BREAKING: SAE To Eliminate Pledging Process
Friday is usually the go-to day of the week to release negatively perceived news, so I’m guessing Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s Supreme Council expects some serious pushback from the atomic bomb they dropped today–and for good reason. Not everyone is going to support this move.
Effective this Sunday, Sigma Alpha Epsilon will completely shut down its pledging process, citing the vision of the fraternity’s original Ritual and Constitution. According to the SAE Supreme Council, the fraternity aims to terminate unequal class structure between new members (pledges) and active members.
From SAE.net:
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, under the leadership and direction of the Supreme Council, has made a historic decision that will realign the Fraternity to produce the original member’s experience that our Founding Fathers envisioned. This change will adopt a method, practice and policy that treat all members equally and fairly and strive for a continuous development of our members throughout their lives. Effective March 9, 2014, new-member (pledge) programming will be eliminated completely from our operations, and the classification of new member (pledge) will no longer exist. All chapters and colonies will be required to implement this important change.
A new program, called the True Gentleman Experience, will be enacted immediately. This program will replace the current pledging process, and its goals are to “enhance the educational and leadership experience” and promote a more “positive, meaningful membership” for all new and active members.
That’s the front page, politically correct version.
The barroom version is this: hazing–and the public perception and perpetual threat of litigation that comes with it–has become a monstrous thorn in the national office’s side. This is SAE’s way of further distancing the fraternity from hazing incidents, at least from a legal standpoint.
Under the new program, recruits who accept their bids from SAE will immediately be activated.
Under the program, chapters and colonies may continue to recruit prospective members as they do currently. When they extend a bid, the college man who accepts the invitation will become a collegiate member. He will be required to accept our Scope of Association Agreement and complete the Carson Starkey Membership Certification Program. Furthermore, every member will be expected to meet our membership requirements and expectations and, should he fail to do so, our Fraternity Laws provide the means to suspend or remove his membership.
A “Member Educator” will replace the time-honored role of Pledge Educator–which is just the title to tell Mom and Dad in lieu of “Hazer Extraordinaire.” The Member Educator’s role will include overseeing the newly-implemented educational initiatives for his fellow brothers.
Times, they are a-changin’.
To learn more about the demise of SAE’s pledge program, read the full story on SAE.net.
[via SAE.net]
I’m posting this for further clarification on why the True Gentleman Experience is going into effect.
Lloyd’s of London* (not GEICO), our insurance underwriters (Favor company, which we own a controlling interest is our insurance broker, they broker the policy) is likely going to drop us, especially if we have another shock loss. Without insurance, we are completely exposed unless we self insure which we don’t have the capital. This helps with both prevention and with the underwriters; Lloyd’s has lost majorly the past decade on us. They are the group who insures tanker ships, black water, and bridges. Black Water hire’s mercenaries that go into war torn countries for commercial interests. They are more easily insured than we are. Tanker ships in waters plaqued by piracy have cheaper policies. The True Gentlemen Experience is going into effect to save the fraternity, not undermine the traditions that have been established since 1856.
11 years ago at 4:38 pmTo the 27 people that “^ This”‘d the article, chug bleach. Either you’re a GDI or you just can’t see the big picture.
11 years ago at 4:42 pmAre their nationals retarded? They are just going to replace the term “pledge” with “freshman”. Freshman year is a hell of a lot longer than pledgeship too.
11 years ago at 4:44 pmI am going to haze the shit out of any fucking pledge that thinks, even for a second, this will change anything.
11 years ago at 4:47 pmEvery SAE like “Damn what? Nahhhh”
11 years ago at 5:41 pmGives neophyte a whole new meaning..
11 years ago at 5:43 pmGives neophyte a whole new meaning….
11 years ago at 5:43 pmThe day you don’t have to pledge into my fraternity is the day I defect to Canada. Fuck this.
11 years ago at 6:18 pmCan’t see this affecting some of the strong chapters in Texas. Too much tradition backed up by powerful alum. They just won’t tell nationals about it.
11 years ago at 7:21 pmOh cool, who wouldn’t want the bid party and initiation party in the same weekend….
11 years ago at 8:00 pm