Ritual of Initiation

Delta Upsilon Ritual of Initiation

Concerning the Ceremonies of the Ritual

The Ritual of Initiation consists of two parts, Rite I and Rite II. In Rite I the candidates for admission, having been brought by Marshals before an Examiner, make declarations of negative character. Thereupon they are informed of the nature of the pledges to follow in the main part of the initiation, and they indicate their willingness to take those pledges. They then sign the Roll Book and are qualified to proceed in the initiation.

While Rite I is in progress, the members of the Chapter and the visiting alumni are called to order by the Master of Ceremonies in the Chapter Room or Initiation Hall. At the termination of Rite I, the candidates are brought by the Examiner and the Marshals before the assembled brothers, and Rite II begins, administered by the Master of Ceremonies.

Rite II is the chief part of the ceremony. In it, the candidates take the initiation pledges, are invested with the Fraternity insignia, and are formally inducted into the Fraternity.

Both rites should be performed in a dignified and deliberate manner. The Chapter should choose with care those who are to take an active part in the initiation. Especially careful should be the choice of the Examiner for Rite I and of the Master of Ceremonies for Rite II. The success of the initiation will depend largely on the manner in which the officiates discharge their functions. They need not be undergraduates; alumni may be chosen if the Chapter thinks best. But in either case, men should be chosen who have a good presence and a strong, agreeable voice, and who can read or speak with effect. An impressive reading of the lines of the Ritual is recommended as conducive to greater dignity than reliance upon a treacherous memory.

It is highly desirable that the Chapter be thoroughly familiar with the general plan of the Ritual before it is administered. For that reason it is recommended that the Chapter rehearse the Ritual, with two or three of its number acting as candidates.

The brothers attending an initiation should be uniformly dressed, either in formal evening dress or in informal dress of dark color. Uniformity shall also prevail among the initiates. The use of academic gowns is urged for the officials.

The Initiation Hall shall be so arranged so that the Master of Ceremonies, the Speaker, the Chaplain, the Examiner, and the Chief Marshal all face the assembled brothers. The initiates shall be placed in front of the brothers so as to face the Master of Ceremonies. They should be placed in the same order as their names appear on the Chief Marshal's list. The space reserved for the Examiner, Marshals, and Initiates is vacant during Rite I, as they do not enter until after it has terminated.

Chairs shall be so placed that one is behind each official and initiate, so that at the proper time they may be seated without confusion. A table or altar shall be placed before the Master. If desired, candles or braziers may burn on or beside it. At the beginning of Rite II, the Roll Book will be placed on the table, closed, with a book mark at the place where the initiates have signed, so that it may be readily opened by the Master for the confirmation of signatures.

Prior to the initiation, the badge of each candidate shall be pinned to a separate loop of official Fraternity ribbon, each piece of ribbon being about thirty-six inches long. The ends of each ribbon shall be crossed and fastened together with the badge, and the ribbons with their badges laid upon a table convenient to the Master of Ceremonies. At the proper point in the ceremony, the Master will place the ribbons about the necks of the respective candidates.

The lights in the Initiation Hall should be turned down or shielded in such a manner as to diffuse a soft light throughout the room and yet leave sufficient illumination by which to read. The use of dignified ceremonial is to be recommended, but care must be taken to avoid purely theatrical effects.

The Procedure Before Initiation

Several days before each initiation some designated officer of the Chapter shall read and explain to all of the candidates the Constitution and By-Laws of the Fraternity and of the Chapter. On that occasion, or preferably on some later day—but before the day of initiation—a conference to be known as the "initiation conference" shall occur between the candidates and some of the older brothers, including if possible one or more of the active alumni. The purpose of this conference is to explain to the candidates the history, principles, and policy of the General Fraternity and of the Chapter. The candidates shall be encouraged to ask questions, and the entire conference, while thoroughly dignified, shall also be informal and personal in tone. It usually will be found expedient to assign specific topics for discussion to the brothers present. For example, one might be appointed to present the history and ideals of the Fraternity, another the government and the policy of the Fraternity, another the history of the Chapter, another the present condition and relationships of the Chapter, and so on.

The candidates for initiation shall receive on the day preceding the day of initiation the following letter:

Dear (Name) :

This is to inform you that on the evening of (Date) you are to be initiated into the Chapter of Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

On the evening of that day you will be in your room at the hour of and will remain there until summoned.

(Signature of Chapter Secretary)

At the appointed hour, after each candidate shall have been brought by an upper-classman from his room direct to the Marshal's room in the Chapter House, the Ritual shall be administered. In case a candidate lives at a great distance from the House, he may, at the discretion of the Chapter, be instructed to come to the House without escort and to go to a designated room.

