New Member Education:
New Member Education (often referred to as Pledging) is a major concern for many potential Greek Members. Based on popular media and stories, that is certainly a legitimate concern.
Cornell has a very strict anti-hazing policy, as does New York State. If a chapter is caught for hazing they will be immediately reported to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs as well as the Judicial Board. If they are found guilty of a hazing offense, it is publicly noted and the chapter risks losing its recognition from the university.
A very informative site regarding hazing at Cornell and the resources that are available can be found at http://www.hazing.cornell.edu.
“This is one group of a new member trip that went to New York City. All 27 of us went in small groups—to different places—to be able to get close to a couple guys in our pledge class that we did not really know as well as we knew other members of our pledge class.”
This being stated, many fraternity members find the new member education period to be very important and will be happy to tell you how much it helped them bond with their whole pledge class. Some valuable things you can learn from your new member education period include:
- Leadership– Everyone, at one point or another during their pledge period, will have to show and/or develop their leadership skills.
- Friendship – The bonds you will create during your pledging period will be some of the strongest you will ever have in your life. This is the reason so many alumni come back year after year to visit what has always meant so much to them.
- History – You will learn the history of your chapter and your fraternity. This often provides an amazing prospective of how many great achievements have occurred thanks to the members of your fraternity.
- Pride – You will gain a pride in your fraternity for all of the accomplishments and prominent alumni it has created over the course of its existence. You will also be proud of yourself for completing your new member education and for being a part of something so much bigger than any one individual.
Brothers gather for a New Member brotherhood broomball event
"Pledging helped us respect the house we now live in and the brothers we now call our own." -Peter Cherebini
"Pledging taught me the meaning of group unity and brotherhood" - Chris Blunda
“I realized quickly that pledging was going to take dedication. Just like anything else worth doing, it was worth putting in the effort. Never in my life have I been forced to learn time-management skills like during my pledge process. Since then I have been able to take on new endeavors including a job on campus and dance troupes and its all thanks to the ability to prioritize and organize my life, which I never would have learned without pledging.” - German Posada
“I started pledging, nervous about what was gonna happen, watched Old School a few times, got more scared, but it turned out to be just another time commitment” -Anonymous
Every spring there is an IFC New Member Olympics. This involves a series of events including a track relay, pie eating contest, basketball tournament, and tug-of-war. This always proves to be a thrilling event filled with excitement and passion, often helping to strengthen the bonds within a pledge class.
The 2006 IFC New Member Olympics Champions
During Rush Week, make sure to ask chapters about any concerns you have regarding their new member education process.