Many campuses have canceled in-person classes for unspecified periods, restricted large gatherings, and closed all non-essential functions. These actions clearly have an impact on circle operations, including initiation ceremonies.
To help ease concern over recruitment and initiation and to maintain the continuity of the circle, O∆K is providing three options if your circle must change its initiation plans:
Option 1. Reschedule
It is acceptable to reschedule the in-person initiation ceremony to later in the semester. We will work with your circle to meet the revised deadlines. If we have already issued the official emblems of membership (certificates and pins), the original initiation date will stand as the “official” initiation date, so there will be no need to change materials.
Option 2. Circle Virtual Ceremony
If rescheduling an in-person ceremony is not possible for this year, plan a virtual ceremony. Since campuses are holding classes virtually, we believe a similar process could be used for a virtual initiation ceremony. The process for conducting a virtual ceremony is outlined below.
The O∆K National Bylaws and the Policies and Procedures Handbook require that all members must attend a ceremony to receive the emblems of membership (certificate and pin) and sign the official circle record book. A virtual ceremony allows the circle to conduct the program via a web-video platform (WebEx, Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) where all candidates may participate in the ceremony without being in the same physical location. The following guidelines and restrictions apply:
- All candidates for initiation must be accounted for at the time of the ceremony. The circle officers must provide a “sign-in” record. This list can be through a secure login to the video meeting, a roll call of all candidates on the video call, a Google sheet sign-in, or another way to verify that the individuals initiated were present at the time of the ceremony.
- The circle will conduct the initiation ritual as established in the Initiation Handbook. If necessary, the program may be abbreviated to eliminate officer inductions and special remarks. An abbreviated program includes a brief introduction, the review of the history and symbols, and the initiation ceremony with the voices (which may be solely read by the presiding officer) and the oath.
- After the ceremony, all members who attended should be instructed to come to a central office (circle coordinator, student activities office, etc.) where the individuals may collect their certificate and pin. It is also very important that each new initiate sign the official record book. For the national records, the “sign-in record” and official record books should match once all emblems are distributed.
- NOTE: One suggestion would be to have an officer write all names of initiates attending the virtual ceremony in the official record book as a roll call at the time of the program. When the initiates come to collect their emblems, they would sign by their name in the record, thus ensuring all attendees sign the book.
Option 3. National Virtual Initiation Ceremony
Omicron Delta Kappa will continue to support our circles by providing the National Virtual Initiation Ceremony. To provide an experience as close to the actual ceremony, participation will be limited for each ceremony. Circle officers will need to register the circle in advance. For more details, click here.
It is vitally important that circles maintain continuity with officers and circle operations. By completing the initiation process for this year and electing new officers for next year, your circle will be ready for the coming academic year which will have its own special needs. The recognition and development of leaders is even more important in this modern era. We encourage you to continue supporting your circle, its current and new members, and its legacy on your campus.
For additional assistance with your spring recruitment and initiation, contact the National Headquarters toll-free at (540) 458-5345 or [email protected].
