Gamma Sigma Sigma
Initiation Ritual
Pledge/Member-In-Training
Induction
2005
Membership
Vice President: Madame/Mister
President, I would like to present these individuals who have expressed their
willingness to become pledges/members-in-training of Gamma Sigma Sigma.
President: You are
here today because you have shown an interest in becoming members of Gamma Sigma
Sigma, but before you assume the obligations of a pledge/member-in-training in
Gamma Sigma Sigma; we would like to explain to you the fundamentals of our
organization. Our sorority is based on the high ideal of service; not only here
on campus, but also in the community and in the nation. The purpose of this
sorority is to assemble college and university students in the spirit of service
to humanity. It serves to develop friendship among students of all nationalities
and creeds through working side by side toward the fulfillment of these goals.
Our Recording
Secretary, …, will now give you a brief history of Gamma Sigma Sigma.
Recording
Secretary: In October 1952
representatives of seven service sororities met and organized a national service
sorority. They drafted a constitution, elected national officers, selected
symbols and adopted Gamma Sigma Sigma as the name of that sorority. The
constitution went into effect on January 1, 1953.
President:
Our Service Vice President, …, will now explain to you the service program of
the sorority.
Service
Vice President: The supreme
purpose of Gamma Sigma Sigma is service—service to the school, the sorority,
community, nation and humanity. Upon becoming a pledge/member-in-training, it is
understood that you will lend your cooperation in every way possible, to the
best of your ability, and that you will do that which you are called upon to do,
in addition to those tasks which you seek out for yourselves. We believe we can
learn a great deal and accomplish much through cooperation with each other in a
unified program of service. You are the promise of continued and improved
service in the sorority in the future.
President:
Now I would like to present to you …, our Membership Vice President, who will
lead and guide you in your period of pledgeship/membership-in-training.
Membership
Vice President: The period
between your pledging and your activation into … Chapter
of Gamma Sigma Sigma will be a period of apprenticeship by participating in the
activities of our chapter. You must be willing and ready to perform services for
our chapter, school, community and nation. I am here to aid and guide you in
your initial service with us and to
President:
Do you still desire to be a pledge/member-in-training of … Chapter of Gamma
Sigma Sigma? If so, please signify by saying in unison, “I do.”
Pledges:
I do.
President:
You are now ready to take the pledge/member-in-training promise; please repeat
after me: I promise to be true / to the ideals of Gamma Sigma Sigma / to be
prepared / to render service / at all times. I will strive diligently / to
promote fellowship / that in so doing / I shall prove myself worthy / of
entering the sisterhood / of Gamma Sigma Sigma.
The Membership Vice
President will place above your hearts a badge of service, friendship and
equality. When
pledge class is large it is suggested that the chapter devise some way of
pinning pledges/members-in-training in groups or simultaneously.
By wearing the
pledge/member-in-training symbol you have signified your desire to regard the
affairs and problems of the sorority as your own. You have agreed to undertake a
grave responsibility not only toward your university, but also toward your
fellow members. Strive always to maintain its standards and carry your share of
the work with friendly and cheerful service.
Let us pray.
Recording
Secretary: Dear Lord, we ask
that you will be with us, in all we undertake. Help us to carry your Will and
your Way in the work we have taken upon ourselves. Amen.
President: I would
like to welcome you as pledges/members-in-training and I hope that during your
pledge/member-in-training period the ideals of service, friendship and equality
become very real to you, as they have to all of us.
(OPTIONAL)
Sing the National Song.
Collegiate
Chapter/Colony Activation #1
Pledges/Members-in-training
stand together at the front of the room, holding hands.
Membership
Vice President: Madame/Mister
President, it is my pleasure and privilege to present to you these
pledges/members-in-training who I believe have proven themselves worthy of
entering our sorority. During their pledge/member-in-training period, they have
been true to the purposes and ideals of Gamma Sigma Sigma and have shown their
willingness to render service.
President:
As you approached, you linked hands with a future member signifying your
dependence on others, your willingness to cooperate with each other—following
some, leading others. You have learned that our purpose is to assemble students
in the spirit of service to humanity and that it serves to develop friendship
among all nationalities and creeds through working side by side toward the
fulfillment of a goal common to all.
Membership
Vice President: Your membership
with us can mean the development of social contacts through giving service. We
hope that you will be able to realize the full meaning of membership by giving
your best efforts to the sorority. You will gain from Gamma Sigma Sigma only
what you give the sorority; a feeling of accomplishment for services rendered,
lifelong friendships, and a sense of responsibility. You will be the backbone of
the sorority and its promise of continued and improved service in the future.
President:
You will now have the symbols of our sorority explained to you.
Recording
Secretary: The official Gamma
Sigma Sigma Coat of Arms consists of a crest and shield. On the shield the star
symbolizes loyalty, integrity and valor, and the balanced scales represent
equality and justice. The most prominent feature on the shield is the chevron.
