Noah Sparks Pledge Educator 1100 Rockhurst Road Massman 1 Kansas City, MO 64110 Click here to e-mail

From the Pledge Educator:

The title of Pledge Educator can carry a wide range of connotations, some good, and some bad. My goal in this short letter is to attempt to convey my beliefs on what the duties and responsibilities of a Pledge Educator are. In doing so, I hope to answer some of the many questions pledges, and especially their parents, might have.

Pledgeship is a positive experience, and can be an outstanding tool for growth if conducted properly. The primary goals are:

• To serve as an introduction to life as a brother of the Missouri Delta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
• To forge a bond between pledges and brothers that will last a lifetime.
• To instill in pledges the values of the fraternity and the ideal of The True Gentleman.
• To assist in the process of acclimating to college life at Rockhurst.
• To be a positive learning and growth experience that will be fondly remembered.

As a pledge of SAE (MODE), your first priority is your education. It is the reason we are all here, and it is an important part of the foundation on which a successful future is built. As such, grades and schoolwork are stressed during the pledge program and throughout your college career. Rockhurst University is a difficult school, and the workload can be a shock to incoming freshman. All possible efforts will be made to assist pledges in achieving their academic goals, from mandatory daily study hours, to finding older brothers who can serve as educational mentors. Joining a fraternity should not lower one's grades, it should serve as a resource to raise them.

Outside of the academics, you can expect to do a lot of team building exercises, philanthropy, community service, and to generally have tons of fun with your fellow pledges and brothers. Our social calendar caters towards pledges, and there are more than enough opportunities to ensure you get to have fun while you're here at Rockhurst.

A final note - - Animal House and Old School are movies, they are not an accurate representation of fraternity life or pledgeship. Contrary to popular opinion, hazing is completely unacceptable and is dealt with in an appropriate manner. I have a zero tolerance for it, and my view is that any activity that I would not do myself and tell my mother about, is hazing. I know it is a major concern for prospective pledges and parents alike, and I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that the pledge process is a positive one. I do not believe that a strong bond can be forged between individuals who humiliate or endanger each other.

If you, as parents of prospective pledges, have any questions about our program and its goals, I invite you to contact me or one of our alumni chapter advisor directly:

Noah Sparks , Pledge Educator - sparksn@rockhurst.edu

Mike Perry, Chapter Advisor (Class of '05) - MPerry@saemodelta.com

Todd Beam , Deputy Chapter Advisor (Class of '93) - TBeam@saemodelta.com

Jerry Bales, Alumni Board Chairman (Class of '71) - JBales@saemodelta.com