Every fraternity pledge class should have certain tasks they need to accomplish before they are initiated. One of those tasks should be interviewing every brother in the fraternity. This will accomplish several things which are essential to building brotherhood.
First, it will force every pledge to have a real conversation with every brother. A pledge period is a hectic time for a pledge. There seems to be 25 hours of tasks jammed into each 24 hour day. Slowing down long enough to make sure that each pledge has a meaningful engagement with each brother makes perfect sense. It is imperative that the brother makes time for the pledge for the interview. Too often a brother will become too busy and end up blowing off a pledge repeatedly. That isn’t the way to build brotherhood.
Second, it will teach the pledges history of the chapter. If the pledges ask meaningful questions, they should learn a ton about the history of their chapter and the brothers in it.
Third, it will eliminate brother’s excuses for not knowing a pledge. Every fraternity has had the experience of a brother complaining or using the excuse that they really don’t know a pledge. If they are interviewed by all the pledges, they should not have this excuse.
Finally, it should build friendships. The main objective of fraternity is to build meaningful, lifelong friendships. An interview may open perspectives that will bring brothers and pledges closer together.