basically check-in three times at a sig house or once at an international event (horizons, balfour, grand chapter, etc.) and you get the badge.

Headquarters is currently adding new houses to their list (found here: https://foursquare.com/sigmachi). If you want to make sure that your chapter house gets added, contact headquarters and send them the url of your chapter’s foursquare page. My undergraduate chapter is Arkansas State, which can be found here: https://foursquare.com/v/sigma-chi-fraternity–arkansas-state-university/4ad8f192f964a520411621e3. I simply sent them the url and they added it to the list.

Some more information can be found at this blog post on AboutFoursquare: http://aboutfoursquare.com/sigma-chi-launches-the-second-badge-in-the-greek-organization-series/

The Sigma Chi fraternity is now the second Greek organization to offer their own badge on foursquare.

Users can unlock the badge by following the fraternity and checking in at their chapter houses and other locations. The unlock text reads:

True friendship, equal justice and sound learning! You are exploring Sigma Chi. Now that you have this badge, be sure to get the other one!

what do you think of the badge?

ShareSigmaChi Horizons Videos

Below are a few videos I’ve recorded about Horizons. The first video is a compilation of quotes from former Grand Consul, Keith Krach, discussing the Horizons program.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl9O9aa_SbA

The next two videos are interviews I did with Ryan Wakefield. The discussions focused on Horizons and Ryan’s role as a facilitator at Horizons. The 1st video is our talk focuses on Ryan’s expectations before he went to Horizons and the 2nd video he talks about his expereience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib2r-KDvCPA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR2CQGSLdoE

Dear Brother,

We, as the brothers of Sigma Chi, have made a lifelong commitment to upholding our values and ideals. Explicit within that commitment is a promise to obey the laws of our Fraternity. We do this, both in our chapter and in the Fraternity at-large.

As is sometimes the case, one of us may falter and not quite live up to that obligation. When that happens, Sigma Chi looks to the brothers of the involved chapter to hold that brother accountable for his actions. This is the preferred response within Sigma Chi. If the chapter cannot or will not police itself, the General Fraternity may be required to step in to protect the safety of the brethren, the reputation and honor of the Fraternity, or to expect a just and equitable outcome to a given situation.

This is what occurred a few weeks ago with the chapter at Towson University, and regretfully, it was necessary to suspend the chapter. The chapter had faced repeated violations over the years.

Thankfully it is not often that the Fraternity is required to suspend or revoke the charter of a chapter that has not evidenced our high ideals. When this does happen, we must look to the future and posture our actions to permit the return of recognition of the chapter at the earliest practical moment. Earliest practical moment does not mean immediate. We may be required to delay reinstatement of a chapter for years, depending on the circumstances or the original cause for withdrawal of recognition.

I, as Grand Consul, do not want to lose a chapter, but I will request the Executive Committee to take whatever action is necessary, including withdrawal of chapter recognition, if the honor of Sigma Chi requires me to do so. Likewise, if any given brother soils the purity of the White Cross by actions inconsistent with our ideals, he must be held accountable.

Sigma Chi expects more from its members than from other men. Guard well the honor of the Cross.

In Hoc Signo Vinces,

Dennis Santoli
CASE WESTERN 1967
67th Grand Consul

Brothers, please find the following invitation from Dylan Conroy who heads up the Sigs in Entertainment Group. The event is for Presidential Candidate and Fellow Sigma Chi Jon Huntsman.

If you are interested, read on…

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED
TO AN EVENING WITH

JON HUNTSMAN

Hosted by Dylan & Myla Conroy

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2011

RAMSEY’S @ THE CLUB
(Located inside the Toluca Lake Tennis Club)
6711 Forest Lawn Drive
Toluca Lake, California

5:30PM

GENERAL RECEPTION

$1,000 VIP ATTEND
$250 GENERAL ATTEND
Kindly RSVP to:
DylanCConroy@gmail.com or Nicole Zamora at  nzamora@pfrg.net

You can reserve your ticket by clicking

www.jon2012.com/donate

And making a contribution of $250 or more with the EVENT CODE: EVCA011

Dear Brother,

Sigma Chi leads the Greek-letter world because of the quality of its brothers. Each of us is committed to upholding our Ritual and demonstrating the values it teaches us, exemplifying the tenets from the day of our Initiation until we enter into the Chapter Eternal. By learning and living our Ritual, we embrace the core spirit of Sigma Chi and embody those virtues that we all hold dear.

