LESSON 4: Men of Courage
DESCRIPTION:
This lesson will explore the concepts of bystander behavior and personal responsibility.
By addressing real-world scenarios, members will be asked to think critically about their
values-based actions and ethical decision-making.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1) New Members will be able to identify the concepts of “bystander behavior” and “personal
responsibility”.
2) New Members will be able to assign responsibility and theorize alternate responses when
encountered with examples of “bystander behavior”.
MEETING OUTLINE:
1) Team Building Activity. 20 min.
2) Personal Responsibility and Bystander Behavior. 15 min.
3) “Who Killed Jane Doe?”. 30 min.
4) Final Thoughts. 10 min.
MATERIALS NEEDED:
1) “Who Killed Jane Doe” handouts (one copy for every new member).
AFTER THE MEETING:
1) Complete the “Men of Courage – Understanding Personal Responsibility” lesson online
using The Lamp.
2) Reread the Preamble to the Constitution.
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Team Building Activity
Meeting Outline 1 of 4
Choose a team building activity to help foster trust and strengthen the relationships between all
members of your chapter. You may choose example team building activities provided in this
guide or another other activity you feel to be beneficial.
As a reminder, any team building activity you choose must not violate Delta Sigma Phi’s policies.
We encourage you to invite initiated members to join team building activities so that all
members of your chapter (new and existing) have the opportunity to learn more about each
other.
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Personal Responsibility and Bystander Behavior
Meeting Outline 2 of 4
Many of the conversations leading up to this lesson have emphasized personal values and
fraternity expectations. While identifying our values should be the starting point for almost
every developmental activity, we must also discuss how to put those values into action.
To address this idea of “values-based action” we will focus on two key concepts:
1) Personal Responsibility
2) Bystander Behavior
The education team should identity these two terms:
Personal Responsibility – The idea that an individual is ultimately responsible for his own
actions, and that any future consequences (good or bad) are the result of his decisions. While
outside factors can influence an individual’s decisions, they do not make the decision for him,
and cannot be blamed for any undesired outcomes.
Bystander Behavior – The behavior that results when someone does not take personal
responsibility for reacting to a situation. This behavior stems from the mentality that a problem
will resolve itself, or that another person will solve a problem.
After introducing these terms, spend time discussing them in more detail:
Discussion Questions:
1. Why is it important to take responsibility for your actions?
2. What might cause someone to disregard his or her personal responsibility?
3. Have you witnessed bystander behavior in person or in the media? Describe the
situation.
4. What might prevent someone from taking action when action is needed?
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“Who Killed Jane Doe?”
Meeting Outline 3 of 4
The purpose of this activity is to help members identify instances of bystander behavior, assign
responsibility for certain behaviors, and suggest actions that would have altered the outcome of
the situation for the better.
The new member education team should pass out the “Who Killed Jane Doe?” worksheet (one
copy for each participant). Move forward with this activity by taking the following steps:
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Ask participants to read the story on their own.
Once everyone has finished reading the story, ask participants to form into groups of 35 people.
Each group should spend time prioritizing who was to blame for Jane Doe’s death.
Participants should number a piece of paper 1-8, listing the person / organization most
to blame as number 1, and the person / organization least to blame as number 8.
Once each group has completed their list, ask participants to share what they discussed
and how they arrived at their conclusions.
Once every group (or most groups) have shared their answers, conclude the activity
with a few discussion questions.
Discussion Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why does it take a tragic or dramatic event for us to think about our actions?
What can you do to take more responsibility for your actions?
What can you do to help members in our chapter more accountable for their actions?
How can we support each other as we try to address bystander behavior in our
fraternity experiences?
Who Killed Jane Doe?
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(Handout)
Jane Doe, age 20, was dead on arrival. Several fraternity members, concerned by her unconscious
vomiting, drove her to the emergency room at 2:30 a.m. But even before they pulled into the
emergency drive, her breathing had stopped. Successive attempts by the hospital staff to revive her
failed.
The sisters of Mu Epsilon were sorry. She had lived in the chapter house for two years. All her sisters
knew about her drinking problem and more than a few had escorted/carried her home from past parties
and held her hand as she threw-up all night.
Karen, her best friend and pledge mom was sorry. Jane and Karen had decided to get primed for the
Alpha Lambda mixer later that evening. Each had done several shots at their favorite campus bar.
The brothers of Alpha Lambda were sorry. The chapter had successfully dodged their National
Fraternity’s risk management policy all year. No one else on campus was following it, so why should
they? Besides, if they didn’t provide alcohol and serve minors, no women would come to their parties.
people that were already drunk. Jane didn’t look any drunker than anyone else at the party. Besides,
Jane was hanging all over Mike, and a little more beer might have helped him get lucky.
The IFC was sorry. Twelve of the 15 chapters on campus have national risk management policies
specifically prohibiting the purchase and serving of alcoholic beverages. The IFC rep from Beta Rho had
brought up the idea of a unified IFC Risk Management Policy earlier in the year, but the idea had been
voted down.
The Panhellenic Council was sorry. They voted to send flowers to Mu Epsilon to show their support.
Men’s fraternities are the source of the campus alcohol problem, so the Panhellenic didn’t feel like there
was much more they could have done.
The local bar staff members Jane and Karen had visited were sorry. They had stamped Jane’s hand
“underage” but hadn’t bothered to monitor bar patrons beyond the front door. Underage dollars made
up the largest percentage of their profit and they simply couldn’t afford to enforce the drinking age
when other bars didn’t.
Jane’s parents were sorry. She started drinking during her sophomore year of high school. But what
could they do? All kids are going to drink with or without their parent’s permission.
Final Thoughts
Meeting Outline 4 of 4
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Conclude the meeting by addressing any chapter updates that should be shared with new
members. Individual membership issues can be addressed after the new member meeting.
Some talking points or activities may include:
1. Discussing upcoming chapter, campus, or community events.
2. Addressing internal and external issues affecting the chapter or the fraternity
community.
3. Confirming upcoming financial commitments.
4. Discussing schedule conflicts and personal commitments.
5. Reminding members to utilize The Lamp for additional learning opportunities.
AFTER THE MEETING:
1) Complete the “Men of Courage – Understanding Personal Responsibility” lesson online
using The Lamp.
2) Reread the Preamble to the Constitution.
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