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Pledge Responsibilities
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- Pledge Meetings
- Pledge Book
- Pledge Trip
- Pledge Project
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- Community Service
- Pledge Party
- Houseworks
- Pledge-brother game
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We realize that college is a major time in our lives, and that during this time, we all grow into
the men that are to become productive members of society. With that in mind, all pledge responsibilities are intended to integrate new members into the house and the MIT community, in as smooth a transition as possible. Following are the pledge responsibilities of the Mass Eta chapter of
Phi Kappa Theta as well as descriptions of the purpose of those responsibilities.
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Meetings
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By becoming a pledge of Phi Kappa Theta, a man is committing himself to our brotherhood
with the expectation that he, too, will become a brother. Insofar as becoming a brother is a life
long commitment, it is important that a man looking to become a brother knows what he is getting
himself into. It is for that reason that we have meetings to convey to pledges the history of our national fraternity, the history of our house in particular, and the four ideals. Additionally
, these meetings serve as a time when pledges can discuss their experiences in the house and MIT
in general, elect pledge class officers, and plan and coordinate the other pledge activities.
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Pledge Book
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One of the first responsibilities, and longest lasting, the pledge book is a notebook that
each new member uses to collect information about the brothers in the house. As brothers, we are all expected to know about each of our other brothers, and this is the point of the books. Pledges are expected to interview each brother to find out basic information such as their full name
, where they're from, and what activities they do outside of classes. Often, these interviews end up lasting quite a while as they generate conversations about life experiences. Thus the other benefit of pledge books is to promote interaction between brothers and new members when finding time and motivation to start random conversations isn't always plentiful.
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Pledge Trip
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The pledge trip is one of the most fun responsibilities. For this trip, the house supplies the pledges with a few hundred dollars to get away from the house and MIT for a weekend. The pledges choose where they go and what they wish to do, with the only requirements be that they spend some time talking about the house, bond together, and are away from the house for at least a night. Often, this results in camping trips, but it is always up to the class to decide what they
want to do.
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Pledge Project
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Unlike dormitories, the Phi Kappa Theta house can and has been altered by each brother to
come through over the years. The pledge project is meant to get each class to think about how the house can be improved and how they, as brothers, can go about doing it. With that in mind, the
Pledge Class House Manager coordinates with both the House Manager and his pledge class a feasible project which the new members can do to improve the house. Additionally, the pledge project builds class pride in both themselves, and the house.
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Community Service
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One of the goals of Phi Kappa Theta is to serve our community and to make it a better place. As such, we encourage all brothers to commit to a lifetime of community service beginning
with the pledge class community service. This service is coordinated by the Pledge Class Service
Chair with the Community Relations Chair and the rest of his pledge class. Often, it consists
of tutoring or other service with neighborhood children.
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Pledge Party
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As with all fraternities, we are a social organization. This includes parties, semiformals, and
other social gatherings which allow us to make contacts and connections with many people outside
our house. As new members are eventually going to be the brothers running these events, they are
required to throw their own party in an effort to teach them how to run a party. This party is
set up mainly by the Pledge Class Social Chair with his pledge class and the Social Chair.
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Houseworks
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All members, both brothers and pledges, are responsible for doing houseworks. These are
the weekly cleaning assignments necessary for keeping the house clean for both ourselves and our
guests. Pledges do a housework each week in an effort to ensure that every pledge knows how to do every housework by the end of their freshmen year. Thus, every brother should also know how to
do every housework. Brothers are then assigned houseworks based on seniority. Additionally, houseworks are useful in developing pride in the house as those who take pride in Phi Kappa Theta are also those who are willing to put in the time and effort to keep the house very clean.
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Pledge-brother Game
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Each year, the incoming pledge class gets to challenge the brothers to a game of their choice. Whether it's soccer, ultimate frisbee, football, or any other sport, it's always a
lot of fun and a good bonding experience.
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"The program teaches really deep and meaningful things that are useful in life."
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- Young Kim, Class of 1999
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"As a pledge, I saw the program as fun at times, like the trip, but mostly as a chore. As a brother, I realize how important it is and have seen how it has helped some of the recent freshmen
grow and mature as individuals. I truly believe that it is the best program around for helping
people to both become integrated in the house and MIT as well as allow the individual to improve
themselves."
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- Kipp Whittaker, Class of 2002
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