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Brother Earp,
Thanks for your reply.
I don't think there is any intention by IHQ to discount or ignore
alumni. Quite the opposite -- this initiative was done by alumni,
with almost no involvement by HQ or the GHZ, other than giving their
approval. This idea originated with some alumni who had worked on the
Graduation Ritual committee (of which I was a member, but not a major
contributor). That committee had been formed for the purpose of
creating a graduation ritual that would encourage members to be more
involved as alumni. Among the things discussed by the committee was
the fact that while we talk a lot about the ideals of the Fraternity,
we never say much about what those ideals are. This is partly due to
the fact that they were stricken from the Paedagogus out of concern
that Associates might be required to memorize anything that was
presented as a list, and that could be considered hazing.
I realize that there was a period in our history wherein alumni were
considered an unfortunate by-product of fraternity that generally
served to impede progress. While there were probably some that were
an obstacle to the elimination of hazing and to the responsible use of
alcohol, quite a number of good people were driven away, as well. I
believe our current leadership understands the importance of alumni
involvement, and is trying to address this with things like the
Graduation/Alumni ritual and, indeed, the True Brother Initiative.
Does the primary objection come from potential misconceptions due to
the name itself? -- the idea that there will be some brothers that are
"true brothers" and others that are not? That is clearly not the
intention, and I think the organizers are working to make sure that
that is not the case.
In ZAX,
Ed
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