply have to work around them.

Why is it that there are two sides to every issue, plus Maxim's side -- the one that's either implausible, irrational or provocative?

Maxim proves his case that St. Petersburg is the epicentre of Estonian culture with reference to Professor Martens. Thanks Maxim. Now we know.

Some of us probably overlooked this cornerstone of Estonian culture as they were distracted by Peterson, Jannsen, Kreutzwald, Koidula, Bornhöhe, Tammsaare et. al. So, let's jog our memories.

Professor Fjodor Fjodorovitš Martens (1845-1909) was a highly-regarded diplomat in the Russian Czar's court. His specialty was international law and arbitration among disputing states. Among others, he was a participant in the dispute between Britain and France over the status of Newfoundland.

He was of Estonian descent.

That's really swell, Maxim. From the tens of thousands of Estonians in St. Petersburg that constitute the epicentre of Estonian culture, can you give us another name or two?

Well enough time has passed since my little goofup in my reference to Mats Traat. Yes folks, for those of you who were astute enough to notice, I accidentally stated that the title of Traat's novel is Isad ja Pojad, when in fact it is Emad ja Pojad. However, it doesn't detract a single jot or tittle from the substance of the novel which is absolutely superb in every sense of the word.

Kui postipoiss torkab Eesti Elu uksepilusse mul on see juba läbi loetud interneti vahendil ja Maximi naljadest närv ka juba must.
Nõnda, kui tellimust tuleb uuendada, mina sellest loobun.

Yes Maxim, there were many Estonians in St. Petersburg during the Tsarist period and among them, Prof. Martens, a man of conspicuous accomplishment in the area of international law and Russian diplomacy. The question remains -- what was his contribution to Estonian culture? More generally, how have the St. Petersburg Estonians come to be the cradle of Estonian culture? You are unable to answer that question and deal with it by changing the topic when challenged.

You are an intellectual fraud, Maxim, and you come here with dishonest intentions. Your motivations, whatever they may be, must be powerful because you do this at a great cost to yourself -- every week, you come here and make a grotesque ass of yourself.

Some of the coalition's politicians could do worse than pack their bags and head for St Petersburg. Toompea's looking more and more like a summer mirage.