PARENTS

Dear Parent,

Greetings from the headquarters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon! As the parents or guardians of an SAE member, we would like to share some of the information that we hope you will find valuable as the school year begins.

We are pleased to have your son as a part of our brotherhood, an organization comprised of more than 12,000 undergraduates, over 206,000 living alumni, and 218 collegiate chapters. Our Mission is to advance the highest standards of friendship, scholarship, leadership and service for our members throughout life. We are committed to your son’s personal growth, leadership development, and health and safety through our educational programs and communication resources. We also provide a variety of other services, such as scholarships and other award programs.

Membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon also comes with responsibilities. Each member is expected to uphold and emulate our creed, the True Gentleman. We hope you’ll also take a moment to read it. In addition, our Ritual provides young men with the values and teachings to guide them through life.

Some important things we want you to know about SAE:

Brothers from the Start

In 2014, Sigma Alpha Epsilon became the first Fraternity to take the bold step in eliminating “pledging” for new members, recognizing that class distinction was not building brotherhood. Today, our young men are issued an invitation “bid” of membership and are to be initiated as full brothers within 96 hours of its acceptance.

We do not believe in or support hazing of any kind. If we are alerted to its occurrence, we take every action possible to hold individuals or chapters accountable while helping correct the course. In August 2018, as a part of our National Leadership School, we hosted and coordinated an educational program titled “Love Mom and Dad.” We have encouraged every member, alumnus, volunteer, and university administrator to watch it. You’ll find a short five-minute version and an extended 20-minute version (which also has a facilitation guide) of the presentation online. We hope you will make time to view it and then reinforce with your son why participating or contributing to hazing activities is wrong. If they ever see or experience it, they should feel empowered to speak up.

We partner with Hazing Prevention.org, and they provide an anonymous hotline for students, friends, and families to use whenever they have concerns. We investigate any calls we receive and act when the information proves true. You may reach us directly at (847) 475-1856, which is our central office number, or at (888) NOT-HAZE.

Good Samaritan Policy

As a parent, we understand and realize that your son’s well-being is always top of mind for you. We hope that should you see, hear, or experience anything you believe to be inconsistent with our creed or the values you have taught at home, that you will contact us with your concern.

Our Good Samaritan Policy also provides your son an ability to bring issues to our attention without fear of retribution, especially in an emergency.

Alcohol Policy

On June 1, 2018, we implemented new policies regarding the use of alcohol. We do not permit underage alcohol consumption or the use of hard liquor. Our policy limits alcoholic products to beer, wine, or products below 15% ABV at any events or activities of the Fraternity. This includes any events where undergraduate members are present, even if alumni or parents are participating, as well as any events with a third party licensed vendor. To support academic success and lower risk, we also prohibit the use of alcohol during the beginning and end of each term. You can read more about our policies here.

Educational Programs

In 1935, SAE was the first Fraternity to develop and implement a National Leadership School for our members. Today, in addition to scholarships and awards, we offer a variety of programs that include online and peer-to-peer education, our annual Ritual Academy, Executives Academy, Emerging Leaders Academies, and more. These programs and services are available to all of our members throughout their undergraduate experience.

The Record Online

If you’d like to read more about what SAE is doing around the country, we hope you’ll take the time to read our online news magazine, The Record Online www.therecordonline.net.

We are value your son’s membership in Sigma Alpha Epsilon. We encourage you to communicate with him regularly, not only to reinforce the importance of being a thoughtful and responsible fraternity man but to echo the positive values and morals with which you raised him. If you have questions about our programs or services, please contact us.

Thank you for your support. We hope you and your family have a wonderful fall!
Sincerely,

Chris Hancock
Chief Executive Officer
Eminent Supreme Recorder
Sigma Alpha Epsilon