Dear Brothers and Friends,
The 2014-2015 academic year was a tumultuous one for higher education, and perhaps even more so for Greek life.
Negative reports of fraternity dominated the spring news feeds. In the first four months of 2015, almost 8,000 articles were published about alcohol and sexual assault on college campuses. Meanwhile, communities in higher education were consumed by conversations about sexual assault prevention, racial and ethnic diversity on campus, and the overall value of Greek life.
Many observers are demanding change from our host institutions. Calls for change are also coming from our government. The public and media attention to these incidents has spurred the executive and legislative branches to increased involvement. The Title IX expansion in 2014 and 2015 has many senior administrators concerned. They worry that the heavier compliance demands are redirecting resources, both financial and personnel, away from initiatives that address character development and other underlying issues affecting sexual assaults on campus.
While fraternities have become easy targets for sensationalist headlines, SigEp is committed to providing meaningful and lasting solutions for our host institutions. Our recent efforts and future priorities intend to fill voids felt by students, faculty and administrators, and offer a more complete collegiate experience. I’ll address a few of these efforts—BMP adoption and implementation, sexual assault prevention and response, racial and ethnic diversity, and volunteer education—before sharing a few realizations from the past several years.
BMP adoption and implementation
Organizational alignment with the Balanced Man Program has been the top priority for SigEp this school year. Since last year, SigEp chapters have seen an 11 percent increase in average implementation proficiency, or how well they practice the BMP. The nationwide success of the program led 15 chapters to vote to replace their pledge model with the BMP this past spring.
The Fraternity staff is responding to undergraduate and volunteer calls for new training and resources. This year, undergraduates saw improved service from their regional directors during chapter visits, a refined BMP track at Carlson Leadership Academies and new resources to help chapter leaders better manage challenges.
Our volunteers also received upgraded BMP education at Carlson, participated in new, region-based educational programs called “Drive-Ins” and received online education each month through “Training in Ten.” To ensure our newest volunteers were prepared to support the BMP, new balanced man stewards and chapter counselors were paired with peer mentors who provided a formal orientation to their new role.
SigEp’s response to sexual assault
SigEp has intentionally avoided “paper-only partnerships” and has been determined to directly address the underlying issues that lead to sexual assault. Our work is based on the premise that effective prevention and response requires a comprehensive approach to awareness, safe environments, healthy relationships and confident intervention.
We also believe that college men can’t advance these issues alone. SigEp partnered with Alpha Delta Pi Sorority to launch an online and campus-based campaign that will address each of these issues.
The first video addressing awareness was launched in April. It has been viewed more than 190,000 times, and on Facebook alone, the campaign has reached more than 633,000 people.
This work with ADPi is complemented by the launch of a Member Safety Team. This volunteer group will help SigEp chapters address underlying issues of physical and sexual assault, alcohol abuse and bystander behavior. These 25-30 volunteers will have the potential to reach nearly 200 chapters annually.
You’ll also see the issues above addressed through our new member experience, at EDGE, at future Carlson Leadership Academies and in chapter specific programming piloted by Volunteer Services Director Archie Messersmith, Samford ’99, this year.
Racial and ethnic diversity
The racist chant by SAE members at Oklahoma cast an inescapable light on an issue we’ve been talking about for decades, and it reminded us that we have a long way to go in the fight for equality and diversity.
We will continue to address this important issue in our publications and programs. At Conclave this summer, University of Georgia’s Vice President for Student Affairs, Victor Wilson, Georgia Renaissance, will lead a session for undergraduates and volunteers on building diverse chapters. His session, “A brotherhood for everyone: Building community by valuing difference,” will help attendees explore aspects of cultural identity and differences—including ethnicity, class, gender, religion, disability, age and others—and how that impacts student life. He will also share strategies to help individuals and chapters value these areas of difference and the importance of diverse perspectives in building community and a stronger brotherhood.
Volunteer education
This year has provided several new opportunities for our volunteers.
Onboarding programs were created to provide quality training and immediate support to new chapter counselors and balanced man stewards. These new chapter mentors were paired with seasoned volunteers for a seven-week mentorship program. Orientation modules for other chapter volunteers will be released in the 2015-2016 school year, beginning at our 54th Conclave this August.
Another new opportunity for volunteer education was provided this year through pre-Carlson Leadership Academy programming. Over 150 attended these more intimate discussions hosted the Friday afternoon of each Carlson Leadership Academy.
This year also saw the introduction of a regional, in-person program for our volunteers called “Drive-Ins.” Drive-Ins offered free, one-day programs to volunteers in Richmond, Va., Columbia, S.C., Ft. Worth, Texas, Philadelphia and Indianapolis. More than 100 volunteers attended these inaugural programs. The 2015-2016 programs are scheduled for Bloomington, Ind., Washington, Tampa, Fla., Hoboken, N.J., Kansas City, Mo. and San Diego.
Year-end reflections
The 2015 Periodic Membership Reports tell a consistent story—despite a decrease in total chapters over the last few years, SigEp’s total membership and average chapter size is growing. Our continued growth can be attributed to improved execution of values-based recruitment, the Balanced Man Program, officer elections and transitions, standards and accountability and volunteer engagement.
As we focus on these five areas, we find that we’re more reliably attracting the right kind of member, providing him an invaluable experience, and retaining him, through graduation and beyond, as an engaged alumnus, committed volunteer and donor.
A continued focus in these areas is what it will take for SigEp to help solve large and complex issues affecting our members and host institutions, serve as a valued partner in higher education and provide a complete collegiate experience.
Fraternally,
Brian C. Warren Jr., Virginia ’04
Chief Exectuive Officer
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