I'd like to thank all of the Brothers that have supported the efforts to the Texas Delta Chapter about us reinforcing our commitments to welcome all members without restrictions, especially Brothers Schurg, Kief, St. John, Hailey, Davenport, Hesp, Schuler, and Samiano.
The advice will be taken to heart.
However, I believe there still needs to be more significant change in how SigEp runs our Rituals.
Take for example handicap parking spaces. Everyone knows they exist among all the regular parking spaces whether you go to campus or shopping or pretty much wherever you go. Usually you don't always see them being used, but they serve their purpose when the occasion arises.
We should view our Ritual in the same way. Originally, I included deaf and blind Brothers into the mix but I realized that physically disabled Brothers need to have a Ritual catered to them and their chapters.
There are 260 chapters around the nation that perform the Ritual pretty much in the same consistent way with certain variations i.e., size of the room, number of spectators, etc. but the way it's performed is all in a standard procedure as written in the Ritual Guide. But keep in mind, these procedures are for "normal" Brothers who can hear and see and walk. However, if every chapter had a blind Brother, a deaf Brother and a physically disabled Brother, not only would you see maybe 900 different ways the Ritual is performed for them but total confusion within chapters and people saying, "I totally forgot about that! How are we going to do this?" at the last minute.
When we performed our Sigma Ritual for our deaf Brother, we simply had him read the Ritual Guide not knowing we could have an ASL interpreter present at the Ritual. But imagine every chapter not knowing what to do in these situations. And that is the main point I'm trying to get at. There must be a consistent and proper procedure that helps chapters from being confused and unsure of what to do, especially at the last minute.
The information I got from Brother Schurg helps a lot but it's also a matter of how do we still perform the Ritual with the interpreter present? If it's all outlined and in written form, it would help chapters monumentally. I've been through a lot of Rituals including performing at the CLA in Houston last year and have a very good understanding of it, but honestly, I wouldn't even know where to start even if we do have the interpreter available.
I believe the Grand Chapter should work together with the Fraternity's best Ritual experts, especially those who've worked with disabled Brothers and those Brothers who are disabled and create a more uniform way of performing Rituals under each condition. Many chapters may never use these alternatives but going back to the handicapped parking space, it's not always used but it's there when it's needed.
Of course this will not affect our Ritual in its entirety but its purpose is for those who need it and those who are worthy to learn our knowledge. Alternate written copies could be kept at Headquarters and distributed to those chapters who need it. It's better to work now to ensure the future of this Fraternity can become even stronger than before with each and every Brother that enters our doors instead of running into the same problems over and over without any set solution.
Again, we should ensure standard procedures within the Ritual for whenever the occasion arises. We'll be thankful that it's there and that Brother will be proud to be a Brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon with all rights and responsibilities the day he becomes a member.
Hopefully the Ritual Committee at Conclave will discuss this, and hopefully those members involved can continue writing history not only among SigEp but send waves of impact across the Greek community.
Provided I'm out of Boot Camp for the Marine Corps in time during the summer, I would be very proud to attend my second Conclave in Tennessee and meet up with my old Ruck Bros and all the other Brothers around the country we've welcomed to our homes in the past few years.
And speaking of serving in the military, go to the Brothers in Arms site to ensure your Brothers are recognized for their services. Only ten are recognized so far but I know that there are hundreds serving in a different kind of Brotherhood for our country.
Thank you all.
In Phi,
Terry Chung
Director of Leadership Development
Texas Delta Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon
University of Houston
Thanks, Terry. We need to remember it is the "Ritual and Guide" that we use and follow. It is incumbent on the Brotherhood to see that it serves All brothers.
