Enlightened Gentlemen’s Program Work Book Series Book 2: Postulant Challenge

The Enlightened Gentlemen’s Program is the Premiere Developmental Program of the Tau Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc.

1 © 2012 Tau Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2 3 Are You Ready for the Next Step?

You have just been through the second of Tau Delta Phi’s four great rituals, the Postulant Ceremony.

This is the first of our esoteric rituals. You may be asking yourself, “why was that esoteric? All that happened was I was asked a bunch of questions!” It is esoteric because it begins to reveal to you the esoteric values of Tau Delta Phi. The first rite of passage you went through, the Dear George, talked about some of our principles in a very veiled way, the second asks you if you have come to understand the deeper meaning behind what you’ve already learned.

Consider the following image below. It is called, The Vigil:

The Vigil by John Pettie (This work is in the public domain with no copyright restrictions)

The vigil depicts a squire, in church, the night prior to his knighting ceremony. It was customary during the Middle Ages for a man to ask himself why he was joining an organization prior to entering an order of knighthood, prior to entering a guild (i.e. the Masons), or prior to entering a religious society, and to have a night of reflection on why he wanted to take on the responsibility of the cause he was asking to join. The squire here reflects on why he wants to become a knight. He holds his sword out as an offering of his leadership for the betterment of humanity. The rite of passage you went through is akin to this type of “vigil.” You are reflecting on the question: Why you want to join Tau Delta Phi, and what the qualities of someone who joins are? This is an important rite of passage, because it asks you if you are really ready to become the type of Enlightened Gentlemen, Leader, and Brother we seek. Reflect on the questions you were asked again, ask to read them again if you’d like, what values are we asking you to consider embracing as a brother of Tau Delta Phi? To see a knighting ceremony as an aid in your reflection visit this short clip: http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr7XUr2Ztpo from the movie Kingdom of Heaven.

4 Study Skills

What activity did you complete in order to meet the Personal Development: Study Skills section of the Challenge? In what ways are you preparing to better your academic performance? Develop an outline below.

5 Health & Wellness

Below, write out your health and wellness plan for the Postulant Challenge (remember, this must be different than what you chose for the Alpha Challenge). It doesn’t have to be in paragraph form, just create an outline of changes you plan on making based on the Postulant Challenge Health & Wellness activity that you participated in.

6 Chapter Development

1. What are the most important lesson that you think we can learn from the History of the Fraternity from 1970 to the Present?

2. What fundraiser did you perform, how did you go about developing the fundraiser, and were you successful at raising the needed amount?

3. In your own words, explain the different parts of a chapter meeting and how it operates, and the different responsibilities for each officer.

4. Create an outline of the main points of your chapter history.

7 National Development

In the space provided, please list the date that you attended an Executive Council meeting of the Fraternity. How did the meeting run? What did you learn about the operating procedure of the Board of Directors (the Executive Council) of Tau Delta Phi?

8 Ritual Development Read the following story and discuss with the members of your Challenge. The short story, “Death of a Fraternity” can be found at: http://goo.gl/f7DHb

Big Questions to Answer:

What was the MAIN reason the chapter died?

When we talk about “keeping up membership standards,” what does that mean?

What do you notice about the importance of positive alumni involvement in the chapter?

Is this short story applicable today, 20 years later, or is it “out of date?” Why do you feel the way you do?

9 Philanthropy & Community Service

Please outline in detail the events you created to meet both the Philanthropy Project and the Community Service Project. Also, please remember to email any photos of your event to [email protected]

10 Blogging About Tau Delta Phi!

Remember to create three blog posts about Tau Delta Phi and what you are learning and ex‐ periencing as a new member of a fraternity. List below the address for the blog and make sure you email it to the national fraternity so that if we like your blog, we can post it to the national website. You can email us at [email protected]

11 Goals Assessment

List below each of the goals you formed at the beginning of the Alpha Challenge, and then list the progress you’ve made toward your goals. Check off any of the personal goals you’ve com‐ pleted.

Goals Progress Progress Step 2 Completed? Yes Step 1 or No

12 National Governance

Explain your understanding of the National Fraternity and its relationship to the chapter/ colony that you are a member of. Be specific, what is the roll of the national fraternity, how does your chapter participate in national fraternity governance, and what is the chapter’s role in relationship to the national headquarters?

13 Feeding America & Tau Delta Phi

Why do you think Tau Delta Phi chose to partner with Feeding America based on your understanding of our Fraternity’s values?

14 TauDelt Characteristics

What are the characteristics of a brother of a Tau Delta Phi as you understand them?

15 Interview with a Member of Headquarters or National Officer

Choose to do an interview with a member of the National headquarters staff, national volunteer, or an Executive Council Member. The interview does not need to be done in person. Record the interview and what you learned about it. Don’t forget to ask about what they do for the National Fraternity as well as biographical information about the person.

16 Where Do You Think You Fit in the Chapter and the Fraternity?

Consider the time that you will spend as an undergraduate brother of Tau Delta Phi. What position would you like to hold the most? When you have graduated, what position do you think you would be interested in serving in for the National Fraternity?

17 What happens next?

Once you have completed all the requirements in this workbook, and based on the Enlight‐ ened Gentlemen’s Program (EGP) Manual you received that outlines each phase of devel‐ opment, then the Postulant Challenge is almost complete.

From here you will:  Submit this workbook to your Chapter’s High Tribunal, which will determine if you have satisfied the requirements of the Postulant Challenge.  When the Tribunal has reached a decision, you will be notified of the date for your Rite of Passage, which will be your full initiation into Tau Delta Phi.

Congratulations! You have completed the second phase in Tau Delta Phi’s Enlightened Gen‐ tlemen’s Program, and are on your way to many life‐long, rewarding opportunities that will come with your full membership in Tau Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc.

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