Fostering brotherhood
Brotherhood – Maintaining Our Traditions
Brotherhood is certainly one of the more serious events of pledge season and often one of the more emotional. This was our chance to see what the pledges have learned, and to in turn show them the importance of brotherhood to this fraternity. This was also essentially our last chance to evaluate pledges to determine if they meet the high standards set by Phi Delta Chi and if they have earned the right to continue to initiation and become a part of our brotherhood.
I must say that this year’s event was very organized and ran very efficiently which helped with the inevitable stress of the evening. In following with the tradition of the event, we maintained as we do every year, a serious and encouraging atmosphere. We wanted the pledges to understand the significance of the event, and to also gain some confidence in our support for them as new pledges, and to see it displayed tangibly.
This is a landmark in the pledging experience, and a night full of nostalgia for actives. We were overall impressed with the performance of the pledges and were very pleased to see they appreciated the importance of the event.
- Chelsea Lopez, AE 1452
To end the night, a few brothers were asked to come forward and to share what brotherhood means to them. This almost always leads to tears shed as our brothers describe how being a part of PDC has positively influenced them and how important we all are to each other. A highlight of the night, pledges were also offered a chance to share what brotherhood means to them. It takes a large amount of courage to stand up in from of the entire chapter and your fellow pledges to share your feelings on the subject but it is a valuable experience to hear what is said.
RISING
STAR
FEATURE
When Phi Delta Chi was founded in 1883, it was only 20 years after the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the commercialization of the incandescent light bulb. Pharmacy itself was also much different—regulations were very loose and although there were several pharmacy schools, most pharmacists trained through apprenticeships. It is clear that the priorities and pharmacy practices of our founders were much different than what we learn at UIC today. And yet, as I heard the stories of our eleven founders and their goals for our fraternity, I still felt an unmistakable sense of brotherhood towards them because of their timeless
ideals. Each will always need
the help of the other, regardless of time or place. Our current active brothers need our support day-to-day and our patients need us to take care of them. Even our oldest brothers from over a hundred years ago need our help in keeping PDC focused on its objective. The history, traditions, and proceedings of our fraternity act as a frequent reminder of the pledging process that every PDC brother has gone through, and as a reminder of the meaningful relationships we developed along the way. It is in this way that we are connected to our brothers throughout time.
- Marianne Palczewski, AE 1520
What was it like learning the lore?
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