Encouraging theIntrinsic Worth of theMen At Our Side By: Jackie Hackett, M.A. Assistant Executive Director for Undergraduate Engagement Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority, Psi Chapter
Working for the National Office over the last two years, I?ve heard the Founders?Creed recited countless times, and this section seems to be the favorite amongst members. I?ve even watched some chapters embrace each other while reciting it. Anecdotally, if I were to ask the average member of Phi Mu Delta to identify his favorite part of his Phi Mu Delta experience, most would not pause to think and would respond, ?Brotherhood! The bonds I?ve built with my brothers.? But what does brotherhood mean, what does brotherhood look like in the 21st century, and how is it built between each other and within our chapters? The word fraternity comes from the word ?phrata,? a Greek word meaning friendship and fellowship. A fraternity is a group of men with common values, goals, and aspirations who 31
Fall 2018 | The Triangle
make a commitment to each other, for life, to better themselves through strong academic achievement, civic engagement, and leadership and personal development. This definition seems pretty straight forward (though slightly superfluous) and relatable to most fraternity men. The members that form a fraternity share their efforts, friendship, and knowledge, and together they learn, grow, and make the fraternity stronger.
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?I Believe in Brotherhood... brotherhood that reaches beyond the limits of Phi Mu Delta and welcomes every man as my brother. I believe in the intrinsic worth of the man at my side, and in his ability to make good and justify my faith in him.?
Themembers that forma fraternity sharetheir efforts, friendship, and knowledge, and together they learn, grow, and makethe fraternity stronger.
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In 2011, I was reluctantly entering my second semester of my freshman year and was desperate to find a friend group. I was shy, afraid to talk to people, and felt anxious trying to
make sure I said the right thing in order to impress that one person who just might become my friend. My first semester was full of loneliness and self-doubt. I watched my high school friends and twin sister live the college dream through social media: the apparent balance of finding friends, going to classes, going out on the weekends, and seemingly doing college ?right?. I think everyone has experienced this feeling to some degree? the FOMO (fear of missing out) of not understanding why you?re not connecting with people on a level that makes you feel valued and understood and watching others around you seem to do it with ease. For me, the first time I felt like I found ?my people? was in my chapter, but it wasn?t until I was an upperclassman, that I understood this thing called ?sisterhood? and how my sorority sisters were my friends first and then my sisters. As a non-member working for Phi Mu Delta Fraternity, I have the unique ability to observe the chapters and members objectively. There are parts of Phi Mu Delta that I am jealous of? the true national feel, the
