Section I Responsibility to Self Click Once

Our Reason for Being The reasons for which this association is formed are: - T- To foster education, to maintain charity, to promote patriotism. - To encourage culture, to encourage high scholarship. o assist in the building of character, to promote college loyalties. o perpetuate friendships, to cement social ties within its membership. - And to foster the maintenance of college homes by chapters for their undergraduate members. Click Once

As the famous Nobel Laureate, Margaret Mead, once said: Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Brotherhood can be defined in many ways, but essentially it is the development of lifelong human relationships based on respect, mutual love, and support. In that regard, brotherhood entails the same powerful, interpersonal dynamics that exist within all high performing teams and groups regardless of the type of organization. It could be a family, a sports team, a business, a military unit, a religious group, or a fraternity! It is the, so-called, chemistry that all groups seek and so few achieve. Metaphorically, brotherhood is the mortar that holds the individual bricks (brothers) together. __________________________________________________ _____________

Probably the single most important characteristic for all high performing groups is a common commitment to shared values that can only result once trust has been established. Trust and commitment go hand-in-hand although it is often difficult to determine which comes first. The good news is that distinction is not particularly significant. Ultimately, whichever comes first, both trust and commitment must exist in an organization before cohesion and brotherhood can survive. In their 1994 Report to the Grand Council, the Task Force on the Future of Chapter Services identified the following four elements as being necessary for a true brotherhood to exist: 1.Safe Environment. Without a supportive, caring, forgiving environment, Brothers will not take risks sharing their thoughts and feelings. This atmosphere is the cornerstone of trust 2.Communication. The abilities to communicate clearly, to listen effectively, and to confront and be confronted constructively are essential skills in a brotherhood. The degree of brotherhood felt seems to be dependent on the quality of the communication process. 3.Commitment. Commitment to goals, personal and chapter, leads to action and involvement. Group awareness of commitments provides motivation, personal responsibility, and accountability. The accomplishment of goals establishes the groundwork for self-esteem and integrity. 4.Integrity. By integrity, we mean a dedication to a strong moral compass of honesty, forthrightness, ethical behavior and the pursuit of high ideals including truth, wisdom, and brotherly love. It is that constant striving to better the man, to embrace and integrate diverse points of view, to empty yourself of judgements, and to seek out the common good for all. This is the capstone of brotherhood! ____________________________________________________________ _______________________________ Click Once ______________ _____________ Click Once ______________ Click Once _______ Click Once

Trust and commitment cannot evolve, however, unless the environment is conductive to its development. This requires, at a minimum, an initial commitment by everyone involved to create an open and supportive climate that facilitates risk-taking and safe communication. In turn, such a climate cannot be created unless there is a mature level of communication that balances both personal courage and consideration for others. Consideration for others begins when one endeavors to listen empathetically to another by seeking first to understand, then, to be understood. Courage in communications results when one acts with maturity and integrity required to confront, to forgive and to support others as necessary. A significant challenge for many! In Alpha Sigma Phi, a chapter must create and perpetuate brotherhood with a thorough and consistent commitment to the shared values that have been embedded in our Ritual for more than 150 years. In that regard, every man who strives to find a meaning in his life must seek his own individual truth as to what his purpose on this planet may be. That was true in 1845 when our founders formed our Fraternity, has been true throughout the ages, and is still very true today. ______________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ___________________________________ Click Once ___________________________ _____________________________________ Click Once __________________________________ ___________________________

Yet, finding that truth cannot be achieved without a sincere commitment to personal growth, a dedication to learning, and the seeking of wisdom. While this is primarily a personal journey, it can rarely be done alone. Thus, the collective truth of Alpha Sigma Phi: Through Brotherhood, All Things Are Possible! When there is commitment, mature communication, and all Brothers are behaving with integrity, the very deepest levels of trust can be achieved and true brotherly love is the result. This powerful bonding results not just through a commitment to shared values or a dedication to common chapter goals, but a profound loyalty to each other. This, however, is not a blind loyalty that may tend to enable and reinforce the human weaknesses of a Brother. But instead, it is a loyalty, born of true brotherly love that facilitates and encourages the personal growth of another Brother. Click Once __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ _______

Dr. M. Scott Peck, in his best-selling book, The Road Less Traveled, defined and explained this type of love as: The will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth…Thus, the act of loving is an act of self- evolution even when the purpose of the act is someone else’s growth. Inherent in this definition is the notion that self-love and love for others go hand-in-hand and that the process of extending one’s self is not, at all, an easy task. Indeed, it requires substantial effort. Further, the concept of will implies choice. Thus, when one pledges his loyalty to Alpha Sigma Phi, he is choosing to extend himself towards the nurturing of his fellow Brother’s personal growth. In other words, all Alpha Sigs should be able to say without hesitation: I Am My Brother’s Keeper

Unfortunately, pledging one’s loyalty and the term “pledge” itself has, today, become identified with practices that are clearly dysfunctional when Greek organizations are preparing their prospective new members for initiation into their societies. Specifically, “pledge” has too often become synonymous with “hazing” in some fraternities and sororities. Hazing has no place in Alpha Sigma Phi. For the Old Gal, the term Pledge and the wearing of the Pledge Pin still means what it has always meant: that the prospective Brother is “pledging,” upon his honor as a gentleman, to prepare himself to be worthy of the hidden teachings of Alpha Sigma Phi, to abide by the tenets of The Brotherhood Creed, and to be personally governed by the seven precepts represented by the seven points of the Pledge Pin. Thus, begins the journey of an Alpha Sig Pledge toward full membership as an initiated Brother within the Mystic Circle. The level of trust necessary to create and perpetuate true brotherhood, however, is not easy to achieve and often requires some sort of significant emotional event that bonds one person to another. What occurs during that event is an extraordinary deposit of caring, unselfishness, and genuine understanding from one person to another. Unfortunately, however, this type of event too often has its roots in a crisis or tragic situations when the need for caring is at its greatest. There are countless stories from wars, natural disasters, and numerous personal crises, where people have become bonded together for a lifetime. When someone comes through for you at a critical moment of crisis or personal vulnerability, that’s when the deepest bonds of trust and brotherhood can be established. ___________ _______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ Click Once