During my term as Grand Consul, I want to gain the support of all living Sigma Chis in reinvigorating our practice of the Ritual, as well as rekindling the spirit of brotherhood that makes Sigma Chis stand together as we demonstrate true leadership in all of its facets.

We are establishing a Ritual Renaissance Initiative, which is chaired by 65th Grand Consul Bob Jones, RENSSELAER 1973, and includes many of our most knowledgeable experts on the Ritual and Ritualistic practices. Through this initiative we will help all chapters and brothers to appreciate the deepest meanings of the Ritual and to teach Sigma Chis how to demonstrate its beauty and communicate its value.

To that end, we will be also incorporating a Ritual proficiency requirement into our 2013 Peterson Chapter Award criteria. We will be certifying individuals in Ritual history, performance, and exemplification. These certified Ritualists will evaluate our undergraduate chapters and qualify them as proficient, with proficiency a condition to winning a Peterson Award.

Likewise, I have asked Constantine Capital, Inc., our affiliated financial entity, to develop a quick and simple loan process to be used by undergraduate chapters for funding upgrades and modernization of Ritual regalia.

Also, this month, our newly appointed Pledge Education Committee will be meeting to review the final revisions to our pledge education program. The new pledge education program will become a critical component in Ascent, our recently announced modularized continuum of educational and leadership development programs. Ascent aligns Balfour Leadership Training Workshop, Mission 365, Horizons and alumni services programs and other leadership opportunities in a vision of successive growth for our members.

In the upcoming months we will further emphasize scholarship and philanthropy. We will promote an appreciation of scholarship and encourage undergraduate chapters to voluntarily increase the minimum GPA needed for Initiation and to maintain active undergraduate status. Our philanthropic efforts will not only support fundraising for charity, but will encourage our chapters and individual brothers to engage in a broad range of campus and community activities.

I will continue to keep you informed as we progress in our efforts. Let’s work together for a great year and for the advancement of Sigma Chi.

In Hoc,

Dennis Santoli
CASE WESTERN 1967
67th Grand Consul

Get your gloves on and your rakes ready. The Sigma Chi Fraternity’s second-annual Merlin Olsen Day of Service begins tomorrow.

On Thursday, Sept. 15, the Fraternity encourages all undergraduates and alumni to better their communities or campuses by volunteering their time and displaying their generous spirit, much like Order of Constantine Sig and Significant Sig Merlin Olsen, UTAH STATE 1962, did throughout his life.

See if your chapter can set the standard this year in community service, whether it is by cleaning up a local highway, assisting in campus landscaping, volunteering at a soup kitchen or giving blood.

The Fraternity would like everyone who volunteers their time during the Merlin Olsen Day of Service to submit photos from their service activities along with a paragraph describing where the event was hosted and what service was accomplished to honormerlin@sigmachi.org. Your photo may be published in an upcoming issue of The Magazine of Sigma Chi.

You can also post videos and other information relating to your service projects on the Merlin Olsen Day of Service 2011 Facebook event page. Lastly, share your stories on Twitter using the hashtag #olsendayofservice.

To assist in spreading the word about and bringing awareness to the Merlin Olsen Day of Service, the Fraternity asks that you change your Facebook profile picture, to that of the official 2011 #olsendayofservice icon, on Sept. 15.

This icon and directions on how to change your photo can be found here.

Thank you for your efforts to improve your communities, and for honoring the spirit of Brother Olsen.

We encourage Sigs to take part in the second-annual Merlin Olsen Day of Service on Thursday, Sept. 15 by volunteering in their community. Whatever you do, do it in honor of the late Merlin Olsen, UTAH STATE 1962, affectionately referred to by many as a ‘gentle giant.’

