Secrecy Article

[Coramoor]

Unless the GF decides it wants to add another 'First' to the list.

Although this first will definitely lead to our last.

[ECUJacob]

I'm making a roadtrip to Oxford this weekend. Maybe I'll be able to ask some of the GF staff their thoughts on the subject.

[Coramoor]

ECU,

I'd just warn you. Don't believe what a person says, only what their actions are. Obviously it's already being debated at a National level to reveal our brotherhood traditions. If anyone tells you not to worry about it, they are lying.

[furmanbeta]

I've pretty much got to agree with Coramoor on this one. What reason would there possibly be to author this article if the possibility of publishing our fraternal secrets did not exist? Answer, none.

I've only been a member of our good and great fraternity since 2002, but I will definitely say that I don't like the way things have been headed as of late. The General Fraternity (and by the GF I basically mean the staff of the AO, as well as the trustees) have sought too much oversight in recent years. They are removing chapter autonomy, making us evermore like sororities. Seems like the next logical step in the progression would be to just eliminate all secrets, the way most of them have.

I've personally met a number of the gentleman who it might seem I am disparaging. Every member of the AO staff and Board that I have met is certainly a good man, however, they are also misguided by self-delusion. Unfortunately, the issues that I previously mentioned will continue to perpetuate given the appointment of our new Administrative Secretary. For the record, I have met Jud Horras and had a very serious discussion with him at 2005 Conventon. He is certainly a proponent of the current path of the fraternity, which is likely a major factor in his hiring, and will most certainly continue to maintain our current course.

Something has got to be done about all of this. You took upon yourselves the same obligations as I. Think back to that and then determine whether or not the releasing of our secrets should be allowed.

[Coramoor]

Furman, you hit the nail on the head.

The appointment of Judson has really disturbed me. I mean, the Admin. Sec. is an extremely important position. Basically he runs the show in between Conventions, and if he makes a decision that 99% of the chapters disagree with...there really is not a way to address it until the next Convention and often by that time it is too late.

Out of the tens of thousands of Beta Alumni, hiring someone from within the AO that has practically nil real world experience in leadership or consulting...it really goes to show that those currently running the GF are not willing to entertain other thoughts on how to improve Beta.

Honestly I see this as a huge threat to the fraternity as a whole. They might have good intentions...but the road to hell is paved with them.

[EE-BO]

Jud's not a bad guy- he is very honest and up front about his views and vision for the fraternity. And by all accounts he did a great job in RM. He is young for the General Secretary role, but I think has the potential to excel.

I actually went to bed early tonight for once to get some rest and I could not sleep for thinking about all of this. And the answer kind of hit me a few minutes ago- an answer anyway, surely not THE answer. But hopefully one more step forward.

This secrecy question, worrying about Jud and much else some of us/all of us are concerned with comes down to two separate matters. This will be a long post, but hopefully useful.

First- there is the question of big picture vision and philosophy. In other words- where does Beta want/need to go from here? What keeps us thriving 10, 20, 30 or 40 years from now?

On this question, I think General Fraternity (GF) and guys like Jud are right.

10 years ago when I was an active, one semester we had 2 guys pledge who were superstars. At the time Beta was a solid to upper mid-tier fraternity on campus, and these guys had been rushing at all the top houses. But they chose Beta.

Well, 2 months later they depledged because pledgeship placed absurd demands on their time for purposes that were not academically oriented at all. They were both in very difficult majors, which did not help either.

Both those guys pledged in the spring at a more socially prominent fraternity and did great things there.

There is something very wrong with that. And it happened to us more than once- just that this one key instance has stayed with me forever because one of those guys actually came to me directly to say why he was depledging even though he did not want to.

This is a big part of why my chapter lost a huge house we had owned for decades in the late 1990s. And it is the story of many chapters of Beta and other fraternities.

Fast forward to this past fall.

We had a guy pledge who was in one of the most competitive majors there is at my alma mater. He was worried about the time commitment involved, but the way the actives run the chapter today- he quickly found that he could have it all and do very well.

He was initiated and is already in office doing an absolutely incredible job- and his grades have never suffered. And there are others like him. The majority of our membership is now composed of guys in majors that require a lot of work.

