Recruitment is the lifeblood of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity. One of the great benefits of our international network of more than 70,000 alumni is the potential to shape lives through recruitment referrals.
Anyone can submit a recruitment recommendation form (sam.org/recommend), and interested students can also let a chapter know they are interested at sam.org/join. Ultimately, recruitment is a process of mutual selection. The chapter will determine who it wants to invite to join by extending a bid. The potential new member (PNM) has the opportunity to evaluate whether or not he wants to accept that invitation to join.
This mutual selection process changes when a potential new member has legacy status.
The Fraternity’s Constitution and Bylaws state, “It shall be the policy of each Chapter to extend a bid to the son or grandson of any frater of Sigma Alpha Mu, and to the brother of any frater of the same Chapter.”
The chapter must be notified online at sam.org/recommend of the potential new member’s legacy status before the recruitment period. Sigma Alpha Mu International Headquarters will authenticate the legacy status of the PNM and notify the chapter leadership. Please submit any legacy referrals at your earliest convenience. The more time the chapter has to connect with the PNM, the better!
It is critical that the legacy notification is submitted at sam.org/recommend, so there is no ambiguity of who was notified and when. Unfortunately, passing comments made during recruitment to a member of the chapter might not be recorded or relayed due to the fast-paced nature of the process. Please don’t leave access to membership up for chance. The headquarters staff reviews all submitted referrals with the chapter leadership.
Documenting legacy status on a university recruitment document is a good first step to take. Keep in mind that universities and interfraternity councils may not know our specific legacy policy and may not share this information with the Chapter or Fraternity Headquarters. To ensure that the chapter receives an official legacy notification from the Fraternity Headquarters, we ask you to submit the documentation at sam.org/recommend.
The recruitment experience should be the same for all PNMS. The reality is that legacies are treated differently because they are required to receive a bid. No student should be bullied, harassed, or intimidated in conjunction with Sigma Alpha Mu from recruitment, during candidate education, to the initiation, or through graduation. We encourage any reports of misconduct to be filed at https://sam.org/incident-report/.
Some PNMs decide not to inform a chapter because they want to receive a bid on their own merits. Others are concerned that they will be treated differently through recruitment if their legacy status is known. The reality is that if the legacy status isn’t reported to the chapter in advance of recruitment, they cannot be held accountable for the policy.
If the chapter was notified in writing of the potential new member’s legacy status before the recruitment period and did not extend a bid as required by the Blue Book, please report the violation to Sigma Alpha Mu International Headquarters. Our staff will verify that the PNM legacy notification was received by the chapter, engage the chapter leaders about the issue, and intervene on behalf of the legacy PNM.
Chapters that knowingly violate the legacy policy are referred to Sigma Alpha Mu International Fraternity’s Standards Committee for disciplinary review.
To be direct, no. All candidates in Sigma Alpha Mu must uphold the policies and practices of the Fraternity. Any candidate can be removed prior to initiation for conduct or failure to meet minimum expectations. That said, the candidate education program (True MDH Initiative) is designed to educate candidates about of values, history and operations rather than a process to “weed out” individuals.
Unfortunately, Sigma Alpha Mu doesn’t have an active presence on every campus across North America. In some cases, chapters with storied histories are now closed due to conduct or membership. We encourage you to share their information with the International Fraternity. Whether we have had a chapter there before or this would be our first time on campus, we would love to discuss this process with him. This effort would be supported by our dedicated Growth Department. Learn more at sam.org/expansion.
Sharing the bond of brotherhood in Sigma Alpha Mu with your son, grandson, or brother is an amazing experience. We encourage you to support his experience and learn more about the current policies and practices of Sigma Alpha Mu. All initiated members of Sigma Alpha Mu can participate in the Initiation Ceremony as prescribed in the Black Book. You’re encouraged to coordinate with the Chapter Advisor or Chapter Prior to be a part of that experience. Often fathers, grandfathers, or brothers are given the role of pinning our distinct octagonal badge on the new initiate. Upon the legacy’s initiation, all known legacies are published in The Octagonian’s “Sires and Sons” section. Some fathers have gotten involved as a volunteer. Others have helped to coordinate parent communication and support.
