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Sigma Phi Epsilon, the nation’s largest fraternity, has been re-established on campus with new initiatives and challenges using the Balanced Man Program and Residential Learning Community concepts.
In December 2004, Greek Life, the alumni board and the Sigma Phi Epsilon National Headquarters removed SigEp from campus for hazing incidents and getting behind on rent.
“We’ve been here since 1905; we have a lot of alumni from this campus. It’s a big school, and we think we can offer something here that’s typically different that students can appreciate,” Kyle Arganbright, director of new chapter development at SigEp headquarters in Virginia, said. “It will be a new group of guys starting a new chapter with new goals, chapters and principles.”
The decision to close the fraternity was made after a hazing incident which involved brothers streaking through a sorority house naked and the fraternity’s failure to hold up obligations and promises.
“It was the easiest way for the University, alumni board and national headquarters to get SigEp where they wanted it to be,” Billy Maddalon, president of the University’s alumni association and a 1990 alumnus, said. “It would be harder to retool the chapter to a healthy, functioning organization than it would to start over completely.”
SigEp, unlike other fraternities on campus, has eliminated the pledging process completely and grants all members the same rights and privileges.
“It’s important for SigEp to be reestablished at N.C. State because the Balanced Man Program is going to probably be well received around the campus,” Maddalon said. “It has potential to change Greek life at NCSU and I am one of those people who thinks that Greek life at NCSU needs to change.
He indicated that the organization has high hopes for the chapter.
“Hopefully it will be wildly successful and other chapters at NCSU will have to emulate the Balanced Man Program and start doing what they say they will do to deliver what they promise in their ritual, mottos and things that each one individual chapter focuses on,” he said.
Maddalon indicated that there are now more fraternities on campus than when he attended, but there are less fraternity members.
“It’s a shame because what that says is that fraternities are probably not delivering the kinds of things that they promise to deliver,” he said. “There are 2,000 SigEps from NCSU that are wandering around this world and all 2,000 of us are very interested in seeing our fraternity be back on campus and to help it be strong.”
SigEp is the nation’s largest fraternity with more than 13,500 undergraduates and 260 chapters.
According to the organization’s Web site, to achieve its goals, SigEp concentrates on its mission statement: “Building balanced leaders for the world’s communities” through award-winning leadership development programs, which include the Balanced Man Program and Residential Learning Community.
Through the BMP, a self paced, personal-development experience, SigEps are encouraged to live a balanced life based on the foundation of the Balanced Man concept of sound mind and sound body.
The basics of the BMP revolve around mentoring, community involvement, experimental learning and brotherhood. These four basics are not only intended for the foundation of becoming a Balanced Man, but also a mature professional.
“The principles and ideals are lifetime ideals and are not something that you quit doing when you get your diploma,” Maddalon said. “The nature of the relationship to the fraternity might change but ‘fraternalism’ is a lifetime concept. I think that’s what the Balanced Man Program offers.”
The four challenges, Sigma Challenge, Phi Challenge, Epsilon Challenge and Brother Mentor Challenge make up SigEp’s process of establishing brotherhood.
“The challenges help you develop yourself, as well as one of your mentorees. You are developing them and helping them to find themselves as well,” TJ Duval, a junior in animal science and SigEp member, said. “Once you do that, you are able to understand why we have fraternities and why it’s important to find yourself and define yourself.”
The challenges provide members with four years of development.
The Sigma Challenge objective is for the person to adjust and assimilate into the chapter and campus community. The Phi Challenge allows the person to understand the benefits of “fraternalism,” while the purpose of the Epsilon Challenge is to explore the issues a servant leader faces.
“Some people never make it to the Epsilon Challenge, but once you make it, that is where you get to branch out in the community and take your defined self and apply it and strengthen your community the way you think it should be,” Duval said.
The Brother Mentor Challenge gives the student an opportunity to develop and utilize the skills of a servant leader.
“The four different challenges address the needs and phases of the person’s college experience. We want to be able to cater to that,” Arganbright said.
The Residential Learning Community is based on the Oxford style of learning communities. SigEp incorporates a learning community between academic professionals, undergraduates, the University and the chapter facility which offers an opportunity for personal growth and educational development.
“We are in a community where faculty and students live and work together,” Arganbright said. “We are going to be implementing that this semester to use a real academic focus within the fraternity to make sure guys do what they came here to do to graduate.”
Recruitment is a year-round process. Initial recruitment on campus began in August and will end Oct. 1. However, any male student may be recruited all year long. The requirement to be in SigEp is a GPA of 3.0 and involvement of another activity on campus.
“We’d like to have a very distinguishable development program set up at N.C. State and partner with different organizations on campus,” Arganbright said. “You can really shape where it goes and what it becomes. It is an opportunity not a lot of people get anywhere on and off campus.”