At 6 feet 9 inches tall, Merlin’s competitive nature drove him to success as an NFL defensive lineman, actor and broadcaster; and his generous soul propelled him to support Children’s Miracle Network (now called Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals) for many years. In fact, Merlin helped forge Sigma Chi’s partnership with CMN Hospitals, one of the Fraternity’s preferred philanthropies.

Take part in the Merlin Olsen Day of Service to honor his philanthropic spirit. Imagine the difference that we could make if all of Sigma Chi’s approximately 238,000 living members volunteered just a few hours of their time.

The international fraternity has created the Merlin Olsen Day of Service official Facebook event page, entitled “Merlin Olsen Day of Service 2011.” You can access it by clicking here.

We hope to capitalize on the success of last year’s inaugural Merlin Olsen Day of Service, in which Sigs across the United States and Canada served their communities by volunteering in local parks, donating blood, and collecting money for charity, to name just a few examples.

After participating in the Merlin Olsen Day of Service, send photos of your volunteer activities (please send the original files from your camera to ensure that we receive the highest-quality images possible), along with a short description of where the event was held and what you did, to honormerlin@sigmachi.org. Your photo may be published in an upcoming issue of The Magazine of Sigma Chi. You can also post photos, videos and descriptions of your service projects on the Merlin Olsen Day of Service 2011 Facebook event page. Lastly, share your stories on Twitter using the hashtag #olsendayofservice.

We thank you for your efforts to keep the spirit of service exemplified by Brother Merlin alive.

League Url: http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/college
Group Id: 20876
Password: 12345

Dear Brother [Insert Your Name],

We have a unique circumstance in our current political climate with one of our brothers, Significant Sig Jon Huntsman Jr., UTAH 1983.

Governor Huntsman, as many of you know, is the former Ambassador to Singapore, Ambassador to China, and the 16th Governor of Utah. He is now running for President of the United States.

Sigma Chi has played a major role in his life and Jon is asking us to join him in a conversation to learn more about his campaign and his reasons for running for President of our country. We encourage any interested brother to sign up online at Jon2012.us/reNiq9. Upon your RSVP, you will receive more detailed information from Huntsman Headquarters staff.

We are excited to offer this unique chance to create an open dialog with one of our brothers and our country’s leaders. If you have any questions, please contact Joseph Ahearn at 407-674-2874.

Fraternally,

Dennis Santoli, CASE WESTERN 1967

67th Grand Consul

Pledge Tests

The other big part of ShareSigmaChi are the pledge tests. I’ve always thought it made sense to allow pledges to study/learn online. When I was in school the only ways to learn about Sigma Chi were to read your Norman Shield or talk to members. Obviously I’m not saying that pledges shouldn’t read their Norman Shielf or talk to members. But there are a lot of times that those two options aren’t available.

Version 1

So why not make the information available online so pledges can study whenever they want? This is what I have tried to do. The original version of the “ShareSigmaChi Pledge Test” was made up of 44 multiple choice questions. All the questions and answers were filled out by me doing research. The problem with this version was that I was the only one who could create new questions and answers. I would add a question here and there, but eventually I moved on to other projects. Version 1 I felt was pretty successful. It served its purpose and in total questions had been answered over 15,000 times. The graph below shows the questions and what percentage they were answered right (http://www.scribd.com/doc/58918640).

Version 2

Some of the faults of Version 1 were that nobody else could create their own questions and you didn’t have an easy way of sharing the questions with other Sigs. So with Version 2 I decided to create a brand new website http://sigmachipledgetest.com solely dedicated to creating and sharing Sigma Chi pledge tests. Version 2 allows you to create pledge tests with as many questions as you want. You decide the pledge test name, description and whatever questions and answers you want. Each test is given its own unique url. You can share that url with other people. Also somebody takes one of your pledge tests, they can share their score on facebook to invite others to take your pledge test.

Overall I’m pretty happy with the new version. There are a few updates I’d like to do, but its all a matter of having enough free time. For now it will do and I just hope that Sigs can find it useful.

– Jacob
http://sigmachipledgetest.com