A Greek organization is a group of individuals of similar interests bonded together by common goals and aspirations. These bonds are created through rituals in which all members participate. Rituals are based on common principles such as honor, friendship, truth and knowledge, to name a few. Each fraternity works to instill these ideals in their members through their everyday activities.

It is referred to as a Greek organization because the name consists of Greek letters. (As part of our new member education program, we will teach your son what the various letters in the Greek alphabet signify).  These letters serve as a reminder of the core values of the group. 

At Oswego, the college has a group called the Student Involvement Center that oversees all facets of Greek Life. They administer a broad array of programs and policies that are designed to promote and instill a “best practices” mindset within all registered Greek organizations. To become recognized and remain in good standing requires the fraternity to actively remain in compliance with many detailed codes of conduct. Being a recognized organization is not something we, nor other organizations take lightly. We are ultra - focused on living up to the Standards of Excellence required of all registered Greek organizations at SUNY Oswego.

Greek Life provides students with various opportunities to be involved in their fraternity, council, Greek Community, and university. Within the SUNY Oswego college community, some of the top leadership positions on and off campus are held by fraternity and sorority members. The Greek Community also helps its members fine-tune their leadership skills by providing a structure for mentoring, career development environments and an ongoing forum for motivated brothers to develop and contribute their leadership skills. Most importantly, the brotherhood bonds that will form and memories that will be created are incredibly powerful and lifelong. In our view, these experiences cannot be replicated solely through other college organizations. This said, we encourage our brothers to also be involved in other college organizations.  We have a long history of our brothers leading and taking active roles in many types of non - Greek college organizations, and we have every expectation that this history will continue for many years to come.

Your son’s abilities to prioritize and utilize his time management skills will assist him in becoming a member of Sigma Gamma Fraternity. However, we know that not every young man is at the same level of maturity and life experience when they are beginning their college careers. So, we go to considerable lengths to reinforce good academic habits right from the beginning of their experiences with our fraternity. We have mandatory study sessions at the college library for all potential new members. We make each potential new member submit their course schedule so we can schedule certain activities around their need to excel in the classroom. The big brothers assigned to mentor each potential new member are encouraged to review his coursework and pending deadlines such as upcoming exams, research projects that have to be worked on and handed in and the like are all discussed and factored into what we do. We continue the focus on achieving academic excellence long after the new member education program ends and your son becomes an active brother. Like any other student organization on campus, fraternity members may have obligations to Sigma Gamma (fundraising events, community service/philanthropy, chapter and committee meetings). We do our best to strike a good balance right from the beginning. It absolutely does no one any good to put time and effort into bringing a new member into our fraternity only to see him be unable to continue due to poor grades or other acclimation issues.

Bottom line, as long as your student dedicates time to study, attends class regularly, and uses the significant academic resources SUNY Oswego makes available, his academics should not be compromised. Our new member programs are expedited in nature, in part because of this very reason. We know your son is enrolled to further his education and prepare himself for his post collegiate experience.

The case can be made that indeed, fraternities are social organizations. However, there is a lot more to the Sigma Gamma experience than just socializing. We invite you to explore the content on this web site, doing so will give you a sense of what else we do. Sigma Gamma as an organization spends a considerable amount of time and effort in planning and executing community service and philanthropic activities, which help reinforce our overall mission, values and ideals.  But, to be clear, being in the fraternity means your son will learn about financial management, property management, how business meetings are run, and how our personal actions reflect on an organization as a whole. Your son will also learn to think of the benefits to the organization rather than just an individual.  Simply put, all Sigma Gamma brothers have learned a ton of real world practical and business skills in a social environment.

NO! All that we do require is that when your son becomes a brother, that he share in the collective mission to instill pride in the fraternity, including the House. Your son will be asked to attend meetings, help clean and improve the House and provide leadership and mentor younger brothers as his time in the fraternity continues. And if he is handy, great! His skills will be put to good use!

