We Don't Pledge
by Kerry Gilliard, ZPBSTimes
Webmaster
Catchy title, huh? :)
At the Collegiate Luncheon during the Eastern Regional Conference
here in Baltimore, Brother Reverend Dr. David Blow mentioned (in the
course of his EXCELLENT keynote address)-"Many of you have heard that
the 'real pledging' begins after you cross over." Prior to this, I've
had the motivation and desire to write this article come to me in
various forms- correspondence from a brother, e-mail from a
disappointed sista and a few other events going on that just sparked
me to write.
Those of you who've been keeping up with all my previous articles as
well as those of you who know me personally know of my stance on
pledging, hazing and intake. If you don't, take a peep at a previous
article- Respect
Your Founders - and you'll get a
pretty good idea :)
Now, on to business. In all of my previous articles on this site,
I've always dealt with problems which existed within all greek letter
organizations and possible solutions. But the problem goes deeper.
Specifically, in Sigma and Zeta, our greatest strength is also our
greatest weakness- diversity. When you bring someone into Sigma and
Zeta (whether they sign in or pledge), you also bring in a person's
mentality. While it is possible to reshape someone's mentality to
certain degree while they are going through their pledge process
(assuming that one pledges instead going through 'intake'), for the
most part, Sigmas and Zetas maintain their individuality after they
cross over. They also maintain their attitudes (even with some
adjustments) toward life and toward the organization.
Keeping this individuality in mind, remember that somewhere down the
line, someone's personalities and attitudes are going to clash. A
properly run pledge process was used as a means for individuals to
learn how to properly work with each other, even in the face of
personal disagreements and conflicts. Cool. But after many crossed
over, they forgot these little 'lessons of life' which were supposed
to be learned during their process.
Keeping this individuality in mind, remember that during a pledge
process, the value of hard work, even at times when we didn't feel
like it, was always stressed. So for 8, 12, 14, 16 weeks, one year,
or however long your process was, you learned to do work even when
you didn't feel like it. And you made sure it was your best work- or
you knew there would be consequences to follow. But after many
crossed over, they forgot these little 'life lessons' which were
learned.
Keeping this individuality in mind, remember that during a pledge
process, it was taught that the organization depended upon it's
membership for survival- a line can't exist without people on it and
contributing to it--- in like fashion, neither can our beloved
organizations continue to exist if folks don't contribute their dues
(which I do believe was part of your responsibility in your
oath....no matter what you pledged). Yet many of these people want to
reap the benefits of being in the organization, wear paraphernalia
and take credit for work done by the small group of members who keep
the organization afloat. If these same people would've done the same
thing while going through their 'pledge' process, they'd have been
considered SKATERS.
Keeping in mind this individuality, remember that our image as an
organization is guarded by the moral uprightness of its' members and
that one bad splotch of publicity brings the hammer down hard on ALL
of us, some still insist on doin' iggnant and unnecessary actions
which continuously place the organization at risk. I'm not just
talking about those chapters who take things 'too far' - I'm also
talking about members bringing litigation against the organization
over frivolous matters, members continuing to bad-mouth and malign
the reputation of others for political gain and our leaders ignoring
the needs of their constituency.
Many people pop up today and wonder why we have so many of these and
other problems in our organizations- why getting someone to attend a
chapter meeting is like pulling teeth- why the same few hundred
people show up for each national or regional convention while the
remaining thousands don't even know the address of headquarters.
It's quite simple.
See, many complain about the intake process and the type of people we
bring into the organization, but we don't do anything to keep those
members that we have active and financial.
Many complain, but all they do is complain. In one breath they'll
condemn 'pledging' and 'hazing', but in the very next they'll think
that by paying dues and showing up at chapter meetings, they've done
their duty to the organization. No service, just pay dues and show
up.
Many complain about the barbaric nature of younger members in how
they carry themselves, yet these same people show up in chapter
meetings and have HATED each other for DECADES- 30....40 years....and
bring chapter meetings to a grinding halt with their constant
arguing.
As a community, many members of BGLO's have forgotten those hard
lessons learned during those 8, 12, 14, 16...etc... weeks while going
through your process. As a result, you've allowed the organization to
fall by the wayside, forcing younger members and the few older
members who are still active, to pick up YOUR slack.
Remember Bro. Blow's comments? The real pledging
begins after you go over?
Well, if we were all engaged in some of that real
pledging now, our dues would be lower, our organizations would not
have such a negative image in the media and the stereotypes which
exist about BGLO's would be minimized.
Plain and simple: We Don't Pledge.
For many, that pledging stopped once we stepped off line and put on
our letters and began to reap the benefits of being in the
organization.
If we were still engaged in that real pledging,
Oprah would have a porkchop stuffed in her face and would be too busy
eating to say anything negative about BGLOs. Okay, that was a little
graphic :) But it's true. She'd be at home on her treadmill still
wishing that DST or whatever organization that rejected her back in
college had accepted her. Similarly, Sinbad wouldn't have KAPsi to
make jokes about on his show. Instead, he'd be wishing they gave him
honorary membership.