Originally the chevron represented the gable of a house and was used as a symbol
for service—service to the home and to the homeland. In a more inclusive sense
it represents service to one’s fellow man. The shield of Gamma Sigma Sigma
worn by a member stands for the protection afforded by friendship. The crest is
that part of the Coat of Arms above the shield. The wreath of colors, the
twisted rope or “torse” of maroon and white, stands for the inspiration of
the sorority’s high ideals, which should spur members to try to act according
to these ideals. The clasped hands within clouds over the world symbolize
universal friendship. On the scroll beneath the shield appears the name Gamma
Sigma Sigma in Greek. The scroll means one must prepare a sign of prudence and
gain a reputation of preparing good deeds.
Service
Vice President: The colors of
Gamma Sigma Sigma are maroon and white. Maroon symbolizes service and white
stands for friendship and equality.
These are shown on
the pointed badge displaying the sorority letters and insignia. The three points
of the badge represent the three essential principles of service, friendship and
equality. Service, symbolized by a staff, represents the aid we give to others;
friendship, symbolized by the white rose, signifies the deep and abiding loyalty
between one member and another; the omicron depicts the equality that exists in
our sorority.
President: As active
members of our sorority, you will be undertaking a great responsibility. The
future of the sorority depends upon you. You should take an active interest in
the national organization and its work. Above all, you are expected to remain
true and loyal to Gamma Sigma Sigma forever.
Are you willing to
accept the responsibilities of membership in Gamma Sigma Sigma? Signify your
willingness by saying, “I am.”
Pledge/Member-in-training:
I am.
President:
Please repeat after me.
I promise to be true
/ to the ideals and purposes of Gamma Sigma Sigma / that I will be prepared to
render service at all times / that I will endeavor to be / a true and loyal
friend to all members of the sorority / that I will always keep / the welfare of
the sorority and that of my fellow members / close to my heart / that I will
strive to promote fellowship / in the hope that I may be found worthy of
entering this sorority.
Membership
Vice President: I will give
each of you, this badge of service, friendship and equality. Please sign the
membership book. (After receiving the badge, pledge/member-in-training signs
membership book and returns to the group.)
President:
Fellow members, you have signified your willingness and desire to regard the
joys, affairs and problems of Gamma Sigma Sigma as your own. Strive always to
maintain the high standards of our organization, and may you always be happy
with the knowledge that your friends will keep your welfare and that of the
sorority close to their hearts.
Let us pray.
Treasurer:
Dear Lord, we ask that you will be with us, both the old and the new members, in
all that we do. Give us wisdom, patience, and courage so that we may give of
ourselves to the service of our fellow man. Help us to carry your Will and your
Way in the tasks we undertake. Amen.
President:
We will now sing our National Song.
Collegiate
Chapter/Colony Activation #2
Activation
takes place in a chapel if desired.
The
pledges/members-in-training are placed in a room near the chapel to contemplate
their sincerity about joining Gamma Sigma Sigma. (Period of silence) The active
members are ready for the ceremony, each holding a lighted candle. Each
pledge/member-in-training is brought into the chapel by the Membership Vice
President and given and unlit candle. The pledge/member-in-training proceeds to
the front row and is met by the Big Sister. The Big Sister lights the candle
from a master candle, representing the entire sorority and then light’s the
pledge’s/member’s-in-training candle. (The Big Sister is the first link the
pledge/member-in-training has had with the sorority.) The Big Sister reads a
copy of the creed to the pledge/member-in-training followed by the oath
(acceptance of the creed).
(In
using this ceremony with a large pledge/member-in-training class, it may be
desirable to read the creed and oath after all pledges/members-in-training have
been brought in.) After each pledge/member-in-training has accepted the creed,
both pledges/members-in-training and actives extinguish their candles,
signifying the completion of the training period and the unity of the members.
The
President welcomes the new members and speaks of their place within the chapter
and the opportunities that lie ahead. The Membership Vice President speaks next,
perhaps about the responsibilities to the membership. Then one of the active
members reads a poem or gives an interpretation about the meaning of the white
rose. The active then gives each new member a white rose. The ceremony ends with
the singing of the National Song.
Creed:
Life is filled with many things to befriend, love and serve. We, as a sorority,
stand united in the desire to aspire to a philosophy including all life’s
entities.
Our belief in
loyalty, friendship, equality, and service gives us the strength to help those
less fortunate than ourselves. Many in today’s world are burdened with
problems they are often not responsible for. With the strength of our bonds of
friendship we will strive to help these burdened beings-the poverty stricken,
the handicapped, the aged. Our lone hope is to alleviate their suffering and
bring a little happiness through a helping hand.
We shall show no
discrimination or prejudice, for all are in need whether they be white, black,
red or yellow.
Our hands are
limited, yet our desires limitless. Although we cannot save the world we shall
strive to serve as many pieces as God permits.
This is our creed and
we shall abide by its content.
Please repeat after
me: (Oath)
I promise to be true
/ to the ideals and purposes of Gamma Sigma Sigma / that I will be prepared to
render service at all times / that I will endeavor to be / a true and loyal
friend to all members of the sorority / that I will always keep / the welfare of
the sorority and that of my fellow members / close to my heart / that I will
strive to promote fellowship / in the hope that I may be found worthy of
entering this sorority.