Greeks give pledging a makeover

Your mission is to buy a beautiful, flawless diamond engagement ring and not get screwed on… Your mission is to buy a beautiful, flawless diamond engagement ring and not get screwed on the price.

Sound terrifying?

Not to the brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon. As part of their Balanced Man program, they recently went to a jeweler in Squirrel Hill and set up an information session about buying diamonds.

SigEp is the largest fraternity in the country, and it is setting out to turn college boys into balanced men.

Pitt’s chapter of SigEp just implemented the Balanced Man program in the fall 2004, but it is adding more “balanced” activities to its calendar with each passing month.

The program has resume workshops, etiquette dinners with sororities and “etiquette professionals,” paintball excursions and tours of Pittsburgh to acquaint the younger brothers with the city.

In the fall, the brothers plan to go whitewater rafting and have a “queen of karaoke” competition that will benefit UPMC cancer centers.

They are involved in volunteer efforts on campus, and they encourage their brothers to occupy themselves with things other than Greek life.

The Balanced Man is changing the image of how fraternities admit members.

“SigEp nationally is trying to eliminate pledging or hazing,” said Brian Katze, president of Pitt’s chapter of SigEp.

Usually, fraternities require incoming members to pledge for a whole semester before becoming members. The Balanced Man program, however, eradicated pledging and gives brothers full rights and responsibilities from day one.

“The pledging process has its problems,” SigEp’s vice president of member development Shea Betz said. “The Balanced Man program keeps members involved.”

The program is broken down into four steps. The first step, Sigma, lasts about six weeks and allows for adjustment into fraternity life.

Phi, the second step, allows the brothers to continue personal growth by requiring them to be involved in another student organization other than the fraternity.

Step three, Epsilon, includes mostly brothers who are juniors and seniors and encourages getting people involved on campus, as well as developing skills for beyond college, such as gaining internships, writing resumes and lessons on interview etiquette.

The fourth and final step, Brother Mentor, includes mostly seniors who mentor younger brothers, as well as developing personal goals such as getting a job or admittance into graduate school.

“[Balanced Man] programming is a lot better because it gives you more,” Katze said. “It enhances your college experience.

“It allows you to change with the times like pledging doesn’t.”

While alcohol is allowed, SigEp holds alcohol-free events as well as part of the Balanced Man program.

Betz said that there are fewer alcohol-related incidents because of “the type of people [the Balanced Man program] attracts.”

“I have no problem studying at our house,” he added. “People aren’t drinking every night of the week.”

The program also focuses heavily on academics. SigEp nationally is the only fraternity with a grade point average of more than 3.0, according to an article from Time Magazine.

Katze said that when he came to college, he wasn’t even planning on joining a fraternity, but the Balanced Man program made SigEp seem more attractive than other fraternities.

Next fall, SigEp plans to implement the Balanced Man scholarship to increase recruitment of people who fit the Balanced Man profile.

Andrew Stryker, SigEp’s vice president of recruitment, said that the scholarship “rewards people with high ideals.”