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TKE is friendship. It
is a deep friendship and mutual understanding among a group
of men who have similar ideals, hopes, and purposes. Such
a bond of friendship and understanding furnishes the indispensable
incentive which helps the college man develop into a poised
and self-confident adult--equipped with a keener mind, a greater
appreciation, and broader sympathies, and fortified by a group
of true and understanding friends which will abide throughout
life. Any definition, however, would be inadequate without
describing what a fraternity does or what characteristics
it posseses. To this end TKE is:
Adventure In Group Living
College men joined together in the closest
ties of friendship give to each other and learn from all the
ability to live with men in harmony and good will. The adage
"to live and learn" is certainly applicable to a social fraternity,
for the experience that you gain from living, working, and
relaxing in a cooperative endeavor reveals the qualities that
are needed to get along with people, and to win the respect
of your fellow man.
Education In Leadership
Leadership is one of the many things
that cannot be learned from a text book. It must be developed
through proper experience. In TKE you have an opportunity
to develop your leadership ability in an atmosphere of friendliness
and brotherhood, and have an opportunity to put your leadership
ability to work. The crying need in every organization is
for the right kind of leadership, and in your chapter the
opportunities for leadership education are many and varied.
Every talent and ability imaginable is found in a fraternity.
Here also opportunity exists to develop new talents and to
create.
Crucible Of Democracy
Tau Kappa Epsilon is self-governed.
Probably for the first time, you will find yourself in a living,
viable organization--the success or failure of which will
be determined in part by your voice and vote.
Idealism In Action
The ideals and principles expressed
by Tau Kappa Epsilon may be in some ways seem unrealistic.
The failure, however, to always achieve these lofty purposes
does not in any way detract from the ideals themselves. By
formulating worthwile goals and purposes, and by working toward
fulfillment, your chapter forms a utopian situation seldom
found elsewhere.
A Magnificent Obsession
No explanation can be given for the
time, money, and energy freely and voluntarily contributed
to TKE by mature men, except to say that they are obsessed.
An obsession is something that grips you, and won't be shaken
off. But when it influences the lives of the young men--in
the right directions--it becomes magnificent. It is one hope
of safeguarding the future.
A Mutually-Selective Organization
And finally, TKE is a mutually -selective
organization. This membership selection procedure distinguishes
a social fraternity from other organizations on a college
campus. You select the fraternity with which you want to affiliate
and, in turn, the fraternity selects you as a man to whom
the opportunity for membership is extended. Only by mutual
consent between you and the fraternity does this union occur.
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