.. ..Fraternity Life at Brooklyn
College
Brooklyn College is a commuter
school, and as such some of the things that we all come to expect from college
life based on our traditional conceptions of college just aren't the same here.
However, Brooklyn College does have a very active Greek Life. Fraternities and
Sororities make college life more fun, more exciting, and they give you a taste
of what most people expect when going to college.
Fraternity life
certainly makes college more fun, but fraternity is much more than that, it
gives you invaluable life experience in many different ways. It allows you to
get irreplaceable business and work experience especially in dealing with
people. It gives you the opportunity to grow as a person and among other things
participate in charity endeavors and other pursuits that will help your
community and the people in the world around you.
Being a member of a
Fraternity is something special; it requires a great deal of commitment and only
certain people can ever be part of one. You have to be the type of person that
is willing to do anything for other people. You must be the kind of person that
will always offer a helping hand, when it is necessary. You have to be the kind
of person that will always be there for his Brothers in the good times as well
as the bad.
Fraternity means Brotherhood; it's something that is sacred
to us. It is fun to be in the Greek system at Brooklyn College, there are many
parties and mixers that make college life fun, and that make this commuter
school more like a residence college, however Fraternity is something much more
than that, it is a life long Brotherhood, which is just that, it's a
Brotherhood, we consider Brothers of Sigma Alpha Mu just as close as blood
relatives.
The type of experience you will receive if you are selected to
pledge Sigma Alpha Mu cannot be compared to anything else. The memories that you
will make will always be with you. And the Brothers that you will meet may be
your closest friends for the rest of you life.
We encourage anyone
interested in joining our fraternity to spend some time with the Brothers, we
encourage anyone that is interested; to go to a rush party or a mixer and see
what joining would mean, and meet the men who are Brothers of our
Fraternity.
Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity is not a four year commitment;
being a Brother is a life long commitment. It is a commitment to live up to and
exceed the ideals that make us who we are. If you do, you will find that you are
a better person for it, you will discover that your Fraternity, your Brothers
are people that you always want to have by your side, if it's not helping you
with something, then it's just Monday night football, but no matter what, you
will discover that without your Brothers by your side you will not feel
whole.
We offer membership to any man of good moral character, the type
of men that can be our Brothers are hard to find, we hope you are one of the
unique men that are capable of having a life long bond with true Brothers. We
hope that you will consider joining our fraternity, but you must have great
character within you to be one of our Brothers.
The Fraternity Story
It can be said
that the American college fraternity is as old as the United States, for in 1776
Phi Beta Kappa was founded at the College of William and Mary. From that time
until the Civil War, no appreciable changes occurred in the fraternity system,
however, starting in 1865, fraternities became more and more popular, and today
Greek letter fraternities are recognized as an integral part of the American
educational system.
Today fraternity traditions, dating back half a
century or more, are stamped with the circumstance and atmosphere in which they
thrived many years ago. The college of today, however, has far outgrown those
times, yet a resemblance to the halls of classical learning for the privileged
few which existed remains. Stories of those college days have come to us clothed
in romance and largely in fictional form.
The time came when the
fraternity world expanded to allow into its midst greater numbers and not just
an exclusive few. At this time, the broader thought of the university was
included in the ideas of fraternity. Fraternity chapters then became
self-governing campus units aiding in faculty administration, later, as a
result, fraternities earned the respect of the university and surrounding
community.
At the start of the twentieth century, a number of older
fraternities modified their policies and admitted larger numbers, moreover, with
the growth of these fraternities, new fraternities came into being. They came
unhampered by tradition, unimpeded by caste, and sponsored by leaders of great
foresight, indomitable zeal, and high ideals; and like many other organizations,
Sigma Alpha Mu owes its founding to a mere chance. Indeed, even the meeting at
which it was founded was called with no thought of permanent organization at
all.
In the fall of 1909 the Sophomore Class at the College of the City
of New York had found itself embarrassed by a lowly freshman group. At a school
where "warfare" between freshman and sophomore classes is still a tradition, the
Sophomores found it necessary to regain their fallen honor. Class Marshal,
Lester Cohen, thereupon called a meeting of Sophomore leaders on November 26,
1909, to decide on a plan for redemption. Only eight appeared - Cohen, Hyman
Jacobson, Adolph I. Fabis, Samuel Ginsburg, Abraham N. Kerner, Jacob Kaplan, Ira
N. Lind and David D. Levinson, who are now known as the Founding
Fathers..
