FAQ: After Joining

What happens when I join?

When you join SigEp, you immediately become a full member of the fraternity and you begin learning more about the Balanced Man Program and the national fraternity. Hopefully, though, you will have already been friends with and talking to many of the current brothers in SigEp before you joined so it will be a smooth transition to joining the fraternity and you can jump right in to coming to meetings and helping out with fraternity programs.

What's a Pledge?

Pledging is not a component of SigEp. What follows is a general description of a "pledge" and "pledging."

Most generally, "pledge" is a word used to describe a person trying to become part of a fraternity (who has pledged to join) but still has to experience or take part in some type of process or ritual before they can become full members. This process, often called pledge training, is used to accomplish various things for different fraternities, but is regarded as the necessary procedure in which all new members must partake. A pledge is technically not a full member of the fraternity until pledge training is complete. SigEp has a different approach to this process. There are no pledges in our system and new members are full brothers from the point at which they join the fraternity. Instead of pledge training we have the Balanced Man Program which every member of the fraternity takes part in for their entire time at MIT.

How does the Balanced Man Program (BMP) differ from Pledge Training?

The Balanced Man Program (BMP) is very different from traditional pledge training. First, pledge training can last anywhere from a few weeks to several months and is specifically geared towards pledges whereas the BMP is designed to last throughout your entire undergraduate career at MIT. The BMP has different tracks geared towards the different levels that the brothers are at in any given situation. For example, the BMP program for younger brothers (such as freshmen) is aimed at guaranteeing those brothers become comfortable and familiar with MIT, and what the best ways are to take advantage of all the opportunities MIT has to offer. For seniors, the BMP changes its focus to post-MIT opportunities and planning for the future. Seniors might learn about investing money, various job opportunities, and the values of having an Alumni Mentor to help guide them with their decisions regarding a career or further education.

What's the situation with the Fraternity House?

SigEp currently owns two houses across the street from each other on Beacon Street in Boston. The houses are currently being rented out and will begin renovation by next year. Right now, all the brothers are living on campus for several reasons. First, it's important to separate the strength of a fraternity from the attractiveness of having a fraternity house and owning property. As we work to build our new fraternity and re-establish ourselves at MIT, living on campus will help us achieve this separation while still keeping in mind that in the future there will be two fraternity houses in Boston waiting for us when our fraternity is ready. Another good reason for us living on campus is that is keeps us more connected to MIT. One of the values of our fraternity is campus involvement and what better way, as we are starting up our new fraternity to be involved in campus than living on campus and being able to recruit guys who are living in the same dorms as we are.