Crisis Help-Line – (513) 523-6345 – enter option 8
A crisis is a time of intense difficulty, struggle, or concern. Items such as accounts receivable, chapter awards, or general after GHQ office-hour questions are not the encouraged usage of this line.
Hazing Hotline – (888) NOT-HAZE – (888) 668-4293
Keeping Our Members Healthy & Safe:
Phi Delta Theta is committed to continuing its leadership role in higher education when addressing the widespread challenges of campus health and safety. Creating safe environments for our undergraduate students is, and has been for many years, a top priority for the Fraternity.
While Phi Delta Theta has strict risk management policies, this is only the foundation for risk prevention. Supporting our policies are many pillars: Comprehensive training that reaches thousands of undergraduate members annually at the Fraternity’s in-person Leadership and Ethics Academy programs, a 20-year track record of alcohol-free housing, undergraduate and volunteer officer positions at each chapter that focus on preventing risk, anti-hazing programs, resources, opportunities to seek help, standardized new member training and activities, culture building initiatives that teach individuals to intervene when necessary, and supporting those individuals who have the opportunity to work with our chapters (live-in advisors, volunteers, and parents).
Like any fraternity or organization that works directly with young adults, Phi Delta Theta is not immune to accidents or individuals with bad intent, but we remain vigilant in our strategies and are swift to act when individuals and chapters divert from our expectations.
Phi Delta Theta knows that to deter bad behavior in a group setting, an environment must be created that encourages individuals to speak up without hesitation when they see something that isn’t right. The Fraternity’s Good Samaritan Policy helps to create this environment.
Further, Phi Delta Theta offers an amnesty opportunity for any chapter that is concerned with their commitment to the Fraternity’s risk management policies and wishes to seek help in developing a more positive, values-based experience for their members.
New Member Education & Our Anti-Hazing Efforts:
Once a young man decides to join Phi Delta Theta, he enters a new member education period called the “Phikeia Program.” The Phikeia program is a period filled with education that reaffirms the principles of the Fraternity, and new members receive positive and encouraging preparation for the responsibilities of Phi Delta Theta membership.
Many discussions about enhancing the health and safety of fraternity men begin by examining new member periods. Athletic teams, bands, fraternities, and many other high school, college, and professional organizations all work to keep hazing from creeping into their operations. Phi Delta Theta does not condone any form of hazing and spends great resources educating about its dangers and consequences. Hazing is contrary to the purpose of fraternity, let alone Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.
Many fraternities are making productive changes to new member periods, and Phi Delta Theta fits into that category. In recent years, Phi Delta Theta has worked to standardize much of the educational content and activities associated with its new member program. Through online educational modules and standardized programs around the new member induction ceremony, big brother program, and initiation activities, the Fraternity continues to emphasize that there is no place for hazing in the organization. Our annual Phikeia Educators College educates in-person nearly 200 of our chapters’ new member educators and assists them in building Phikeia programs that are full of value and free of hazing.
When it comes to anti-hazing legislation and policies on a larger scale, Phi Delta Theta supports efforts at the federal, state, and campus level that heighten the consequences associated with those individuals who chose to do it. This included support of the Max Gruver Law in Louisiana.
A Fraternity With Alcohol Free Housing:
In 1997, Phi Delta Theta announced its Alcohol-free Housing Policy to the world, and full implementation began in 2000. There were many reasons for this leading decision, but at the forefront of the decision was the alcohol-dominated culture that existed on college campuses and within our chapters that was diminishing the principles upon which Phi Delta Theta was founded.
Since the implementation, Phi Delta Theta has undergone transformational change and has become a noticed leader within the fraternal world. The policy, deemed by many as a factor that could be the end of an organization, has benefited Phi Delta Theta greatly in many ways. Most importantly, the culture that it has created is attracting values-based men who are placed in safe environments where they can become the greatest versions of themselves. We encourage other fraternal organizations to adopt such policy.