The Order for Initiation of a Candidate - Rite I

The room in which this Rite takes place shall have a table at the front, with the Roll Book open upon it, and chairs for the candidates and Examiner and Marshal, if desired. The Marshal, bearing a baton or wand of office, shall assemble the candidates in another room conveniently located, whence he shall conduct them into the chamber for this Rite, after which the Examiner shall enter to them. All may then be seated.

If desired, there may be as many Marshals as candidates; in which case each candidate shall be escorted to the Examiner's room, and later to the Initiation Hall, by a designated Marshal.

Chief Marshall. Brother Examiner, these men, who have accepted the fellowship we offer, now present themselves for admission to our brotherhood, and are ready to receive instruction in the solemn and irrevocable pledges which they are about to take.

Examiner. It is fitting that you receive instruction in these pledges, so laden with responsibility and fertile in opportunity. They bring to you life-long relations of friendship and of brotherhood, with duties you will not easily avoid, and with privileges you can receive on no other terms. This home will be your college home; those who dwell here will be your brothers, you counsellors, your protectors. Their influence will help to mould your character and your future. You rightly ask much of a brotherhood to which you give yourselves without impediment or reserve. They rightly ask of you not to surrender yourselves without full realization of the purport and finality of the pledges you are to take.

Before proceeding to such instruction, however, it will first be necessary to make certain preliminary declarations.

Chief Marshal. Do you on your honor declare that you are members of no college fraternity, and are pledged to none but this?

Then shall the Chief Marshal read each name, to which the candidate shall reply: I do.

Chief Marshal. Do you also on your honor declare that you entertain no sentiment toward any member of this Chapter that would prevent you from maintaining cordial and brotherly relations with him?

Then shall the Chief Marshal read the names as before, to which each candidate shall reply: I do.

Examiner. Of those who would enter our Fraternity we ask two things—that they shall know our ideals, and that they shall pledge themselves to help us realize those ideals. We have instructed you in the history and the principles of our brotherhood. We have told you of the early secret fraternities, of the evil that attended their control of student affairs, and of the sentiment hostile to themselves which they bred. We have explained the origin of the anti-secret societies at Williams, Union, Hamilton, and Amherst, the coalition between them which, in 1847, marked the vigorous advance of Delta Upsilon.

As time passed, the character of the secret societies so altered, that hostility toward them decreased. Delta Upsilon recognized this happier period by adopting the principle of non-secrecy in place of anti-secrecy. This modification of our ancient attitude must not be misunderstood. It meant no less hatred of evil practices in secret societies; it was but an acknowledgment of the disappearance of those practices, and sprang from a logical devotion to our basic principle taught in the motto of our Fraternity—DIKAIA UPOTHEKE—Justice, our Foundation. Our first exercise in justice, the protest against the secret societies, served its end and is no longer necessary, but the battles of Justice are infinite, and her champions are ever needed to serve her cause in the College and in the State. To forward the ends of enlightened equity demands knowledge and sympathy, the broad mind and the large heart. It is man's work, to be done best by those who have enjoyed the twofold education of intellect and of character.

We have therefore, formed ourselves into a Fraternity in order to advance justice, maintain and diffuse liberal principles, and promote culture and intellectual, moral, and social improvement.

After a brief pause the Examiner shall proceed:

We have expounded to you our ideals. Because we believe them to be your ideals also, we bring you to your initiation, wherein you must pledge your allegiance to Delta Upsilon, must promise to be faithful in every relation of brotherhood, and must solemnly declare, before many witnesses, your determination to stand for the principles of our Fraternity. And you must reflect that the spoken pledge is without any avail unless your life exemplifies your words. Therefore, consider carefully, that you may approach not unadvisedly to your initiation. The vows, once taken, are irrevocable. If you are not in thorough sympathy with our ideals, if you are at all uncertain in your desire to become a member of this Fraternity, you have now a last opportunity to declare yourself.

After a brief pause the Examiner shall proceed:

As a manifestation of your willingness to accept the pledges required of members of this Fraternity, you will now inscribe your name within this Roll Book containing those promises which you are soon to make in the presence of our Brotherhood.

Here, the candidates shall advance in single file and sign the Roll Book. As each candidate signs, the Examiner shall remove the pledge button --->.

At the conclusion of this ceremony, the Chief Marshal and his assistants, if there be any, all bearing their batons or wands, and accompanied by the Examiner bearing the Roll Book, shall lead the candidates to the Initiation Hall. There, the Examiner shall place the Roll Book, with a book mark in the place where the initiates have signed, on the table in front of the Master of Ceremonies. All shall go to their places and stand.

