The Greek System Part 1

I believe

in Sigma Pi, a fellowship of

kindred minds, united in

brotherhood to advance truth

and justice, to promote

scholarship, to encourage

Chivalry, to diffuse culture, and

to develop character, in the

service of God and man; and

I will strive to make real, the

fraternity's ideals in my own

daily life

A big part of my life at Emporia revolved around my fraternity, Sigma Pi. I took great pride in being apart of the greek system on campus and wore my letters with pride. I never thought I would be apart of that culture when I left home but something about it just drew me in. I had great friends who weren't involved in the fraternity and I'm closer to them today than most of my brothers but at the time there was just something about that brotherhood that called out to me. I joined and knew I wanted to be a leader in my house. After becoming an active member I was elected to be our Alumni Coordinator, or First Counselor on our Executive Council.

This is all happened right after our chapter was put on social probation by the university for allowing underage drinking in our house during a social event, or a party. We took our probation with a grain of salt and got through the year without any problems. In all honesty it probably brought us closer as a group. However, before our problems our alumni base was hardly helpful and after we got in trouble our help was gone. The job of an alumni board and group is to support the chapter and give advice and direction. They should work with the Executive Council to help lead the chapter. We didn't have that because our previous First Counselors failed to do their jobs and keep our wide base of graduates involved with the chapter.

After I left my position after one semester because of a combination of factors, and after I left the active chapter after another semester, things got chaotic and eventually we sold our fraternity house and barely kept any members. It was the choice of the alumni board without consulting our active chapter to move in these directions and cause a lot of turmoil within our group.

There are currently 5 active members of the Epsilon-Epsilon chapter of Sigma Pi on the campus at Emporia State with another 5 pledges and 2 neophytes. I'm very proud of the job our guys have done in the last two years saving our charter from being taken away. No chapter wants that. Last week our alumni board voted to purchase a property in Emporia. However, unlike the proposal I voted for and felt most strongly about, they decided to buy a new house for the men. I was in favor of purchasing a commercial property to use in a clubhouse sort of way. No one would live there but it would be a place for social gatherings and chapter meetings.

It would be something very new and different for the greek system at ESU. I think that would have given us an upper hand in getting new recruits because they wouldn't have to live in a big, gross house. I understand the frustration the current active members are feeling because I've been through it before. However, the decision has been made and that's all that can be done. I'm still thrilled for the men to have a property to put our letters on.

I have written all of this because my next entry will take a look at whether or not I think the greek system as a whole can grow at Emporia State. Our house is not the only house struggling on campus and I'm not sure that the future will bring growth or the demise of more charters.