Phi Delta Theta chapter properties are to remain free from alcohol by anyone, at any time, under any circumstance. The chapter property may be owned by a local house corporation, college or university, or other entity. If the property is considered Phi Delta Theta “space”, the property is to be alcohol-free. This includes not only the structural facility, but the outdoor area including the front and back yard, parking lot and sidewalks.
Doing What Ought To Be Done – Bystander Education
There is no quote more revered in Phi Delta Theta than, “To do what ought to be done, but would not have been done unless I did it, I thought to be my duty,” stated by Founding Father Robert Morrison. The spirit of this quote led to a relationship with the Prevention Innovations Research Center (PIRC) at the University of New Hampshire to assess our members’ abilities to build skills and tools to intervene in life and death situations.
As a result of this assessment, Phi Delta Theta launched its Do What Ought To Be Done educational initiative that introduced important bystander intervention education to every undergraduate member and volunteer. The Fraternity’s Your Brother’s Keeper” online educational program teaches bystander intervention, including the process of noticing an event, interpreting it as a problem, feeling responsible to intervene, and possessing the necessary skills to act. To expand on the initiative, in-person workshops now occur at each chapter.
Phi Delta Theta’s strong stance on sexual misconduct prevention is in line with our organizational commitment to cultivate responsible young men on college campuses. In 2015, Phi Delta Theta began offering the in-person workshop Taking a Stand: Preventing Sexual Misconduct on Campus, a program designed and provided by the Fraternal Health and Safety Initiative, a consortium developed by the James R. Favor Company and eight international and national fraternities to fight the most pressing social issues facing college campuses today.
Supporting Our Members:
Campus Professionals, Live-In Advisors, Volunteers, and Parents
Building an organizational culture that promotes health and safety must constantly be reinforced through effective advisory support and adult supervision at each chapter. Our best chapters are those that are supported on many different fronts. Phi Delta Theta focuses on four specific audiences to execute such reinforcement:
Campus Professionals – Positive working relationships with campus professionals is extremely important to Phi Delta Theta. We take pride in the relationships that we develop with campus professionals in order to have honest, two-way conversations about the state of Phi Delta Theta on campus. We encourage these campus-based employees to work with us when issues arise, and we encourage our chapters to take advantage of the many value-add programs that are offered on campus each year.
Volunteers – Phi Delta Theta is powered by its volunteers, and we are honored to have more than 1,500 on our team working in many capacities. In the last decade alone, the Fraternity has increased its Chapter Advisory Board members by 185%. We have more than 1,100 volunteers on the ground working directly with our chapters. Our volunteers are certified through online education and have the opportunity to gain valuable training at regional retreats each year.
Live-In Advisors – Many Phi Delta Theta chapters with houses employ a live-in advisor. Live-in advisors provide important guidance, oversight, and mentorship on a day-to-day basis. The Fraternity has set a goal that insures that 60% of its chapter houses have a live-in advisor. To support them, the Fraternity hosts a Live-In Advisor Bootcamp each summer to equip these individuals with the tool they need to be successful.
Parents – Phi Delta Theta encourages its members’ parents to become involved with their sons’ fraternity experience. Whether it’s involvement in a parents club or volunteering on the Chapter Advisory Board, we welcome and encourage parent involvement within each chapter. Some of the greatest parent involvement can happen at home through honest conversations. Phi Delta Theta provides a Parent Handbook to the parents of our undergraduate members that focuses on how to help their son engage in a safe and enjoyable fraternal experience.
Have A Concern? Please Contact Us.
As we aim to provide our members with a safe and positive fraternal experience, we understand that there are cultures at every college campus working against us. Phi Delta Theta takes great pride in our forward-thinking mentality within the world of fraternal organizations and has become known for many of the bold decisions we’ve made to help shape our Fraternity and those around us. If you ever have any concerns that affect the health and safety of our members, we encourage you to contact us.