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The Order for Initiation of a Candidate - Rite II

While Rite I is in progress, the Master of Ceremonies shall call the members of the Fraternity to order in the Initiation Hall. When the Examiner and Marshal enter with the candidates, all shall stand and sing a suitable Fraternity song.

Master. As it is our duty to watch over the welfare of our Fraternity, that it may continue in vigorous life, it behooves us from time to time to add to our number such men as will most honor our Brotherhood. Upon these who stand before us our choice has fallen. We are now assembled to receive the pledges of their devotion, and to seal their acceptance into our Brotherhood. Not only to those who are received and to us who receive them, but to all who may come within the influence of this Fraternity, these pledges and this initiation are momentous.

Since our words and deeds show forth only as the manifestation of that Great Being, of Whom we are a part, let us invoke the blessing of Almighty God.

Chaplain. Almighty and everlasting God, Who didst inspire our fathers to establish this Fraternity upon justice for its foundation; Grant unto us in our day such a love of truth and justice, such a desire for righteousness, and such a knowledge of Thy will as may enable us to be just in all out dealings with each other and with the world, and to live worthily of this, our Fraternity. May this Brotherhood, founded upon Thy laws and for the setting forward of all high and noble ideals, enjoy Thy continual favor and be to us and to those who now enter its fellowship a constant source of strength and happiness, and an unfailing means for advancing all that is right and true, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alternative text Rite II

Master. We who chose you for membership in Delta Upsilon because you sought such affiliation, now offer you the opportunity to become an integral part of our Brotherhood. As others of us preceded both the challenge and the privilege to preserve for posterity the noble purposes of our Fraternity, we now challenge you in the solemnity of this hour, to accept and pledge to live by the obligations of membership in our Fraternity

Our words and deeds have emerged from common heritage of acceptance and belief in a Supreme Being. It is an essential and basic part of our tradition to turn to God in prayer as did our founding brothers.

Chaplain. Let us pray. God of our fathers and our God, who inspired the formation of Delta Upsilon Fraternity with Justice as its sure foundation, may we temper the rigor of our present world with a deepened appreciation of the beauty and strength of friendship.

May we encourage one another and in common concern be ever faithful to the highest and best we know. Together enable us to live bravely amid the discouragements of life; see to acquit ourselves like men and continue to believe in the best, even in the face of failure.

May we never use our brotherhood as a means to seek selfish ends and keep us free of cynicism. May no unworthy thoughts nor deeds cloud our skies, nor our actions make rough the road for others who would follow. May we never fail to keep faith with those who place their trust in us. Let us renew the vows once made and now shared with these new Brothers.

Grant us the strength to serve; the moral courage to live more nobly and strive to achieve the maturity if independent minds. May no pettiness, nor pride of exclusiveness ever keep us from rendering to Delta Upsilon the vision of the highest and noblest purposes as they have emerged from Justice, our sure Foundation.

In all this we ask Thy blessing in the knowledge that the highest ideals and noblest thoughts come from Thee. Amen.

Master. Brothers in Delta Upsilon, you have unanimously elected to membership in our Fraternity—(here shall be read the full names of each candidate.) Before proceeding to their initiation, however, it is fitting that we should examine once more our own hearts. In a brotherhood such as ours, a close and lasting friendship must unite all its members—such intimate and permanent influence as shall mould them to a rounded type of manhood. Our past is secure; our future depends upon our vigilance. We must jealously guard against any who may disturb the harmony of our fraternal life, against any whose presence may lower our standards or becloud our ideals. Therefore, I now challenge you in the name of Delta Upsilon:

Does any brother know any reason why any of these candidates should not be received into the fellowship of our Fraternity?

Here shall follow a short pause, after which the Master shall continue:

Your silence makes it your duty to remove from your minds all prejudice or feelings which might hinder the discharge of any brotherly obligation.

I therefore charge you so to rule your thought and conduct that, in all of your future relations with these men, naught shall mar the trust and brotherly affection which should ever exist between you.

Here, turning from the members, the Master shall address himself to the candidates.

This hour, to all of us impressive, to you, sirs, should be especially solemn. We initiate you into no meaningless secrets, but into a brotherhood founded upon a principle which it is our duty to exemplify in our lives,—DIKAIA UPOTHEKE,—Justice, our Foundation. The relationship of brotherhood is a sacred one. Its ties are noble, for it has been divinely established by the great Exemplar as the proper bearing of man toward man. It is therefore the ideal of human relationship, an ideal which we see to realize in our fraternal life, thereby learning from our Fraternity the highest lessons of human duty and opportunity. In this brotherhood, justice is our guiding principle, and as justice is but truth in action, it is our deeds which testify our loyalty to the ideals of our Fraternity and our worthiness to conserve the heritage handed down to us by past generations of Delta Upsilon. In uprightness, in nobility, in consideration of others and fair dealing with them, in constant endeavor to promote truth and equity in every relation in which we may be cast—in such ways do the lessons of our Fraternity bear their richest fruit. Into such a brotherhood we offer you the opportunity to enter. But in entering you must pledge undying loyalty to Delta Upsilon and to its ideals.

