True Brother Initiative

[Tom Earp]

Sorry, but not needed.

[Tom Earp]

Oh, I am not into that either!

Not my thing!

[GammaZeta]

Scientology, oh man! DON'T get me started.

[JonoBN41]

Y'all should read Jon Wood's blog on the True Brother Initiative. It's damn good.

http://voices.crossandcrescent.com/

[GammaZeta]

"my ever-increasing idealism, I’ve been that one brother who’s constantly the buzzkill mentioning things like “ideals” and “practice what you preach”… therefore, I’m afraid that when I go back, I’m going to be confronted with the same brick walls I’ve always been;"

THAT'S the problem with HQ. HQ and it's policies cater to a very specific, small percentage of our general fraternity; the "ideal" brother. 99% of us don't care about "honor" and "courage". We're realists. We're in college, not some knight in some medival fairy book, or some superhero from the 50's.

I hate to say it, but there are always 2 or 3 guys in every chapter that are the same exact personality as the kid that spoke up on a Friday afternoon saying "TEACHER! You forgot to assign our homework for the weekend!"

The same guys that will go up to you while you are drinking on a Friday night and hitting on a chick to say "Remember GammaZeta, we must show true virtue as brothers, even when socializing with the opposite sex. Honor, virtue, honesty...that is a True Brother." DUDE, SHUT UP!!!! Take off you LXA Super Brother Cape for one friggin' night.

But they are the most dedicated. Since they want to continue that dedication, they usually end up working at HQ. Therefore, the programs that are made are targeted at that type of brother, since that is the type of brother that made the program.

If they want a successful program, get the guy that might owe some dues, the guy that may drink a bit too much, the guy with a C average, the guy that doesn't hold office and the guy that misses some meetings. Let the AVERAGE member develop a program for the AVERAGE brotherhood.

There is a balance in the brotherhood. You have the "ideal" brothers that are the most responsible, etc. Then you have the "total fuck-ups", they usually provide comic relief, throw good parties and bring over the girls. But then you have the "average" brother, the guys that go to meetings, help out, do their part and are pretty good guys most of the time, but DON'T go to national meetings, who can't name the members of the High Zeta, don't go and print out the C and C for the whole house the minute it's available. Those are the "True" brothers that I feel the "True Brother" program COMPLETELY excluded.

I guess I am on the bottom average of that type. If I had a choice of going out on a Friday night, getting drunk and hooking up with some bar sluts, or staying in to wake up at 9 a.m. on Saturday to participate in "True Brother".......I'll see you at the bar. You know what, if we asked 100 brothers the same question, I would see 95 brothers at the bar with me.

[Ottor 246]

Originally Posted by GammaZeta

If they want a successful program, get the guy that might owe some dues, the guy that may drink a bit too much, the guy with a C average, the guy that doesn't hold office and the guy that misses some meetings. Let the AVERAGE member develop a program for the AVERAGE brotherhood.

If you want a fraternity full of guys who don't pay dues, drink too much, get bad grades, won't hold office, and miss meetings, that's exactly what you should do. If I had wanted an "AVERAGE brotherhood," I wouldn't have joined Lambda Chi. Try coming up with some party chants that emphasise how average we are. One of my goals as an alumni advisor is to show the undergraduates in our chapter that there is a standard of quality higher than "good enough."

The comments I've been reading on this board (from guys who don't have all the info yet) only serve to remind me how much we really do need TBI. Thank you for that.

[GammaZeta]

Ok, take the time and actually read what I wrote. Did I say that LXA was an average brotherhood? No.....

Now if you read what I said, there are different types of brothers within our fraternity.

Jon Wood is not your average brother, as he even admitted. Within our brotherhood, there are different levels of dedication, willingness, etc. Like I said, there is a small percentage of brothers (maybe 1% - 5%) that are insane with LXA spirit. The kind of guy that goes nuts if one thing is not up to code or within the standards of LXA. Call them the above average brothers. Then there is the average member of LXA (80% - 90%). They take LXA seriously, but they aren't carving the words for 3rd into their chest with a dull butterknife. They are well rounded in grades, socially and have good goals. They are involved with other organizations. They know how to have a good time and not let LXA become a buzzkill. Then there are the below averages. They probably drink too much, miss meetings, but are generally still good people.

The problem is that these programs are made by and for the above average brotherhood. We need something aimed at the average brother. A very simple program, easy to start and a program where everyone can see and realize at least a success. Once they see that initial success, then you move on to the next phase, and so on. Instead of forcing seven values at once, work in 2 or 3 into the regular functions of the chapter. For instance, use DUTY and PERSONAL COURAGE as the theme for Fall 2007 Rush.

DUTY; to enforce the existing members obligations to LXA to fulfill recruitment goals. For new members, establish and gauge that they will in the future uphold those duties.

PERSONAL COURAGE; for existing members, to do something during recruitment that you have never done before. Maybe go up to a group of freshman eating at a table. Or go to your school's orientation and sneak some material to potential members. Expand your boudaries. For new members, try something new, LXA will have a lot of new experiencesk, personal courage will allow you to participate in them.

See, we don't need a whole new inner, outer, seven principle system. That is overload for the average member. We need to focus on 1 or 2 things at a time, apply them to everyday chapter functions.

[GammaZeta]

Oh Honkey, you're just trying to get me going. Nice try.

What I say is the truth. Like it or not. I have been to two international conferences, several regional and I have made it to level 3. I have the certificate with the 3 shiny seals hanging right next to me. I've probably been to more conferences than most members. But what does going to international conferences mean? You traveled a long way to have a presentation? Hanging out with the other brothers was a blast, but most of the time it was just fluff.

See, your argument is to simply insult me, but you have not said one thing to prove me wrong. In fact, you have made my statement stronger. Could you be one of those "extreme" brothers no one likes? You rely on profanity and insults. That is why I will always be a superior brother to you.

And obviously you can't read. So tell me, all brothers are the same in their dedication and support? You don't think there are different levels? So every brother is as dedicated as you? Wow, I would love to see your chapter. Somehow I imagine it to be like a scene from the Stepford Wives. What are you, all zombies or robots?

Maybe your attitude is what almost completely sank HQ in the first place. Follow without question. Accept what is told to you.

You can attack my chapter all you want if it makes you feel better. Considering for the past 20 years we have scored above average on G.P.A, risk management and the North American Food Drive, as well as producing some of the most successful brothers from any chapter, you can only wish you came from the same pedigree as me.

EDIT: Seems that someone has decided to take down Honky's post with foul and filthy language in it. Oh well, I thought it was a great representation of what type of a "true" brother Honky really is, using such disgusting language. It makes me sad that such people are allowed to represent LXA using such horrible language.

[boz130]

Okay, I'm going to get blasted by somebody for this, but here goes: one of the phrases that came out of last week's conference was "beer monkeys". What IHQ is trying to do w/this new initiative is to set us apart from the organizations that attract this type of guy.

This isn't to say that the residents @ 8741 expect us to have a totally alcohol-free organization--they're realists, too. However, there are many men who've used fraternities simply for the fact that it's an automatic outlet for hooking up & getting hammered...not necessarily in that order.

Take this for what it's worth...my alma mater's alumni have no problem attracting 40 guys for a pub crawl. However, when we try to have a meeting for the betterment of the alumni assn., we wind up w/the same 6-8 guys. Where are the others???

What IHQ's trying to do is attract men who are willing to live up to the core ideals set forth by our Rx. Why should this be a problem? We all took the same oaths when we were initiated...seeing the exemplification last week helped to remind us all of what TBI stands for.

Sincerely yours in ZAX,
BF