“We’re a bunch of guys who want to be Superman. We want to get the best grades, be the best athletes. We’re never satisfied with the status quo.” — Scott Phillips, Sigma Phi Epsilon, The Ohio State University

Value-driven fraternities are growing bigger and better as they reconnect with their Greek roots.

While some young men are bragging about their “exploits” with women, Scott Phillips and his brothers are quietly building a reputation as gentlemen among the sororities at The Ohio State University.

“All of the biggest sororities are trying to get events with us,” says Phillips, one of the founders of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Chapter at OSU. “We’re the nice guys who are respectful, and who walk women back [home] and don’t expect anything in return.”

Phillips says it’s all about virtue, a foundational value of what Sig Ep calls “The Balanced Man.” “Look at the word ‘virtue,’” he says, offering a definition. “To behave with decency as befits the day. It means following through with high integrity and morals.” gpa and recruiting climb.

The Balanced Man concept extends to all areas of a Sig Ep’s life. Virtue, diligence and
brotherly love are spelled out in the creed, the ritual and a four-year brotherhood development program. John Schuyler, the national fraternity’s director of recruitment says, “The ritual is aimed at reinforcing what we’re preaching to our members about how you live your life. It’s not just about the values, but about the benefits of living the values.”

About 70 percent of Sig Ep chapters voluntarily use The Balanced Man program. “The numbers don’t lie for us,” says Schuyler. “We have more chapters than ever. We have
more that are over 3.15 [GPA] and more over 3.5 than ever. Among our 260 chapters, the ones that are living the values are recruiting higher quality and quantity every year.”

Aspiring to be Superman
At OSU, even the fraternity’s home displays evidence of the focus on values. An old barroom was renovated to create a weight room to help brothers keep their commitment to “sound mind and sound body.”

This emphasis on values-driven fraternal life shows up elsewhere in the Greek world. From Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s “The True Gentleman” to Beta Theta Pi’s “I Am a Man of Principle,” fraternities are putting their creeds in the spotlight and guiding their members to uphold high moral values. Such programs often meet with skepticism from older alumni who didn’t experience them, but others praise the value of teaching values. John E. Dolibois ’42, former ambassador to Luxembourg and a Beta from Miami, once said, “In the final analysis, the Men of Principle initiative is all about character — courage, kindness, honesty and a sturdy sense of responsibility. Character is the most important element of success.”

Phillips says that approach works for this new crop of college students. “My generation went through things like Columbine and 9/11, which happened two days before I moved into the dorms. The values are different. If you go to college, you’re serious. We’re a bunch of guys who want to be Superman. We want to get the best grades, be the best athletes. We’re never satisfied with the status quo.”

Making Men of Honor
When Blake Remington and several friends wanted to start a fraternity at the University of Florida, they read the Star and Crescent creed on the Kappa Sigma Web site. They liked what they read and decided to pursue an affiliation with the national fraternity. The Kappa Sigma creed calls upon a brother to be “a gentleman, a man of honor and courage, a man of zeal, yet humble, an intelligent man, a man of truth, one who tempers action with wisdom and above all else, one who walks in the light of God.”

With a mission to make a difference in the lives of men, the founders of Delta-Delta
Chapter had about three dozen candidates at their first meeting. Lee Mayfield, a founder and the current chapter president, says the initial passion and commitment to the creed continues to grow among the brothers.

“For the most part, the guys are solid and they stand for what they believe in,” Mayfield
says. “The stuff in the Star and Crescent is lived out by the majority of our guys.”

Changing the Greek System
At Kappa Sigma international headquarters, Matt Bott, the assistant executive director, says Delta-Delta Chapter is “redefining the standard” for fraternities. Bott says college students are drawn to the principles found in the creed and the men who endeavor to live by them.

“When they see other students whom they admire pursuing these goals, then that becomes attractive to them,” Bott says.

It may be too early to tell whether the anecdotal evidence points toward a national trend among Greek-letter groups. But Mayfield sees it as part of his mission to “change the Greek system.”

“If I look at what I’ve done in 10 or 20 years, I can be so much more proud of having been part of Delta-Delta,” he says. “I would rather be part of that than to say ‘I partied and had a good time and wanted to be part of the crowd.’ What does that stuff mean in the long run? We seriously impact people’s lives for the rest of their lives.”

This article is a contribution of Scott Ott, a
Kappa Sigma and a 1983 graduate of Penn State.