Why join Alpha Sigma Phi? This group is comprised of some of the brightest, most respectful and most supportive men on the Cal campus. The main benefit of joining this brotherhood is a feeling of camaraderie -- you’ll feel right at home here. This is a place where you can make your expectations of college life a reality, and you’ll have the support of people who will become some of your closest friends and confidantes. (Questions? Scroll down to see our FAQ!)
We use this fraternity as a vehicle to have fun and to better ourselves. We have weekly brotherhood events and dinners, as well as a semesterly brotherhood overnight trip. We also have many social events, like parties and exchanges with other greek organizations. We pride ourselves on being men of a charitable character, and each complete 25 hours per academic year of community service and philanthropic events. Again, all of this is done in the company of close friends and in the context of enjoying ourselves. One of the best ways to get to know us and to see if you’re ready to make one of the most fulfilling decisions of your life is to come to our Rush events! We highly encourage anyone who is even remotely interested to come and meet a brother!
RUSH SCHEDULE FALL 2016:
Fall 2016 rush schedule is TBD.
When you’ve come to a bunch of rush events and feel ready to take the leap, you’ll receive a bid, which is a formal invitation to pledge Alpha Sigma Phi. A bid means that every brother in the house supports you joining our brotherhood. When you accept the bid, you’ll go through our pledge ceremony, where you’ll ultimately vow to act according to a strong moral compass throughout your time as a pledge. Becoming a pledge is a non-binding agreement. This means that you have the freedom to de-pledge at any point before the initiation ceremony, so if you decide that a fraternity isn’t for you, you have the option of not joining, even after the pledge ceremony.
Our pledge education process takes 5 weeks, and will ultimately educate you about our values, our brotherhood, and our history on both the Cal campus and on a national level. We have a strict no-hazing policy. If you feel that you are being hazed at any point in your college career, you should call the anti-hazing hotline at 1-888-NOT-HAZE.
By the end of your pledge education, you will be offered the opportunity to join our brotherhood as a full-fledged brother. Should you accept, you will go through the same initiation ceremony that every brother since our fraternity’s founding has gone through since our inception in 1845.
FAQ:
- Will I get hazed?
No. No brother of our fraternity has been hazed, and we believe in passing on that great tradition. What we do is founded solidly in respect for other human beings, and that respect would be thoroughly sullied by any act of hazing. - Don’t fraternities get in trouble all the time?
Fraternities get a really bad rap for doing stupid things all the time and then getting in trouble. Yes, some fraternities actually do things that they shouldn’t. In recent memory, UC Berkeley has stepped up to the challenge of disciplining fraternities who have hazed, have had members found guilty of sexual assault at fraternal functions, etc. Many of the groups who have been found responsible for doing reprehensible things have been kicked off of campus.
We simply don’t do the kinds of things that get fraternities in trouble. We respect others too much to even really consider that kind of thing.
- Isn’t a fraternity basically a way to buy your friends?
There is definitely a financial aspect to a fraternity in the form of membership and social dues. Our money goes into a bank account, which we then use to cover various expenses ranging from social events for our brotherhood to philanthropic events. For instance, when we were doing a brotherhood trip to Las Vegas and wanted to rent out a hotel room, we use the communal bank account to pay for it. This way, one person isn’t stuck trying to front a huge sum and then trying to get reimbursed by a large number of individuals for it. It’s effectively the same as planning out an event and then asking everyone to pitch in an equal share of the cost of the event, just stretched out over the course of a semester.
- How should I explain this to my parents?
Everyone’s parents react differently to them joining a fraternity, and a good number of our brothers have had difficult conversations with their parents prior to joining. This means we understand the nervousness you may experience with talking to parents, but we do have many people who can be a big help to you in this regard. There are brothers who even mention they did not think their parents would be okay with the idea of letting their son join a fraternity, but were completely supportive of the matter. Although that isn’t always the case, there are brothers who are more than happy to speak with you about ways to address whatever issues your parents may have, and even to sit down and talk to your parents with you to help show them that this organization is worth your time.