The change in my chapter from then to now is the result of many things- in no small part how difficult it has become to get into college here and how competitive the top programs are- but I think we serve our actives today far better than in my time.

It does not mean that I have any less regard for any of my brothers from "back in the day". We were college students having fun. We were proud to be Betas and each of us made our own choices about what to prioritize.

But at the same time, there was not a culture of balance that came forth from the active chapter and was sustained by alumni and GF. The desire has to exist within the active chapter, but alumni and GF play a big role in providing support for a more balanced approach.

This is why I think things like RTS (though I would tweak it a bit) and promoting a more academic mindset are important.


Part 2- How do you get there? What is the right path? And this is where I think the real conflict rests. I have yet to meet a Beta who thinks the idea of promoting academics is bad- but how we do it is where things get tricky.

I think the concept of MPI was very well conceived. And I also have a lot of regard for our RM policy. GF gives us a lot more room to self-govern than many other fraternities are allowed.

But nothing is every static- there is motion at all times. Right now there is concern that motion is approaching a point of excessive governance and an attempt to force fundamental change- and in some ways I agree it appears that way.

The answer, I think, is to get involved. Friends of Beta are a good thing in a certain capacity, but if you don't like non-Betas advising your chapter, step up and take on the job.

I defended the GF and Miami of Ohio leadership in that thread on the recent meltdown over there because what happened was in line with what the vast majority of active members of the chapter wanted. That was self-governance in action.

But not every chapter is Miami of Ohio- in terms of the actives, the alumni and the character of the school itself.

On the big issues like exposing our secrets, we will get to vote on that at Convention and the will of the majority will have the final say. And all who love Beta will take that decision and move forward.

But for smaller issues and the general position of a chapter, if we want GF to see a more flexible approach is possible- then we have to show them results.

GF has decades of proof that a certain direction was not working. So they are trying something new.

It falls to individual chapters to show that it is possible to take many paths to get to the final direction we all agree on.

My chapter will never be another Miami of Ohio- but the guys pay their bills, get good grades, work hard at recruitment, attend leadership conferences and engage in many philanthropic activities.

And we have ELCs and a GF that respect us and give us their ear when we have questions or need guidance. I personally as an advisor have had a lot of support and help from GF on many fronts.


Long story short- I try not to obsess too much over one proposed issue. Yes, there is a very fiery and strong debate to be had about releasing our secrets- but it is way too soon to throw in the towel and assume we are doomed. Big stuff like this is not imposed- we have to approve it. And if the majority approve it, it will be because compelling arguments in favor of such a move prevailed.

I do not think such arguments exist, but we will see.

[Oldest_Pledge]

This is all very intersting. If other GLOs are talking about being "open," I can understand our AO also looking at the issue.

In my only dealings with AO in 1983-84, I found them cold and un-caring. I was one of three pledges for the Spring 83 term at the Indiana State University colony. We had no visible help from our nearby chapters. I saw no Alum Advisors, District person or anyone from the AO.

Our class decided that we would make the trip to the Convention that summer for our initiation. Well, I got orders for some extra Army training (I was in the Reserves to pay pay for college) and I was unable to go.

At the convention, our colony was closed. When we returned to school that Fall all attempts to have me initiated by the three area chapters were politely declined. And I sent several letters to the AO asking for some help. Those went unanswered.

Then 20 years later, I met a great Beta who took it upon himself to see that this error was corrected and I was given an opportunity to join a pledge class at another university and placed on the General Fraternity roles.

[ECUJacob]

ECU,

I'd just warn you. Don't believe what a person says, only what their actions are. Obviously it's already being debated at a National level to reveal our brotherhood traditions. If anyone tells you not to worry about it, they are lying.

I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't worry about. On the contrary, I'm saying that if/when this proposal is made to the student body, it will be up to the voting delegates at Convention and not one member of the AO or Board of Trustees.

After speaking with a few AO brothers, I am confident that the article does not speak for 100% of them. I believe the majority will agree with us when we say that our secrets are best kept where they are: in our ritual. If someone wants to know what we're about, we have plenty of publications and websites to show them.