I believe in the American college fraternity. I
believe in Sigma Phi Epsilon. I believe in this Fraternity because
it would have me strive in every way to live up to the high
principles for which it stands. These are VIRTUE, DILIGENCE,
AND BROTHERLY LOVE.
I believe that the word Virtue is an
inclusive term; that it is not enough that I be merely passively
virtuous: I must be positive on virtue's behalf. Therefore, I will
stand aggressively for honesty in all walks of life, and I will
speak cleanly, play cleanly, and live cleanly. Whenever I can, I
will oppose lawlessness and vice.
I believe that unless I succeed in being Diligent,
I cannot be a good fraternity member. Believing that my fraternity
can be no greater than any of its members, I shall strive to make
it so high and so worthy that men will consider it an honor and
privilege to belong to it and will strive to be admitted to it. I
will not offer concessions to an individual to secure his
affiliation, for thus making the man more note worthy then the
Fraternity and hence only succeeds in lowering it in his
estimation as well as mine.
I believe that Brotherly Love must be
given in order to be received, and that it cannot exist without
triumph of the principles of Virtue and Diligence,
for these are essential parts of it.
I believe that a man will be made better for
having been a member of my Fraternity. I know that I cannot expect
the neophyte to be a finished product. Rather I will try to
discover whether or not the environment and contact with men of
high ideals will make of him a good fraternity man.
I believe that as a good fraternity member I
must share a rich kinship of spirit with my brothers. Yet I
realize that the members must be men of diversified abilities and
talents. Among them are to be found the scholar, the athlete, the
builder and craftsman. The good fraternity member must be par
excellent in manhood.
I believe that to be a good member I must be
loyal to my Fraternity. In order to be loyal to it, I must love
it. In order to love it, I must strive constantly to make it
worthy of my love. To be loyal to my Fraternity, I must gain a
knowledge of it so that I may understand it. I have an obligation
to understand what brotherhood means.
I believe that in any organized society group
rights and privileges are based on individual rights and
privileges; that in my fraternity I possess the same rights and
privileges and have the same duties as my fellow members.
Therefore, I shall at all times respect duly the rights of others.
I believe that obedience to the laws of my
community and my country is essential to good citizenship; that
the laws and rules of my Fraternity and my chapter are intended to
regulate the actions of its members, one with another, and that
without fidelity to those laws and rules I cannot be a good
citizen and a worthy member of Sigma Phi Epsilon.
I believe I should be generous with the faults
of a brother, as I should wish him to be with mine
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