Tradition: Upon the conclusion of trail (either by returning to the starting bar or by reaching their destination), hashers are generally given a few minutes break in order to pour themselves a beer, use the restroom, or anything else that they might need to finish before “Circle” is called by the attending RA. The RA (short for “Religious Advisor”) then commences with the calling of accusations, a calling out of hashers for either ridicule or for praise. When a hasher has been accused, they then come into the middle of the circle and before the entire hash, the accusation is stated, and a song is sung. Upon conclusion of the song, the hasher must then finish their beer. If a hasher does not want to finish their beer (for whatever reason), they are permitted to pour the remainder of their beer on their head. It should be noted that there is no defense for accusations, and anyone who is called out for a down-down must come into the circle unless the RA states otherwise.
In Chicago, the RA is usually the one in charge of calling out other hashers for accusations, but after an indeterminate amount of time, the RA may open the circle and allow other hashers to accuse each other. Accusations are chosen via the “Pint of Lager” method, where anyone who has something to say places their beverage over their head and are selected by the RA.
Circle started as a way for the pack to get back at the hares for a particularly shitty trail (or to congratulate them for a particularly memorable one,) over time accusations have become more and more plentiful and varied. Depending on who is RAing, Circle can vary from being only a handful of accusations and lasting a few minutes or including many accusations and lasting for hours. Generally speaking, however, the circle will last until either the hash cash has been exhausted or the hash has grown weary or bored.
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