At this point, if a Charge be given, the Master shall continue:

It is, therefore, well that we should here pause to consider those ideals more fully.

Here, all being seated, the Charge shall be delivered. The Master should introduce the speaker, giving his name, chapter, class, and such other information about him as may be appropriate. At its close the Master shall rise, and all with him.

Here may be sung a Fraternity song.

Examiner. Brother Master, I present to you these candidates present, to be admitted to fellowship in the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. They have made the preliminary declarations, and, having learned the nature of the pledges, are prepared to take them.

Master. The pledges I now propose to you, you must take upon your word of honor to hold them sacred and inviolable forever.

The Master shall read the pledges aloud, a few words at a time, the candidates repeating each phrase in unison.

Master. You will pronounce your name and repeat after me, in unison:

I, (here shall be inserted the full name of the candidate), * of my own free will and accord, * in the presence of God and of these witnesses, * do hereby solemnly declare * that the principles of this Fraternity * as they have been explained to me * accord entirely with my own views; * and I solemnly promise * that as a member of this Fraternity * I will faithfully adhere to those principles, * endeavoring in every way to perfect myself * morally, intellectually, and socially, * and endeavoring also to act towards others * according to that high standard of conduct * required by the Fraternity.

I solemnly promise that I will be loyal * to the Delta Upsilon Fraternity * and to the Chapter thereof, * abiding by their rules, * discharging my obligations to them faithfully, * and using all honorable means * to promote their interests.

I solemnly promise that I will share with my brothers * the duties of my Chapter; * that I will uphold and encourage them * in all that is honorable and right; * that I will ever extend to each brother * the right hand of sympathy; * and that at all times and in all circumstances * I will endeavor to cultivate those sentiments * which should ever exist between brothers.

All this I solemnly promise upon my honor, * without any equivocation, * mental reservation, * or secret evasion of mind whatsoever.

Master. Brothers, we are all witnesses to these pledges.

After a short pause the Master opens the Roll Book at the place where the initiates have signed, and carries it before each candidate so that while the Chief Marshal calls the roll, each candidate whose name is called shall have the book before him.

Master. Do you, before God and in the presence of these witnesses, acknowledge this signature which you have subscribed herein to the pledges just now repeated? If so, you will answer to your name, "I do."

The Chief Marshal shall here call the roll of the candidates.

Under the guidance of the Marshals, the candidates shall then pass before the Master to receive the insignia. Each candidate shall stand or kneel before the Master, and the latter, placing the ribbon with the badge---> about the candidate's neck, shall say:

Master. Receive and wear this badge in token of your membership in the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

During this interval a Fraternity song may be sung or music softly played.

Master. Initiates of Delta Upsilon, you have this day received a distinction which falls to the lot of few men—decoration with the insignia of our Fraternity. It marks the confidence which we repose in you. May the ties which it symbolizes strengthen perpetually, and may its possession instill in you the spirit of undying loyalty to Delta Upsilon.

By virtue of the authority vested in me, I now declare you members of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

I extend to you the right hand of fellowship.

The Master shall here advance and offer his hand to each initiate in turn. The other brothers remain in their places until the end of the entire ceremony.

If there are many initiates, the Master may remain in his place and let them come to him.

Then, to the assembled members, the Master shall say:

Master. Forasmuch as these men are now become your brothers, it is your part and duty to aid them in their struggle toward a larger life, to recall to their minds what solemn pledges they have just now taken before this company; to instruct, reprove, and admonish them with all kindness, according to the principles of our Fraternity and the truth that is in you; and to share with them the benefits and duties of life together.

Then, to the initiates:

Master. And as for you who have been newly received in our fraternal circle, it is your part and duty to bear in mind that you are now one with us in principle and purpose; you are to share with us the privileges and divide with us the responsibilities of faithful service in Delta Upsilon. May your zeal never flag, may your sympathy with its interests ever grow deeper, may our mutual regard increase as time shall heighten our appreciation of the noble sentiments which have made us one. May justice, culture, and morality be the motives of your lives, as they have been the motives of our union. May the bonds forged to-day unite us forever in sturdy resolve to attain that goal of true manhood, aspiration toward which is the sign and seal of our Fraternity.

Here shall be sung a Fraternity song.

Here endeth the Ceremony of Initiation... Back to Top