When I was elected 70th Grand Consul this past July, my hope and intention was that Sigma Chi would continue on the path we’ve been on the last several years and stabilize our forward plan without the need to drastically alter our approach. Unfortunately, 2017 proved to be an especially challenging year in the fraternity world. Events across the country have caused fraternities everywhere to take a moment to reflect upon our relevance today, and for the many tomorrows to come. I’m writing to ask for your support as we tackle some of the most critical issues within our industry.

Media was dominated by negative headlines about our industry over the past year, increasing by 40 percent in the fall of 2017 compared to the previous year. We read about the tragic deaths of four pledges in other fraternities that were caused, in part, by the toxic mix of hazing and alcohol. Two dozen forms of campus-wide shutdowns took place in 2017, and more are reportedly on the way. The 66 member fraternities of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) are collectively losing one chapter per day in response to the unacceptable behavior of young men. These trends are troubling and present significant obstacles to our ability to continue thriving as we’ve done for the past 162 years.

Though the scrutiny of the fraternal industry focused primarily upon the high-profile events that took place throughout 2017, Sigma Chi did not make it through unscathed. Throughout the 2016 to 2017 academic year, three Sigma Chis and one pledge tragically passed away as a result of separate incidents where substance misuse or abuse was at least a factor. Additionally, we dealt with a record number of conduct cases from our undergraduate ranks, the bulk of which involved alcohol misuse or other health and safety concerns, and the most concerning of which involved at least two occasions where pledges nearly died as a result of excessive alcohol consumption. Even with the Fraternity-wide implementation of the new Preparation for Brotherhood (P4B) pledge program, hazing continues to rear its head throughout our organization.

A number of promising and creative ideas have been proposed and piloted by the NIC, and Sigma Chi has been, and will continue to be, supportive of those measures. In the spirit of change, I convened an emergency meeting of Sigma Chi’s Executive Committee on Dec. 9 at our International Headquarters. In total, 23 men, who are fraternity leaders in their own right, came together to tackle the two most pressing subjects that threaten our future success: hazing and alcohol abuse. Our working group included Executive Committee members, Headquarters leadership, elected Grand Officers, alumni, undergraduates, recent International Balfour Award winners, representatives from the Sigma Chi Foundation and members of our programming board.

In keeping with the theme of the 2017 to 2019 biennium, I asked the Executive Committee to “Expect More” – derived from the sentiment of our Founders’ Ritual that the world expects more of Sigma Chi members than it does of others – of themselves, our Fraternity, our undergraduates and brothers everywhere. I charged them with developing a strategy that would make Sigma Chi a leading voice on these important issues and help ensure that every member has a fraternal experience that is conducive to his development, supportive of his noble interests and encouraging of his pursuit of a better self.

At the end of our meeting, the committee adopted four specific policy changes and reinforced our longstanding policies on alcohol and drugs. Over the last two days, more than 1,000 brothers – Grand Officers, undergraduate chapter officers, alumni chapter officers, house corporation officials and key Fraternity volunteers – joined us in a series of webinars aimed at communicating these important policy changes. I wanted to be sure that every Sigma Chi received this important message, so that you are made aware of what the future of Sigma Chi will look like. You can review the new policy changes and reinforcements, along with explanations and FAQs on our website: sigmachi.org/policychanges. In summary, they are as follows:

1. Prohibition of hard alcohol in chapter facilities, effective Feb. 1, 2018.
   • Between Feb. 1, 2018, and Aug. 1, 2018, chapters may still have social events on the premise of chapter facilities where hard alcohol is served, but only if it is served by a licensed and insured third-party vendor.
2. Mandate that chapter pledge education programs not exceed a period of five weeks in duration, effective Aug. 1, 2018.
   • Chapters are still required to conduct the Fraternity’s Preparation for Brotherhood (P4B) pledge program. It is imperative for all chapters to send representation to this year’s Balfour Leadership Training Workshop to learn about the modified P4B program.
3. Elimination of alcohol at social events during the period when chapters are undergoing recruitment or pledging, effective Aug. 1, 2018.
   • Individual members who are of legal drinking age in their jurisdiction are not prohibited from consuming alcohol, but chapters are instructed to take great effort to ensure that they follow both the Fraternity and school rules regarding classification of a “chapter event” during both recruitment and pledging.
4. Cap on the size of social events by limiting the number of guests that each undergraduate can have at them to three, effective Aug. 1, 2018.
   • This 3:1 ratio applies to any event where the chapter itself either organizes the event or participates in it as a derivative of the chapter’s efforts.
5. Additionally, Sigma Chi announced a reinforcement of its long-standing prohibition of the presence of alcohol in connection with recruitment and pledging events of any kind.

Culture change is never easy, and that sentiment will ring true as Sigma Chi embarks on this new era. Yet, we are resolved to eliminate the antithetical behaviors that have so unfortunately become coupled with the idea of being a fraternity man. Sigma Chi was founded on the principles of friendship, justice and learning. Since our humble beginnings in 1855, Sigma Chi has been on a mission to make the world a better place through the impact of many men working together toward that common purpose. The time to make our actions congruent with our beliefs is here, and only by doing so will we ever be able to come close to contributing to that mission that our seven Founders set as our course.

Brother, I offer one last admonition: Our undergraduates will need our support now more than ever. I hereby call upon every living Sigma Chi to step forward to assist our young men in perpetuating our order in whatever way you may be able. A new day is dawning and I truly hope that every Sigma Chi who has taken our principles and virtues to heart will step forward to answer that call.

As your Grand Consul, I promise that you can expect more of me. I charge our undergraduate men to expect more of themselves, and I call upon all Sigma Chis everywhere to be a part of the journey our great Fraternity is on to expect more of itself.

In Hoc Signo Vinces,

W. Thomas Geddings Jr.

SOUTH CAROLINA 1985

70th Grand Consul