Quote:
Originally Posted by AGDee
I do find it interesting that these young men are seeing programs like the Balanced Man and Men of Principle type programs as a detriment. It seems to me that the goals of these programs are to help young men become gentlemen, obeying the law, readying themselves for gainful employment in leadership positions and holding high ideals. Is it simply that there is disagreement on how best to attain these goals?
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At its core, the 'Balanced Man Program' is little more than a collegiate versions for the Boy Scouts. I could write a paper on the abomination that is the BMP but haven't really got the time. I'll point out a few....issues, that I have with the program.
"In 1989, SigEp instated the "Balanced Man Program" the BMP, as it is commonly known, is a program which focusses on the development of the individual, rather than the whole group"
This is the exact OPPOSITE of why I joined a fraternity. The BMP shifts the focus away from brotherhood towards the individual and personal gain. In the BMP you go through different 'levels' of brotherhood. A fraternity isn't a video game. Bonds of brotherhood take time, you don't just 'level up'. Each level has different requirements for personal goals (academics, community service, on-campus organizations, etc.) While nice and dandy, these can be accomplished alone and do nothing to promote brotherhood.
"Chapters are accepted into the Balanced Man Program only after an overwhelming majority of the chapter votes to convert from pledging model to Balance Man Project Chapter."
This a complete lie and the opposite of what happens. In almost every case nationals takes a struggling chapter and rather than offer to help, will force them to switch to a a BM program at the threat of removing their charter. Also, nationals won't colonize a new chapter unless they are BMP. The result is that the majority of BMP chapters are houses that are either brand new or are rebuilding from scratch. Of course the first thing nationals tells these chapters to do is get their numbers up. As all of you know its pretty hard to recruit when you already have a bad reputation on campus or none at all, so a lot of these chapters are
extremely generous in their giving of bids (leading to nicknames of Sigma Phi Everyone at a lot of campuses). That open door policy along with the elimination of pledgeship means that people are signing their name, getting their letters, and learning aspects of the ritual right of the back. All of these factors lead to a lack of respect for BMP chapters at many campuses.
I could go on but time does not permit.
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