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SPE UWash.: Balanced man in action
Erasing a legacy of intimidation
SIGMA PHI EPSILON: In getting rid of its pledge system, one UW fraternity is breaking the mold
By Kyle Arnold
November 21, 2005
Senior Kyle Jones remembers being pushed around and intimidated by senior fraternity members. It's a legacy the men of Sigma Phi Epsilon are trying to erase.
But 81 years of tradition at the fraternity's UW chapter -- familiarly known as Sig Eps -- was difficult to break. When Sigma Phi Epsilon decided to adopt a progressive new-member program two years ago, all but seven of the house's 66 members left or were asked to leave.
For Sigma Phi Epsilon, it meant scrapping its entire recruiting system and starting a program where new members are automatically full-fledged brothers.
Members say the new system is working. The 34 new members in the house are more involved in the fraternity's affairs, and prospective members are less intimidated, said senior Ryan Rastetter, the Sigma Phi Epsilon's chief recruiting officer.
"Our system is totally different than anything else in the Greek system," Jones said. "Pledging [the process whereby new members are acclimated to a fraternity] is usually where you get most of the negative connotations of the Greek system."
The pledge system is designed to see if new members are a good fit in their houses, IFC adviser Dominic Greene said, adding that it's supposed to be probationary.
Others think differently. The pledge system is often where fraternities draw the brunt of criticism and embarrassment. Physical hazing and forced drinking are often popularly associated with the quarter-long pledge process. The stereotype is that pledges are subservient to initiated members and responsible for menial tasks like cleaning the house.
Two years ago, Sigma Phi Epsilon members were still using the traditional pledge process, which some say is a demeaning and outdated program.
"I was pushed around by the older members and intimidated by the older members and told that I had to earn my keep here," Jones recalled. "And I didn't get a whole lot out of it. It wasn't a positive experience."
Sig Eps call its new system the Balanced Man program, focusing more on academic and professional success than traditional brotherhood-building activities.
Under the pledge-free Balanced Man program, new members at Sigma Phi Epsilon, unlike most fraternities, can attend chapter meetings usually reserved for active members of a house and run for leadership positions.
Freshman Deric Orr said the non-pledge system was a big draw when he was deciding which house to join.
"It's part of the pitch, just knowing you're not going to come to the house and be pushed around by a bunch of older guys and be the new kid," he said.
Freshman Joon Lee said he never considered becoming a fraternity member, but was drawn to the house after hearing about a scholarship and decided to join upon learning about the new program.
While new members are automatically granted the rights and privileges of older members, the house is still holding onto some traditions -- many of them secret -- that it held during its first 83 years of existence at the UW.
"Once you make it through the Epsilon challenge (the last segment of the Balanced Man program) is when you go through the ritual and are fully privy to all of the secrets," Jones said.
Full initiation into the brotherhood comes at the end of a member's college experience, so all are essentially on the same level.
The overhaul at Sig Eps didn't come at any watershed moment for the fraternity, Rastetter said; it was just at a period of emotional fatigue.
"The house itself was not a good place to live physically," he said. "It was dirty, the carpet was dirty. There was nothing really nice to be proud about to live there."
Worse than the physical condition of the house was the lack of morale and brotherhood essential to a successful organization, Rastetter and Jones agreed.
"It was not a fun place to live by winter quarter [of 2003] and there was a kind of malaise," Jones said. "Everybody kind of walked around the halls with their heads down and their doors were always closed."
That's when house leaders and alumni decided a new program was necessary. The Balanced Man program is now used by 75 percent of Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters nationwide.
Instead of focusing on the social aspects of fraternity life, the program concentrates on academic and professional development. In 2004, the year after the change, the average GPA of house members rose from a 2.8 -- one of the lowest among fraternities -- to 3.3, near the top.
The Balanced Man program also encourages members to join campus groups, obtain leadership positions and seek professional mentors.
Sigma Phi Epsilon members even say the house is cleaner than ever. They say they have a greater interest in their house now, as opposed to leaving most physical responsibilities up to pledges and other new members.
But the change in focus hasn't gone over well with everyone.
"People would say no, 'We have to haze, we have to haze,'" said Rastetter, one of few members there during the changes.
The change led to the departure of 59 members and a huge budget hole that had to be filled with alumni funds.
"Our breakeven numbers are about 55 [members], said Rastetter. "We still have a little ways to go."
With the change in focus, there has been a diminished emphasis on partying and drinking, Jones said. The house has only held one party this quarter and most social events are non-alcoholic with sororities.
Greene, who advises all the fraternities on campus, said a few houses have made similar changes to their recruiting and new member process, although nothing as dramatic as the changes made at Sigma Phi Epsilon.
"There's so much bad stuff written about fraternities in general," said Rastetter. "But this fraternity is changing that. We're not partying, we're not hazing and we're not doing that kind of stuff. We're doing something different and we're successful and going to be."
The house is holding strong with 38 members, only four of whom were members before the changes, but Sigma Phi Epsilon President Neil Doherty said the fraternity has a long way to go, internally and externally.
"I think an important point is that we are not only trying to change the way we are but it would be nice to get out and make this a community again," said Doherty. "The Greek system used to be a place that you were proud to be a part of."
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