Due to COVID-19, many chapters are unable to initiate their spring 2020 or fall 2020 Phikeias in-person. For this reason, the General Council has approved a special virtual initiation ceremony that will be hosted on five different dates this fall. The virtual initiation ceremony will give chapters the opportunity to initiate their new members and welcome them as brothers in a method that harkens back to our founding and the first initiate Morton George Williams in 1849. If your chapter is unable to initiate Phikeias in-person, your Phikeias must take part in one of the virtual initiation ceremony opportunities.

This ceremony will involve the reading of The Bond and a commencement speech from a special guest speaker. It will take place within a secured Zoom room with Phikeias from across the United States and Canada.

General Headquarters will host the virtual initiation ceremony for Phikeias on five different dates:

• Session #1: October 7, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. EST
• Session #2: October 28, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. EST
• Session #3: November 18, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. EST
• Session #4: December 8, 2020 at 2 p.m. EST
• Session #5: December 16, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. EST

Please email Renée Crist Lefter at renee@phideltatheta.org with the names and email address of the Phikeias you would like to initiate virtually. Each Phikeia will then receive an email from GHQ with the appropriate Zoom link and other logistical information.

After your chapter’s Phikeias have completed the virtual initiation ceremony, please complete the following:

• Assign Bond numbers to each new member as you normally would.
• Update your roster in PDT U as you normally would, moving the new members from Phikeia to Member status.
• If the Phikeias joined your chapter in the spring of 2020, your chapter has already been billed for their initiation dues. While you should have paid these dues by September 1, 2020, if you haven’t done this please do so immediately. If the Phikeias joined in fall 2020, your chapter will be billed for their initiation dues.
• When you are able, you should conduct the entire initiation ceremony in-person for spring 2020 and fall 2020 Phikeias. In the meantime, your chapter should share the written and unwritten secrets of Phi Delta Theta with your new members so they can actively participate in ritual during weekly chapter meeting. You can contact Laurie Rosenberger at GHQ to schedule a special virtual ritual review from Phi Delta Theta CEO Emeritus Bob Biggs if this is something that interests your chapter.

We look forward to offering this special and unique experience for our newest brothers!