A Message to Parents

From the Eminent Archon (EA):

As a parent, one of your first worries about letting your son go off on his own to college is whether he will transition well from high school. Whether this be from maintaining high academic excellence, meeting new friends, or just enjoying his time in school; all of these issues are important and we realize that at SAE. At SAE, we are dedicated in helping each of our members realize their potential from the very beginning of their college experience. Through diversity training, academic mentoring, community outreach, and the development of lifelong friendships, we strive to make our members into True Gentleman.

What about grades and time management?

This is a common question asked by parents. You are coming to UMKC for one purpose, school. We acknowledge the fact that you are here to learn and develop your mind. At SAE, school is the number one priority…no strings attached. We have an extensive academic development program that includes mandatory study hours each day, a reward system for academic achievement, and a network of older brothers that can help tutor in specific subjects. Scholarship is one of the pillars of SAE and it is evident in our high scholastic achievement. In Spring 2005 (our first semester of existence) we achieved the highest grades among fraternities.

Time management is a huge issue that many college freshmen learn the hard way. Time management is the key to any sort of efficiency and success and it is our goal to establish the importance of such to our members from the very beginning. In our pledge program we have established a time management section that emphasizes the importance of time management and gives tips on how to effectively plan out your time.

What about the parties and drinking?

This question is undoubtedly the first thing that comes to parents’ minds when talking about fraternities. As most people know, drinking is much more prevalent in college than it is in high school. However, we do not support underage drinking nor encourage it. We have a well-established risk management program that details the responsibilities we have as brothers and as college students. A risk management seminar is a part of our pledge program to educate our members on the risks of irresponsible behavior. In addition to this we have a BADD (Brothers Against Drunk Driving) program that ensures the safety of all of our members at all times.

With the popularity of movies such as Old School and Animal House, Greek life has ultimately been stereotyped into being about drinking and partying. One of the reasons that Missouri Kappa-Chi was founded in 2005 was to stray away from these stereotypes. Sigma Alpha Epsilon is not about drinking or partying but rather is concentrated on the development of men into True Gentlemen. We strive to instill into our members the ideals of our founding fathers, which we believe ultimately will lead to stronger leaders for tomorrow.

What about hazing?

At Missouri Kappa-Chi we strongly believe that hazing is irresponsible and counterproductive to the development of our members. We have a strict NO HAZING policy that strictly prohibits any form of hazing or acts that might even remotely be considered hazing. Our pledge process is completely positive with the outlook of our members’ development in mind.

Can I get involved?

Parents are the reason all of us are in college. You have helped us for 18+ years and we can never thank you enough. We are currently trying to develop a program that will allow parents to get involved with the fraternity and the growth of their son. We are looking to establish the True Gentlemen Parents’ Club that will help us expand our organization and continue to develop new members in the right direction. If you would like to get involved and help us develop this program you can email our Alumni Relations chair Ben Johnson (bdjnp7@umkc.edu).

I hope this helped answer a few of your questions about SAE. 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:

Brian Gettinger , President (EA) bcgrk2@umkc.edu
Tim McFarland, Colony Advisor N2SAE@aol.com