A Petition to the Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
A Petition to The Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta A Request for a Chapter Charter from the Delta Colony at Western Kentucky University Contents Letter from the Colony President Membership Development Recruitment Pledge Education Leadership Development Finance Dues and Budgeting Fundraising Scholarship Philanthropy Community Service Campus Involvement Rivalry Run Fijis Across America Campus Involvement Letters of Recommendation An Introduction to the Colony Welcome to the Delta Colony of Phi Gamma Delta at Western Kentucky University! We hope that you are encouraged as you read our petition. The colony’s first moments were incredible, pledging 40 of the highest quality men on October 23, 2008. Through many trials and many successes, the appearance of Phi Gamma Delta on our campus has renewed an appreciation for the Greek man and raised the bar for excellence even higher. It is our goal that you may be inspired by our dedication to the great name of our Fraternity. To the Archons and Chapters of Phi Gamma Delta: On behalf of our colony, I proudly submit to you this petition—an honest, full account of the challenges and accomplishments of our group. Thank you for taking your time to examine this report. Furthermore, thank you for trusting us with the name of Phi Gamma Delta. Over the past 18 months, we have labored to espouse the values and the vision of the Fraternity. Our association with Phi Gamma Delta has provided us the opportunity to build one of the most respected organizations on our campus. The Delta Colony at Western Kentucky University was formed after a search committee from WKU’s Interfraternity Council selected Phi Gamma Delta as the most worthy candidate to expand the campus Greek system. We hope that our accomplishments have exceeded the expectations of Phi Gamma Delta and therefore are now suitable to join you as fully initiated brothers. Through this petition, we wish to convey the love and appreciation our colony has for this fraternity. We respectfully request you affirm the petition to charter into Phi Gamma Delta. We are honored to have become a part of this brotherhood. Second only to faith and family, our affiliation with Phi Gamma Delta has been the most influential and rewarding experience of our lives. With the fullest commitment to the prestige of our International Fraternity, we will labor to embody forever the values of this great association. Respectfully submitted, Chaz Vittitow President Member Development Recruitment The Delta Colony recruits men who strive to embody the five values of the Fraternity: Friendship, Knowledge, Service, Morality, and Excellence. In evaluating if a potential member may receive a bid, the colony brothers place the highest importance on character and values. This is closely followed by scholarship, personal compatibility of the man, extracurricular activities, and leadership. Our Alpha Class was initiated the first week of the spring 2009 semester, and we began our first formal recruitment the next week. For this recruitment, we followed similar methods by which our Alpha Class was recruited. We had 100% bid acceptance, and pledged five men after another week of informal recruitment. It is important to note that the spring is a consistently difficult time to recruit new fraternity men at WKU. The average pledge class of all fraternities for that spring was six men. In Fall 2009, we redoubled our efforts and recruited 17 quality men. Thirteen of these men participated in formal recruitment; four signed bids the next week. We extended 20 bids for an acceptance rate of 85%. The average fraternity pledge class size for the fall semester was 14 men. In terms of rank, we recruited more new members than seven other fraternities, placing our pledge class at sixth in size overall. Pledge Class # Pledged # Initiated Current Brothers Alpha ‐ Fall ‘08 40 28 22 Beta ‐ Spring ‘09 5 4 4 Gamma ‐ Fall ‘09 17 14 14 Delta ‐ Spring ‘10 February 7 April 16 ‐‐ The Delta Colony at WKU attracts and pledges the highest quality men available on campus. We have very high standards for pledge status, especially academic achievement. Our academic requirements (GPA) to be pledged are 2.8 for those with prior college work and 3.0 for those directly out of high school. Additionally, all pledges are required to show proof that they are on track to achieve a 2.75 or higher during their pledge semester in order to be considered for initiation. These initial requirements are much higher than the WKU Greek Affairs requirement of 2.25 for pledges and initiates. In addition to our academic standards, we pledge and initiate men who are leaders, athletes, and gentlemen. We expect all members to be involved in at least one other campus or community organization in addition to Phi Gamma Delta. We also expect high participation in Fiji events and other Greek events. From a community service standpoint, all pledges and brothers are required to complete at least ten hours of community