Sigma Chi
Ripon
Become a Brother
Why Sigma Chi?
The fundamental purpose of the Sigma Chi Fraternity is the cultivation, maintenance and accomplishment of the ideals of Friendship, Justice and Learning within our membership.
Sigma Chi Fraternity best serves its purpose by developing, implementing and monitoring programs that foster leadership, build character and promote positive relationship skills that, in turn, enable our members to become productive and caring participants in their families, colleges and communities.
What is Recruitment?
Fraternity Recruitment is a time for undergraduates to evaluate the fraternities at their university. It’s an exciting and enjoyable Greek Tradition – you meet people, make friends, and generally have fun. While you’re having fun, take a moment to consider the ideals, personalities, and actions of the brothers of the fraternities you’re rushing. Find the one that most closely fits your own philosophy and style. Perhaps, Sigma Chi will be that Fraternity. Here at Ripon, alcohol is forbidden from all recruitment activities. This means that there will be no alcohol present at rush events by any fraternity. Some fraternities chose to disregard this rule, and use alcohol to aide in their recruitment efforts. Some even depend on alcohol to gain new members. We at Sigma Chi, in the interest of our chapter and the future of our fraternity, chose to follow this rule and will not use alcohol to recruit future brothers.
Who makes up Sigma Chi?
Sigs come from all walks of life. Our fraternity is composed of a diverse group of individuals who possess different temperaments, talents and convictions. The bond that binds members of Sigma Chi together is one of true brotherhood. We’re very proud to be a fraternity that does not make members fit any sort of mold; rather, the road towards brotherhood is one of becoming closer to who you truly are, and that is the essence of Sigma Chi. We have over 300,000 members, 233 active undergraduate chapters, and 126 alumni chapters throughout the United States and Canada, making us the largest and one of the strongest fraternities in the world. You may know some of our brothers already, but not even know it — John Wayne, Brad Pitt, David Letterman, Mike Ditka, and Merlin Olsen are all Sigs, among other famous alumni. Though we are proud of all our brothers, the ones most important to you are those who are already in your life. Several of our brothers have reconnected with family members or old friends when they found out that they, too, were a Sig. Even complete strangers have approached us, noticing our Sigma Chi apparel in an airport or a strange city, and offered a friendly greeting and hospitality. These moments are some of the greatest parts of being a Sig.
What are “Bids”?
A bid is an invitation to join a fraternity, and every fraternity uses different criteria and methods to issue bids to prospective members. Generally, the rule is this: If the brothers of a fraternity see characteristics in you that suggest you’d make a good brother and fit well within their chapter, they’ll extend an invitation to join their fraternity, a “Bid.” Once you receive a bid, you are not obligated to join. You can visit as many fraternities as you like, and even if every single fraternity gives you a bid to join, you don’t have to. Do what you feel, because hey, it’s your choice. Once you decide to accept a bid, you are then obligated to become a new member of that fraternity, and will be enrolled in the new member education program.
Will I be hazed?
Just as we don’t depend on alcohol to recruit new members, we don’t depend on hazing to form a true and strong brotherhood either. We believe that joining a fraternity should make one’s college experience memorable – not miserable. Unlike many fraternities, we believe in the inherent value of all individuals and subsequently, we treat others with respect and dignity. Pledging, we feel, should be a process of learning, inspiration, and achievement – not one of hazing, degradation, or humiliation. After all, why would friends, let alone future brothers, treat you in such a way? Hazing is nothing but contradictory to the goals of new member education and your life-long experience in Sigma Chi.
_HEIC.png)
Grades come first for me, will I have time to join a fraternity?
The simple answer is yes. Talking to many of our active brothers, you’ll find that we all had the same concerns coming into college. Sigma Chi is not here to take over your life, it is here to support you and offer a network of 100's of brothers from Ripon College as well as 220,000 living brothers internationally to help you achieve your goals. Our leadership development program is designed to ensure that you will thrive scholastically during your new member education journey, requiring weekly study hours as well as connecting you to brothers who have most likely taken your classes before! Many brothers experienced their best GPA of their college career during new member education and have also had constantly increasing GPAs since joining Sigma Chi. So how much time is required? As a Sigma Chi new member, meetings are usually only twice a week, at a time most convenient to all new members. Again, we’re here to ensure that your entire college career is a success in every possible way. Grades come first and this is reflected in all aspects of our Fraternity.