Phi Beta Sigma Inducts New Members

By: Michaela Dennis

Staff Writer

During Founders Week, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated Gamma Kappa Gamma hosted their New Members Presentation on April 22 to welcome their new initiates, JaShone Titus and Garrett Ponder.

Phi Beta Sigma is a historically black fraternity at Tarleton State University, chartered in 2016. The principles they follow are brotherhood, scholarship and service. 

The Phi Beta Sigma’s are part of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, where it is a tradition within the council to have a public ceremony to announce the new members of their respected organizations.

During their recruitment process, recruits are kept secret from the public. It is not until the end of their New Member Presentation that interested members are unmasked as members of their respected organization. This demonstrates that these individuals are now part of something bigger than themselves.

In a New Members Presentation, new members will recite information such as facts about their fraternity or other National Pan-Hellenic organizations, step and stroll. Phi Beta Sigma has not held a New Member Presentation since fall 2019 with initiates Malik Miles and Joshua Willis.

Senior Malik Miles is the president of Phi Beta Sigma.

Miles served as the only undergraduate member of their chapter this past fall since other members graduated. This made bringing in new members and preparing for their show stressful for Miles.

Miles said the process is an eye-opener because it helped him develop his leadership skills and experience a process that non-officer members of the fraternity would not be able to. 

He had to understand his initiates’ weaknesses and strengths to properly coach and develop them as members of Phi Beta Sigma.

Miles will graduate next week as a communication major. As he walks away and begins a new chapter in his life, he hopes his fraternity and chapter remember him as someone who worked hard to develop his community.

“Culture is one of our principles,” Miles said. “I want to be remembered as someone who put the culture before my own self through the fraternity.” 

Titus became interested in Phi Beta Sigma during his freshman year of college. He was attracted to how the fraternity conducted itself through brotherhood, community outreach and service on campus. 

Now as an official member of Phi Beta Sigma, Titus has many hopes for his chapter. His goal, with the help of his fraternity brothers, is to network and partner with other organizations to grow their chapter’s platform and diversify the campus. 

Before he graduates, Titus aims to break boundaries as an organization and unite the Tarleton community.

His biggest takeaway from his experience is having a great sense of himself. Through his membership process, he had to manage his job in education and attend practices to prepare for his New Member Presentation. 

Time management was a strong skill Titus developed to maintain a steady lifestyle. Unmasking himself was the best part of the membership process for him. 

“There was so many feelings,” Titus said. “The feeling of relief, amazement, accomplishment. I knew that day I became a Sigma man and it was the right place for me.”

Disclaimer: Michaela Dennis is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated which is the sister sorority to Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated.

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