President's Message

President's Message

Philosopher George Santayana once wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Fraternity life in North America is changing – though some believe not always for the better. In the news, we regularly see colleges and universities suspending individual chapters and, occasionally, entire Greek systems due to incidents involving hazing, racism, sexual assault and misconduct, underage alcohol consumption and other incidents where young people get hurt while simply trying to belong. Fraternities that fail to recognize the unacceptable harms arising from such behaviors and those that are unwilling to avoid such activities are condemned to repeat their mistakes and will continue to push Greek systems on their campuses and elsewhere on a path toward potential extinction.

Given the extraordinary courage of the delegates to the 174th Ekklesia, Phi Gamma Delta is poised to learn from past events and create a brighter future. I was so proud of our undergraduate brothers as they debated and parsed through voluminous changes to our Constitution and Bylaws, coming to the decision that Phi Gamma Delta would eliminate pledging. The acts of the Ekklesia will return Phi Gamma Delta to its historical roots, eliminating the pledge status by 2024 and bringing a return to recruiting men as our Founders did – by determining the value of the individual through personal contact and interaction before inviting him to become a member.

Pledging did not come about until well after our founding. Our Founders did not require a pledge period to get to know a potential member nor did they require a probationary period to determine if he “deserved” to be a brother. They got to know potential candidates and introduced them to the rest of the membership to get acquainted. Candidates were not required to memorize the Fraternity’s history or recite the Greek alphabet to determine if they would make a good brother. Becoming a member did not hinge solely upon one’s GPA while under provisional status. His commitment to academics, desire to pursue knowledge, and alignment with our values was evaluated before they asked him to join. The Founders believed that getting to know the potential new member and determining his character and moral strength were far and away more critical to being a good brother. This model is even more fitting today than it was in 1848 given the growing diversity on campuses and the wealth of opportunities to recruit men from a multitude of cultural groups and experiences.

Phi Gams have been and continue to be Courageous Leaders. The acts of the 174th Ekklesia are a distinctive and historical change for Phi Gamma Delta and provide exceptional opportunities for our chapters to lead – truly lead – the fight to eliminate hazing and broaden recruitment efforts.

The Ekklesia's diligent work has now given us the tools to help our chapters to grow and prosper by focusing recruiting efforts on finding men of character and moral quality – attributes of great brothers – rather than recruiting based on a belief for some that pledgeship should be a time to identify and “weed out” those lacking the attributes of a Phi Gam.

In 1952, Norman Vincent Peale (Ohio Wesleyan 1920) wrote, “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” The 174th Ekklesia has acted to modernize the way we bring men into our brotherhood and open the Fraternity to new opportunities for years to come. Now is the time for each of us to show courageous leadership, challenge our own thinking, and embrace this important paradigm shift to better Phi Gamma Delta and the fraternity world.

I am very proud to be a Phi Gam.

Fraternally,

Bill Hunnicutt (Texas Arlington 1981), Archon President

Perge!