Congratulations, welcome, and good luck.
You may have heard many stories of old school pledge training and hazing. These terms belong to the past because they represent the teim when physical and mental punishment was considered necessary to force a pledge to transform himself from an adolescent into a man.
We believe that you, the pledge, has already achieved manhood, and therefore only need to be educated in the social, scholastic and historical standards that Phi Gamma Delta represents.
Your status is that of a probationer. We would like to think of each and every one of you as brothers-to-be, for we have chosen all of you; yet membership will not come automatically; it must be earned. You have whown a desire to be a part of the brotherhood of Phi Gamma Delta by your oath and acceptance of your pledge pin. From this point on the active brothers will be testing the sincerity and extent of that desire through your willingness to co-operate with the program we have designed and through your capacity to live up to the human potential which made us choose you as our future brothers.
We do not ask unquestioning submission; nor do we demand that you suspend your critical faculties; criticism is welcome and necessary for accommodating this or any institution to the changes inherent in modern life. We ask only that you channel your questions and criticisms through the pledge training staff; above all place your implicit trust in your pledge trainers; their sole function is to make your assimilation into the brotherhood as efficient and painless as possible. They are the liaison between the brotherhood and the pledge class; they are your staunch advocates at brotherhood meetings. They have voluntarily assumed this time-consuming and vital role because they want to help you.
To reiterate, pledging will not be arduous, but it will demand sacrifices on the part of the pledge; hopefully, the purpose of most of what you will undergo will become readily apparent to you, although some aspects of pledging can only be appreciated from the perspective of an initiated brother. If you are skeptical of what is happening (and remember, criticism is welcome), do not hesitate to make your doubts known to your pledge trainers. At all times bear in mind that we want to be your brothers, but we demand a consistent and tangible token of your desire to become a viable, contributing part of our closely-knit brotherhood; also remember that your opinions will help direct and reform an admittedly imperfect system.
Character and persistence will be your winning formula; understanding and forebearance will make your probationary period lighter and more worthwhile.
List of Pledge Responsibilities
1. Pledges will maintain status as pledges from immediately following Sunday's weekly meeting to Friday 1 PM. On weekends pledges will be treated and are expected to act as brothers.
2. Pledges will enter the fraternity house through the cellar door and exit the same way.
3. Pledges will be required to address all brothers as "Sir" when in the house.
4. Pledges will answer the phone before it rings three times and say "Good evening Phi Gamma Delta may I help you?"
5. Pledges will take care to budget their time more judiciously, so that their school work is done. You are students
first, pledges second. There is no reason why your average should drop, unless you waste time. The files of old tests will
be open to all pledges. Mandatory study hours will be enforced if necessary.
6. Pledges should attend as many house intramural events as possible, unless participating in an intercollegiate sport.
7. If a pledge is to be absent from required attendance of any kind he will be required to have himself excused at least
one day in advance. It is his responsibility to see that one of his pledge brothers will carry out his pledge duties. It
is also his responsibility to notify his pledge brothers of his excuse, so that they may answer a brother's question in that
regard.
8. Pledges will be required to learn, and in some cases memorize, information which the brothers feel is significant.
9. Pledges will entertain the brotherhood at least four times during their probationary period.
10. Pledges will be responsible for correct table manners and proper courtesy to visitors at all times. This is the mark
of a gentleman and a crucial factor in determining chapter tone. Pledges will act as manners monitors at every evening meal
in order to ingrain the knowledge of table manners in their memory, and also to upgrade the active brotherhood's sometimes
careless manners.
11. Pledges will be expected to maintain the appearance of the house and its grounds, and to perform whatever duties this
responsibility entails. The stipulation of such duties is left solely to the discretion of the pledge trainers, the cabinet
and the house and ground chairmen. No pledge will clean a brother's room or perform personal chores for a brother unless
released by a pledge trainer.
12. Pledges will be expected
to light brothers' cigars and cigarettes when in the house and must always carry change of a quarter.
13.
At all times, pledges will behave in such a manner as to reflect honor and respect on their chapter and fraternity.
14. Pledges may not chew gum or smoke in the house.
15. Pledges will wear their pledge pins at all times.
16. Pledges will dress in a jacket and tie on Wednesdays all day.
17. Pledge class will be responsible for providing Targums every day (and mail) at lunch. This duty is to be allocated among
the class by their own arrangement, as will wake-up, snack duty and house duties.
18. The pledge class will ensure that every one of their members is present from 7:00-7:50 every weekday morning for wake-up
duty.
19. The pledge class will ensure that two of their members
are present each night of the week except Friday and Saturday at 10:00 for snack duty.
20. There is only one irrevocable sanction: during the semester the brotherhood, in closed session, will review, with help
of the pledge training staff, the record of each pledge. The vote of the brotherhood must be unanimous in favor of the candidate's
continued association with the house. There is no recourse from a negative vote.