service per semester. Currently, the Delta Colony stands sixth of 13 Interfraternity Council groups on campus in terms of membership size. Because we will only lose two men to graduation, we anticipate to be fourth by the Fall 2010 semester. Pledge Education Pledge education is a difficult new task for colonies. Men in the Alpha Class were led by local graduate brothers in a pledgeship process that closely followed the guidelines set by the Eight‐Week Program of the International Fraternity. He taught the pledge class well. However, he was not familiar with executing the program. In addition, because he lived two hours away, it was difficult to develop the functional relationships that bind men to each other and to the Fraternity; the program lacked true big brother support. Many in our Alpha Class did not grasp Fraternity. For example, some founding pledge brothers made decisions to drop within days of accepting their bids. The final retention rate of our Alpha Class was 55%. Facing challenges of program unfamiliarity, novice brotherhood, and poor retention during our first pledge semester, the remaining members of the Alpha Class were determined to advance the Colony toward a more successful pledge experience. In pledging and instructing five members of the Beta Class firsthand, retention increased to 80%. Our recruitment process for the Gamma Class improved, and there was a natural progression in meeting the expectations of men we pledged. As an extension, the pledge education process itself became a more fluid, successful endeavor when we improved our big brother program. For the spring 2010 term, a new pledge educator is in place. He has continued to mature many aspects of the program itself (most importantly the big brother program), and we anticipate higher retention as well as improved involvement, brotherhood, and scholarship results for the spring. Pledge Education encompasses all guidance that may be needed to ensure a smooth transition from pledge to brother in the colony. The colony uses the International Fraternity’s standard eight‐week pledge program to assimilate new members into Phi Gamma Delta. Through the guidance of big brothers, the elements of our pledge education program ensure that new members are participating in fraternity activities and striving for academic success before other distractions of college life. The program demands that the big brothers invest proper time to the program and commit to a dynamic relationship with their little brothers. Additionally, this model allows for pledges to experience the regular functions of a fraternity: meeting style and committee work, for example. We have worked diligently to create a transparent relationship with our new members. The Delta Colony at WKU is not a re‐colonization and therefore does not have a graduate base of its own. Moreover, a very limited number of graduate brothers exist in the Bowling Green area. We quickly identified the need to build ourselves a local graduate support and advisement. Therefore, we committed ourselves to recruit men from the community who did not have prior Greek affiliation. In this regard, we have succeeded—we now have four outstanding graduate initiates in our colony. These men provide advice in graduate relations, membership development, recruitment, and pledge education programs. Leadership Development After two months as a Colony, just after the January 2009 Fiji Academy, our first cabinet realized that much work was needed to develop a strong infrastructure. We realized that a strategic internal organization was key to providing a firm foundation year after year for our colony. That realization was the impetus for crafting a dynamic leadership program built on core elements introduced to us by the International Fraternity. However, our program expands upon this structure and implements a year round cycle of activities to develop a broader leadership model. We believe that strategically timing these events will allow us to plan for success year after year. The activities below are organized by the order in which they fall during the academic calendar, beginning with the fall. Fall – three leadership events Officer Candidate Orientation * September – This mandatory session for officer candidates outlined the minimum expectations for officers, including time commitments for positions of leadership, Fiji Academy, Ekklesia, weekly Colony meetings, Cabinet meetings, BCA communications and University relations. Elections November ‐ The leadership development cycle begins with our annual fall elections. Men wishing to stand for office are required to have attended the Officer Candidate Orientation. Officer Transition Retreat November – This follows the standard elements of retiring officers transferring materials and records to the incoming officers. Officer responsibilities are discussed in greater depth than covered in the Officer Candidate Orientation. The calendar of key events through the end of the spring semester is reviewed. The general financial condition of the colony is reviewed.