It is interesting to note that while there were many friends
among the eight, none of them knew all the others. During the discussion which
took place, much loftier ideals were expressed than the mere formulation of
plans for asserting sophomore honor. The men discovered that they held many
ideals in common, and the inspiration for the formation of a new fraternity came
to them. During this meeting, it was suggested that the Greek letters "Kappa Phi
Omega" be used to symbolize the words "Cosmic Fraternal Order" as the new name
for the fraternity. This proposal was accepted and the meeting was
adjourned.
A second meeting was held a week later. It was found necessary
to revise the name of the fraternity because several members had already
inadvertently made public the chosen name. Ginsburg then suggested a motto which
was unanimously adopted and which has since remained the Fraternity motto. From
that time the Fraternity was known as Sigma Alpha Mu.
The new Fraternity
settled down to the accomplishment of the ideals which had prompted it's
creation. It was its aim to prove to the outside world that criticism and
objectives leveled against fraternities in general - specious though many of
those arguments may be - were not applicable to Sigma Alpha Mu. The founders
decided to plan and grow along lines different from those of existing
fraternities.
Ohio State University
(Sigma Beta)
Chapter
House
Two years after the founding Sigma Alpha Mu began to grow. To a
small group of five at Cornell University, the Founders imparted their ideas and
inculcated their ideals, and then guided them, watched and aided them-- their
brothers in far off Ithaca. Little wonder that Beta chapter patterned its growth
as Alpha had and the two Chapters, in bond of brotherhood, were as one. After
this, slowly but surely, Sigma Alpha Mu expanded North, South, East and West.
Sigma Alpha Mu maintains its commitment to growth, and attends and assists both
the old and new chapters.
The eight Founders of Sigma Alpha Mu were all
of Jewish faith, and it naturally followed that they attracted to their
brotherhood men of similar background. They believed in Fraternalism among
Jewish college men, convinced that without it, a large number of Jewish students
would be deprived of the pleasant associations and companionships they now find
in most colleges.
Sigma Alpha Mu has always acknowledged with deep
appreciation its Jewish heritage and the ethical values of Judaism which have
enriched its life and the lives of its members. With the advent of the
mid-twentieth century, expressions of liberalism suggested that constitutional
limitations of membership to any particular religious group was not keeping with
the ideal of democracy which had always been part of the Fraternity's creed.
Thus, responsive to this thinking, Sigma Alpha Mu at its 1953 Convention amended
its constitution, making eligible for membership any male student of good moral
character who respects the ideals and traditions of the Fraternity.
Sigma
Alpha Mu's profound interest in matters of culture and education was clearly
manifested many years ago. For example, in 1927, when Jewish students in Rumania
were subjected to merciless persecution, the Fraternity sent one of its officers
to investigate conditions there. His report, subsequently reprinted in
newspapers and magazines throughout the country, was instrumental in preventing
further assaults in that country. Also, in 1929, Sigma Alpha Mu was the first
college fraternity to award a scholarship to the Hebrew University in
Palestine.
Later, in 1935, Sigma Alpha Mu adopted as a national project
the rehabilitation of refugee students. More than a score of outstanding
scholars were brought over from central Europe and given the opportunity to
complete their studies and research in American universities. These student
guests, in turn, brought to the undergraduate members a broader outlook on life
and an appreciation of cultural achievements.
Our willingness to serve
extends beyond campus limits to embrace the community in which the college is
located. The range of projects grows with each passing year. Large or small
these civic and community endeavors are significant, enriching each participant
with the inner joy of altruism if and when a collective effort is undertaken
with genuine concern for the welfare of others. Bounce for Beats, a national
service project copyrighted by Sigma Alpha Mu, was an innovation of the 1960s.
Scores of chapters bouncing a basketball to symbolize the heartbeat have
collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for worthy causes including the
American Heart Association. Today, Sigma Alpha Mu's commitment to service
continues through support of the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, our national service
project. Since 1995 the Fraternity has raised over $100,000 in the fight against
HIV.
In keeping with its cherished tradition, Sigma Alpha Mu will
continue to contribute men who will stand forth as leaders of their communities,
respecting the faith of others, walking with the dignity befitting a great
heritage, and serving mankind.
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