If we were still engaged in that real pledging,
getting brothers/sorors to a service project, national/regional
convention or even a chapter meeting would not be akin to pulling
teeth. Even during those times when we didn't feel like doing it,
we'd bust our tails because we knew we had a responsibility with that
oath that we've taken.
If we were still engaged in that real pledging, we
wouldn't be so tied up egotistically in the political system which
has engrossed all of the NPHC organizations- we've spent so much time
on politics, that we've forgotten how to be brothers/sorors--and more
importantly, we've forgotten how to be about SERVICE.
Can this trend be reversed? Of course!!! Anything we love can be
saved. Can it be done with some quick fix new process like they tried
back in 1990 (1989)? Nope!!! It took DECADES for all of these things
to develop. It's going to take at least HALF as long to get things
even partially straightened out. Never the type to complain about
something without bringing solutions, here's a few of the keys to
reversing the trend that most greek letter organizations have been
put into.
Publicity
Fight fire with fire, I always say- Bugs Bunny, 1952
So we've all been getting bad press in the media. How do we fix that?
Simple- give them something GOOD to talk about. The site you are now
visiting is a reminder to all of the critics of NPHC organizations
(including your Malik Sigma Psi's, Groove Phi Grooves, Phi Omicron
Psi's, etc....)- We have PLENTY positive things to say. Speaking for
Sigma, my brothers at Gamma Upsilon Chapter (Delaware State
University) participated successfully in a sleepout for the homeless
(which is a National Program, so other frats don't bite!!) and had a
few write-ups in the local newspapers- my brothers at Xi Alpha
Chapter (Baruch College, NYC) for example- are kickin' it live in the
area of business, do promotions, fliers and graphic design for local
organizations. Entreprenuership! I know that more than a few of the
chapters hitting this page and reading right now have mentorship
programs in place. Why aren't you milking your local media for
publicity about it? (P.S.-when you do document it, make sure you send
copies to your local grad chapter, National Headquarters and to the
editors of the Archon/Crescent).
When you participate in an event (e.g.- Million Man/Woman March,
Walk-A-Thon, Fund Raiser, Feed the Homeless) WEAR PARAPHERNALIA!!!
AWAY with that ignorant notion that wearing paraphernalia too
frequently makes you look like a neo- that's why we have
paraphernalia- so that folks can KNOW that you are a member of a
certain organization and so that your org. can get good publicity
from the good things you do!!!
By the way, with everyone screaming 'www.mywebsite.com', if you tell
them you have a web page, more than likely, they'll visit.......
Back to Pledging
Back to Pledging doesn't just involve the intaking of new members- it
also involves doing things for the members we have existing now. It
means setting about correcting the JACKED UP mentalities of
individuals we have as members and some of those in charge who aren't
doing their job. It means going out and finding those brothers/sorors
who haven't been financial in years and bringing them back into the
fold and putting them to work. It means mending those broken bridges
and old wounds which were inflicted so many years ago by people who
went too far with someone's process or chapters who turned against an
individual for 'political purposes'---brotherhood and sisterhood are
BIGGER than that. Even some older members need to grow up.
It means putting on that precious PBS or ZPB (or insert your
organization here) shirt and hat and heading into the community--not
just a drive-by mentoring program, but something solid so that your
kids' kids will have something to come to when they are growing
up.
It means stepping down from your high and mighty title of leader of
the organization and remembering that you're a regular person just
like the rest of members. I can say without hesitation that Sigma's
national officers have made efforts to reach out toward it's
undergraduate members. Both at Conclave 97 and recently at Sigma's
Eastern Regional Conference, the line between 'grad' and 'undergrad'
was beginning to blur more and more as brothers of all age groups
began to hang and chill together. It almost reminds me of when our
28th National President was STEPPING with us in the lobby of the
hotel at Conclave 97 :)
It means heading out and finding those 'ghost' brothers who had the
heart to pledge Sigma, but never had paperwork, but wanted to have it
straight- they can still be an asset to us. I don't know of any grad
chapter in their right mind that would reject a potential new member
who would want to work for Sigma. I recall one story of a brother who
was made 'ghost' back in Spring of 95, but had no paperwork- he hung
on for the long run until finally, some chapter officers in his area
grad chapter came thru and straightened out his situation, making his
membership pro-active back to Spring of 1995. During the interim,
this brother worked harder for Sigma than many members that I know of
who have their paperwork legit.
I hate to sound like a National Officer, but some people are putting
our organizations at risk with flat out stupid
behavior. Brotherhood/Sisterhood means pulling your brother up or
approaching him/her in a respectful manner when they are doing wrong.
Am I my brother's keeper? DAMN RIGHT!!! I've had brothers pull me up
when I was wrong (not very often..ha ha ha), but couldn't take the
same level of scrutiny and criticism when it was measured back to
them and they fell short (oooohh...do I feel a Matthew 7:1, 2 comin'
on?). Happy and wise is the man who accepts correction and learns
from it (and I speak from experience)- foolish is the one who rejects
it.
I'll leave it at that.