Balanced Men at Yale

An article in the Yale student Paper about fraternities' attempts to move toward more a positive association with schools, students, and parents. Sig Ep is not the only group discussed, but they have most of the article.

Through the enforcement of the Balanced Man program in the nation's largest fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon -- along with Sigma Alpha Epsilon's True Gentlemen and Beta Theta Pi's Men of Principle programs, among others -- major fraternities are attempting to eliminate the negative stigma sometimes associated with the Greek scene. Each of these initiatives stresses academics, etiquette and service.

Yale College Dean of Student Affairs Betty Trachtenberg said the nationwide movement to make fraternities more gentlemanly could be attributed to an attempt to limit behavior for which the national chapters may be held legally responsible.
[...]
David Graziano, director of the Balanced Man Initiative at the SigEp National Fraternity, said the program was developed in the early 1990s to encourage many college chapters to reform their lax alcohol policies.
[...]
SigEp President Yohannes Abraham '07 said the program is a continuous part of the brothers' development during his years in the fraternity and that the credo helps them become better people. In his fraternity, he said, a pledge process is not even necessary because by identifying standout members of the student body, SigEp is able to maintain the quality of the group.

"We are not just trying to put forward an image," he said. "We are trying to recruit good, thoughtful people and productive members of the Yale community."
[...]
Many Yale students said they have noticed and appreciated the enforcement of the Balanced Man program and the effect that it has had on the personality of the fraternity. Josh Blair '09, who pledged SigEp this fall, said he knew about the Balanced Man program when he decided to join and was attracted by the unique experience that the fraternity could offer him.

"Part of the reason that I joined SigEp was because it is the 'gentlemanly' frat," he said. "I knew that it wasn't just about getting wasted on a Saturday. It's also about getting to know a well-rounded group of guys with lots of diverse interests, whether it be athletics, community service or academics."

yaledailynews.com - Fraternities attempt to rehabilitate their image

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