Leading the Fight Against Hazing
T
he Fraternity is two years into its plan to eliminate and prevent hazing. In the spring 2020 magazine, the Fraternity provided the first update to brothers regarding the enhanced initiative: Lead the Fight Against Hazing. Phi Gamma Delta has spent a significant amount of time and resources to continue to advance this crucial plan to eliminate the number one killer of fraternity chapters. The reality is that there is no single action or policy that will solve this problem. Instead, we will work on several key areas to help brothers recognize that hazing is contrary to our values and has no place in our fraternity.
Rethink the Joining Process
Phi Gamma Delta is committed to rethinking and evaluating how a man “becomes a Phi Gam.” This requires the Fraternity to look at all components of the joining process:
Recruitment
Recruitment should be the period where deliberate decisions regarding membership are made, where chapters intentionally evaluate potential new members based on the values of Phi Gamma Delta and are wholly comfortable inviting these men to join. To accomplish this, the Fraternity is implementing a growth system focused on four key projects:
increased delivery of targeted and deliberate education on aligning recruitment with the values; implementation of a customer relationship management technology to assist chapters with new member recruitment and selection; increased advisor education and support; and leveraging key data points to make informed decisions about support. Increased education and support will help chapters have a more successful new member education experience.
New Member Education
With a focus on intentional recruitment, no longer does the new member education period in any way "weed out" men who were not adequately evaluated. The next step in the joining process is to ensure a successful and wellplanned New Member Education program that welcomes the new members into the brotherhood immediately. Phi Gamma Delta is piloting a new New Member Education program that is focused on the core of the Fraternity: Friendship. The program is built on the need to create meaningful and healthy connections among all brothers, and it is flexible to meet the needs of all chapters. The goal is for this program to replace the current prescribed New Member Education program in spring 2021.
Post-Initiation Experience
Too often a brother’s formal education and development ends at
initiation. Our goal is to extend learning over the entire undergraduate career, with content focused on the needs of the brother that aligns with his year in school. The original goal was to begin the pilot content this fall. However, due to COVID-19, our focus now is on developing more content and then conducting the pilot once campuses have stabilized.
Increased Education & Training
Phi Gamma Delta continues to provide an array of educational opportunities. In additional to our existing content, the Fraternity has launched two chapter-based educational programs: Discussion on Hazing: A Graduate Facilitation Guide and Building a Chapter of Courageous Leaders. Both programs were created for graduate brothers to facilitate conversations with undergraduate members about hazing prevention and courageous leadership.
Join the Fight Against Hazing
The Fraternity is in the second year of the campaign for all brothers to Join the Fight Against Hazing. All stakeholders are important in this fight. If you have not done so already, we invite you to take the pledge against hazing at phigam. org/FightHazingPledge. t THE PHI GAMMA DELTA
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