Common Concerns & Answers

As parents, you are obviously concerned about your son joining a fraternity. In an attempt to help quell any fears you may have, we have put together a common list of questions that parents of current brothers had asked their own sons about joining a fraternity and Delta Sigma Phi in particular.

How does joining a fraternity help my son in college?

This question is by far the most common and also the hardest to answer. The benefits of a fraternity are based upon what your son wants to put into it.

Excelling in academics

The most important thing your son can get from Delta Sigma Phi is the wealth of academic knowledge. Whether its access to a brand new computer lab containing Windows, Macs, and Linux based computers, academic files to help further explain concepts and ideas learned in classes, older members who have taken classes and can offer a different explanation to help fully comprehend lessons, and countless numbers of study partners your son will never be alone in his academic pursuits. Whether your son is an engineering student, a psychology major, an architect, an actuarial science student, MCB/IB, pre-med, pre-law, or still undecided, your son will have at least one other brother who shares his major and can offer advice and advising on classes, teachers, and studying tips. This past semester Delta Sigma Phi ranked 4th out of 45 fraternities with a GPA of 3.306, well above the all undergraduate average and the all Greek average. To see these rankings at http://www.odos.uiuc.edu/GREEK/scholarship/ifcGrades.asp

Becoming a part of his community

The other great aspect of joining a fraternity is the ability for your son to get involved in something bigger than himself. As a member of Delta Sigma Phi, you are required to complete service hours, get involved in philanthropy events, and are strongly encouraged to get involved in clubs outside of the fraternity itself. Whether it is SIG-BOT, Engineering Outreach Society, the Equestrian Club, Various Honor Societies, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, IEEE, ACM, and a host of other clubs and organizations, members of Delta Sigma Phi come from diverse backgrounds and have varying interests in both life and academics. Other opportunities exist inside the fraternity as well with various leadership roles to boost resumes and provide invaluable experience for your son. If your son wants to get involved in a larger role, he is also strongly encouraged to run for a position in the Inter Fraternity Council which governs our Greek community.

Building long lasting relationships

Lastly, one of the greatest things about being in a fraternity are the relationships your son can and will form with the other brothers. Whether it hanging out and watching a football game on the big screen, going to Assembly Hall to cheer on the Illini basketball team, heading to the ARC or the outdoor athletic complex for a pickup game or even staying up until 3:00 AM to simply have a talk about the world and current events, the relationships you form can and will most likely be some of the strongest ones you will form in your life time and will last until you die. The various things I mentioned above, are simply a few of the many benefits and aspects of life in a fraternity. As I mentioned, your son will get back what he puts into fraternity and the best way to put things in, is to get involved and build himself to be a better man, and not simply another man.

What do the dues pay for?

Upon joining a fraternity, your son will be required to pay semester dues which allow us to function as an organization. The majority of the dues paid go to our national organization which provides us with a variety of conferences, seminars, and leadership programs. Whether it’s a regional leadership academy or a local workshop on academic and professional endeavors our national dues go a long way towards helping us develop to be the men we want to be.

The remainder of our dues go towards various different things such as community service, our annual philanthropy event, athletic teams, maintaining our computer room, brotherhood events like our annual camping trip, and social events such as exchanges with sororities and a formal dance.

How big of a time commitment is there?

One of the biggest concerns you probably have is the issue of time management. How is your son supposed to balance getting good grades with being social and involved in various campus activities? While academics take up the majority of our time on campus, the fraternity only takes up what you want it to. On an official level, we have a chapter meeting every week which normally lasts between and hour to an hour and half depending on what events we have coming up. These are held Monday evenings normally right after dinner at 6:00. This allows plenty of time afterwards for studying and homework. Other than that, there is no required time to be spent at the house, or at fraternity events and the majority of brothers who don’t live in house come over when they are free and not busy with school work.

If my son has a big test, is he allowed to skip fraternity events?

Your son is here at the University of Illinois as a student first, fraternity member second. We make sure that all of our pledges and brothers know that academics are the reason we are at college and are currently ranked 4th out of the 45 fraternities in IFC. If he has an important test and can’t make the chapter meeting, he can be excused by simply sending an email to the secretary and informing him of why he can’t make it. This serves two main roles, the first is making sure your son achieves the best grades he can, and secondly instills in him responsibility. By requiring a simple email, your son will learn that he needs to take his commitments seriously and also understands the importance of time management.

Does living in house offer any type of structure? Are there people responsible for the house?

One big fear of most parents is the typical “Animal House” stereotype of a fraternity house being a place with no rules or any sort of authority; this couldn’t be further from the truth. While the dorms have RA’s and university staff, we at Delta Sigma Phi have the greatest house mom ever in Nancy Eubanks. Nancy prepares our meals for us Monday through Friday and is always just a phone call away in the case of an emergency. Other than simply preparing meals, Nancy sits on our ACB (Alumni Corporation Board) and acts as well, our mom, in making sure we do our chores and focus on grades. Often times she will sit down with us at lunch and talk about what is going on in the world and any struggles or issues we may be experiencing.

Will my son be hazed in any way when he joins Delta Sigma Phi?

No, your son will not be hazed in any way whatsoever. Hazing is defined as any action that is imposed upon any person by a group that seeks to humiliate or cause harm to the individual. It is a defunct process that unfortunately still effects much of the college fraternity system, but we at Delta Sigma Phi have chosen to be a force of change within the Greek Community. We are dedicated to educating our members on the dangers of hazing and we are committed to not hazing any of our members. Hazing does not promote the environment of respect and friendship that Delta Sigma Phi seeks to elevate, therefore it has no place within our organization.

Fraternities are expensive and my family cannot afford it.

A fraternity experience is an investment in the future of your son. The experience will leave your son prepared with many social and business life skills as well as with a built in professional social network. Delta Sigma Phi has one of the largest alumni bases of all college fraternities and our chapter’s alumni base includes many professional individuals and your son will get a chance to interact with them. These interactions can lead to lasting friendships, professional mentorships, and even job offers. Also, Delta Sigma Phi offers many academic scholarships to ease the economic burden on our members and families. These include scholarships from both the national organization and our own chapter.

Have more questions?

If you have any questions feel free to contact our house mom, Nancy Eubanks, by email at naneubanks@yahoo.com or our President, Kevin Ensinger, at ensinge1@illinois.edu