The members whom we honor tonight have demonstrated that they are capable of great academic accomplishment and thus also of hard work. The excellent person is distinguished by the acceptance of greater personal demands. Our choice has been guided by the purposes of the Society and a sincere desire to obtain the best possible membership of persons devoted to scholastic achievement and to the corresponding responsibility of service to others. In a democratic society wherein persons of like pursuits, abilities, interests, or convictions freely band themselves together for mutual support and encouragement, it is fitting that there be a national association constituted of selected individuals who have a record of outstanding scholastic accomplishment and who have promoted intellectual life. Membership in Delta Epsilon Sigma will be at once a distinction earned by past achievements and a stimulus to future intellectual work.
Wisdom is the perfection of knowledge.
A wise person is one who has put order into knowledge, who discriminates between the true and the false, who appraises things at their proper worth, and who then can use this knowledge, along with the humility born of it, to go forward to accept the responsibilities and obligations which this ability imposes. We now ask you to affirm the principles for which Delta Epsilon Sigma stands. We now welcome you into this Society of distinguished students, graduates, and faculty who have enjoyed the privileges and accepted the challenges offered to them. We feel confident that you, too, by your influence, service, and example will help to effect a synthesis of religion, morality, and knowledge. With these certificates we signify that you are duly enrolled as members of Delta Epsilon Sigma.