Sigma Phi Epsilon announced a new approach for the upcoming recruitment period.  

Jeff Horan, vice president of Recruitment and junior in business administration, said the fraternity will be seeking members that want to balance the social aspects of a fraternity while learning values that will prepare them for the real world.  

“SigEp focuses on destroying the ‘frat boy’ image while still holding on to the fundamental principles that the fraternity was founded upon,” Horan said. “We are looking for men who are trying to get more out of their college career, those who are not looking to join a typical ‘frat’.”  

The difference between SigEp and other fraternities, according to the president, Brennon Fuqua, is the elimination of pledging.  

“We run the balanced man program, which is a four year development program, instead of a pledge program, which is an approximately eight-week period,” Fuqua, a senior in civil engineering, said. “We extended it over four years and made the balanced man program pertinent to where you are in your college career.”  

Horan said the program has been set up to work at the pace of the incoming member.  

“Our challenge program is focused on being goal-oriented so that we are always working towards accomplishing something to improve ourselves and on keeping it self-paced,” Horan said. “Incoming members will be able to go as slow or fast as they like so it won’t interfere with guys who want to study abroad or have rigorous class schedules.”  

The program, according to Horan, is the idea SigEp will use to replace the pledging system.  

“We do not pledge at all,” Horan said. “Once you join you are full-fledged members. You can vote, serve on a committee and go to any and all events. I often tell guys, ‘You can theoretically join and then run for president the next day. There are no limits on our new members’ privileges’.”  

Michael Gannon, senior in economics, said the pledging process has been proven unnecessary through their experience in recruiting the right individuals.  

“We like to think of our recruiting as similar to an athletic team,” Gannon said. “We weed out the bad eggs before they join rather than requiring a period for potential members to prove themselves with meaningless tasks.”  

Among their many accomplishments, Horan said, the Beta chapter is proud of its athletics.  

“We love athletics. We came in second last year in intramurals and out of 600 points total we lost to Pi Kappa Phi by 15,” Horan said. “We participate in every intramural event — ping pong, softball, flag football, soccer, volleyball, badminton, wiffleball, basketball, etc.”  

According to Fuqua, SigEp is the largest fraternity in the nation and has earned the highest GPA, preparing men for networking and entering adulthood.  

“We challenge our members to make them grow, mature and prepare them for the real world,” Fuqua said. “We challenge you through your whole four years and really strive to make a better man and to make people better for being SigEp. We think our program is unlike any other, and the strongest in the country.”  

The chapter participates in a large range of activities, Horan said, ranging from etiquette dinner date functions to wine tastings. Many of their events are educational seminars put on by alumni that may not seem relevant at the moment, but will help men out their adult lives.  

“We have a few events in the works,” Horan said. “We have an alumni, who is a professional accountant, coming to teach us how to do taxes, and another who is a real estate agent giving us tips on how to buy a house.”  

Unlike other fraternities, Hogan said, SigEp has solved many of the problems some men face when joining a fraternity, including cost and time management.  

“We are one of the cheapest social fraternities on campus and all dues go towards the program and our events. It really only requires about three to four hours a week since the program is self-paced,” Horan said.