1) Most fraternities aren’t creative enough to have a strong enough new member program that warrants having a long program. If there is no benefit in the additional weeks, then why do fraternities have them?
2) Longer new member programs are a drain on the new members. It turns fraternity into a seemingly endless task. That isn’t what fraternity life is all about. Do you really want to bring you newest brothers into the fraternity with this mindset?
3) The longer new member program has a negative impact on the grades of the new members. Is it really a good idea to have the new member program culminate at the end of the semester when it is crunch time for classes? Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.
4) The longer new member program increases the likelihood that a new member will quit. Everyone has a point where they will eventually get sick of being a provisional member. The fraternity has too much time invested in each new member to test where that point is for no reason.
5) The longer new member program hurts fraternities in recruitment. This acts as a deterrent for potential new members. Potential new members don’t know what to expect, and because of this don’t want to be subjected to it any longer than possible.
6) The longer new member program creates the mentality of ‘it sucked for us so it should suck for them’ in the brothers. This leads to hazing and risk management issues. This type of mindset is one of the first clues that a fraternity is headed down the wrong path.
Do you have any other reasons? If you do – add them in the comments below…