One of the primary purposes of a fraternity is to assist its members in developing into well-rounded individuals. Academic, social, athletic and creative pursuits should all be cultivated. The Fraternity should serve as a source of encouragement and opportunity in all of these areas — never as an excuse for a member to narrow his interests and avoid testing his abilities in new areas. At the same time, it is better to give your best to a limited number of activities and derive the most that you can from them, rather than taking part in so many activities that none receive a fair share of your time or energy. In short, your period of pledgeship is a challenge. How well you respond to this challenge will determine not only your success as member of Acacia, but also your success as a college student.
Demands and Decisions
Like all of our society’s institutions, fraternities are not ideal theoretical
structures. They are composed of human beings with all their virtues and faults. During your pledgeship, you will face demands from every direction, and meeting them can test any man’s resources of energy, patience, perseverance and understanding. And, because fraternity membership is a living experience, you are in the unfortunate position of having to meet these demands without being able to assess their future value to your development as a fraternity brother and college student. Inevitably, almost every pledge member will reach a point when the demands of fraternity membership seem greater than any possible benefits and the gleam of brotherhood loses its luster. You will eventually notice that the Fraternity you have joined, and the men who comprise it, are imperfect. Disagreements and antagonisms will arise. Policies and activities of little or no apparent value will be encountered. Some members will do things that are juvenile or irresponsible. You may feel disillusioned with fraternity life, and the investment of time and effort you must make to meet the demands of membership. When this point is reached, you will have to decide whether or not to continue your membership in Acacia or to withdraw (de-pledge). This is a crossroads decision. The paths that lie beyond each choice are clearly divided and cannot be retraced in the clearer light that hindsight affords Because of this, it is important to avoid a sudden decision and to consider all of the factors in perspective: Is your dissatisfaction due to the attitude or behavior of the chapter as a whole, or only a few individuals? 10