At Sigma Chi International Fraternity’s recent legislative meeting called Grand Council, voting delegates unanimously approved a resolution related to the organization’s new Preparation for Brotherhood pledge program. The resolution endorsed the Executive Committee’s decision to implement the Fraternity-wide program beginning in the fall of 2016.
Voting delegates spent much of the morning and afternoon on June 11 learning about the Preparation for Brotherhood program and discussing its merits. The desire to create a new pledge program was largely driven by the need to create one that is universal, meaning that the same, enhanced curriculum would be used by each of the Fraternity’s chapters. At Grand Council, delegates reviewed the history of the program's development, its pilot process and the details of the curriculum. They also had an opportunity to provide feedback on the program and ask questions of Sigma Chi’s leadership and the program’s architects. After reviewing the program and submitting feedback, the resolution endorsing the program and implementation was presented to the delegates, who approved it unanimously.
The 113 Grand Council delegates who voted to adopt the resolution included Sigma Chi’s past Grand Consuls, or international presidents; its Executive Committee; Grand Praetors, or regional directors; undergraduate delegates from each of the Fraternity’s 58 provinces; the Fraternity’s Grand Tribune, or spiritual director; and its Grand Trustees, or regional housing liasions. The Grand Council also unanimously approved a resolution on anti-hazing, charging all undergraduate Sigma Chis to serve as agents of change within their chapters in the eradication of hazing.
The Preparation for Brotherhood program will institute for the first time in Sigma Chi’s history a uniform pledge education program. The program takes a blended learning approach, combining in-person pledge meetings with experiential activities and is enhanced by learning materials found on the Fraternity's learning management system, Sigma Chi U.
“We tout ourselves as the premier leadership organization in the Greek-letter world, but not having a uniform pledgeship means that some of our brothers aren’t living up to that standard,” says Preparation for Brotherhood committee chairman and Order of Constantine Sig Jim Holcomb, CAL. STATE-SACRAMENTO 1994. “Preparation for Brotherhood is our best bet at keeping our practices in line with our ideals.”
To read the full text of the resolution, visit here.
Sigma Chi is one of the largest collegiate fraternities with undergraduate chapters at 242 universities and colleges and more than 240,000 alumni members. Sigma Chi provides a welcoming environment for young men of different temperaments, talents and convictions to enjoy a unique lifelong bond that extends far beyond college. Through world-class leadership training, extensive mentoring programs, and a strong focus on academic achievement, Sigma Chi sets itself apart as the preeminent collegiate leadership development organization, challenging its members to live by its core values and exemplify character-in-action™ in every aspect of their lives, and the lives of others.