You know your son better than we do when he’s starting out his SUNY Oswego experience. So, perhaps we will answer this by asking you some questions. Is your son a mature, level headed young man who endeavors to make a difference? Does your son have a good sense of how to positively interact with others? Is your son courteous and does he look out for others? Is your son an intellectually curious young man? Could your son benefit by being around others who are make – it – happen type persons? Does your son want to improve his leadership talents? Is your son the type who would benefit by being in environments that would increase his social confidence and abilities to articulate and advocate his points of view? Did you raise a good son who you have high expectations for?

If the answers to any or all of these and related questions is/are yes, then absolutely Sigma Gamma Fraternity is the right choice for your son! If you have any concerns or questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us via the Contact Us page on this site.

Every fraternity, including ours, has a process where active brothers are expected to pay dues each semester to remain in good standing. Dues collected are complemented by monies we try to raise at various fundraising events we plan. Additionally, we receive some alumni support which allows us to do what we do. Your son’s dues go to help pay for insurance, social events, and a broad array of fraternity events. It’s always been our experience that being in Sigma Gamma is a bargain compared to the costs that an unaffiliated student might incur as they go through their college experiences. Dues vary depending upon how many members we may have, but generally speaking, active brother dues are in the range of $250 - $300 per semester. 

SUNY Oswego and the State University of New York system have made it abundantly clear that they have zero tolerance for all hazing activities. Any organization violating this policy may be subjected to severe organizational and/or individual sanctions and discipline. Sigma Gamma strongly supports the anti-hazing policies promulgated by the college, and the SUNY system.  Each organization, including Sigma Gamma, must affirm in writing that its officers and members are aware of and will abide by specific codes of conduct that expressly prohibit hazing activities. Our New Member Indoctrination process is not about hazing. Rather, we structure activities that provide opportunities for new members to learn about our fraternity’s history, our culture and our membership. We are more than well aware of the widely - reported accounts of hazing that have caused potential new members to be harmed or suffer life threatening physical or emotional damages. We take steps to promote the brotherhood and reinforcing cycles of bullying and abuse are simply not tolerated nor encouraged in our program. Period. 

As a recognized fraternity in Oswego, we are a self-governing organization who elects officers each semester to lead and manage the fraternity. (Included on this site is a description of what each officer does). Additionally, our alumni are highly engaged with our organization and provide advice and counsel through the Sigma Gamma Alumni Board, in addition to other channels. Similar to a business having board meetings, Sigma Gamma has meetings just about every Sunday night where we discuss all matters relating to the fraternity. We follow Robert’s Rules of Order during these meetings and hold each other accountable while collectively forging a path for our organization to strive for excellence.

That’s up to you, and your relationship with your son. If it were us, we would tell you to encourage your son to attend as many Greek and non-Greek campus events as possible while they are settling into college. We would tell you to encourage your son to learn about our terrific organization and our rich history. We would tell you to encourage your son to express his interest in meeting us, even if he doesn’t know any of our members. We would encourage your son to consider the many enormous benefits associated with being in a fraternity. We would encourage you and your son to ask questions.

And when he is considering whether he should join, encourage him! And support his decision. And when he takes the steps to join us and is eventually rewarded with membership in Sigma Gamma Fraternity, allow yourself to feel the same sense of pride that he will undoubtedly be showing. Appreciate that the new green and gold “colors” of Sigma Gamma that he’ll be wearing will mean more to him than any words he can ever express to you. Appreciate that he will be looking for ways to make a difference once he becomes a brother, and that his sense of involvement and belonging will likely continue far after he concludes his undergraduate studies at SUNY Oswego.

And lastly, most of all, feel a sense of parental pride that you raised a remarkable son.

Feel free to reach out to us through our Contact Us page, or send us an e-mail. We are all about transparency and will be happy to follow up any concerns or additional questions you may have.

Thank you!