A pledge to forget sisterhood...

NY times article: My Sorority Pledge? I Swore Off Sisterhood. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/fashion/02love.html?ref=fraternitiesandsororities

A NOT SO HAPPY RUN IN WITH THE PAST: When we think sisterhood and close bonds of friendship with sorority sisters, we think of found memories and happy reunions. For this woman, Kelly Dick, her reunion was more of a nightmare. This article is about the repressed memories of a 40 yr old woman who is confronted with her past when she runs into a former sorority sister. She attributes this woman to the "unraveling of her youth." This sorority sister used to interrogate and haze her during her college years and contributed to her partying way too much and making bad decisions. Kelly's most horrible memory from college, losing her virginity, has been attributed to her sorority sisters who set her up with this fraternity guy who put her "deflowering on display for..his voyeuristic brethren."

EWWWWWW. It's horrible that some of the worst memories of this woman's life can be attributed to sorority/fraternity life, while I can say that some of my fondest memories can be attributed to Greek life. I can't think of anything more disgusting than a guy taking advantage of a girl and it being on display for anyone. Apparently they called these occurrences "ledge parties." At least some of the fraternity guys had the decency to stop this because Kelly was unconscious, however, if she had been conscious it would have been okay. I find this to be appalling. I don't know of this happening these days on this campus, but I would hope and pray that fraternity guys are gentlemen and sorority sisters are not pushing their sisters to just hook up with that guy since he's a catch...

Inaction also makes you guilty...

When thinking about the bystander effect, it is easy for me and I'm sure others to just place blame instead of taking some sense of responsibility because it is the easy way out. Many times we might see a sister getting way to intoxicated at a tg and think "wow she's making a fool out of herself..." but fail to think twice about it when she leaves with that guy who I'm sure knows she waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too drunk! We turn a blind eye to the consequences that could come about from that situation... All we do is place the blame on her and preach "personal responsibility," but when personal responsibility fails and no one takes action people can get hurt. I know many times I don't want to leave the party or want to tell a sister no(tough love), but sometimes that initial awkwardness can spare your sister of some heartache and embarrassment. I know we all want to sit her and say people should be responsible for their actions, but as a sister you should feel some responsibility for your friend. I know that I want to trust that my friends would tell me no, so I'm gonna tell work on telling them no. The thing about the bystander effect is that you are just as guilty for the what happens if you do nothing about it when you could have. If you see something happening, take some action.

I'm sure some of you guys went to Something of Value. This prompt reminded me of the mock trial about the sorority girl who died after a night of drinking(tg and o-patio) and they were trying to find who was legally at fault(the social chair, pres, big sister, etc)..the moral of the story was who should have been emotionally responsible..

Oath-Sincerity of one's actions

The best way I could think of to analyze the word oath was to hit up dictionary.com. This definition struck me as important to sorority/fraternity life...
Oath: a solemn attestation of the truth of one's words or the sincerity of one's actions
The part that really speaks to me is the sincerity of one's actions. Yes, by joining a sorority or fraternity there are lots of things you are obligated to do such as community service, philanthropy, academic excellence, but I think we need to reflect on our intentions. Are we doing these things because they are required of us or because we want to be better individuals? Do we do community service because we want recognition or because we actually care about people other than ourselves? Oath seems to be a simple word meaning "promise", but it is much more complex than that. Oath is not only fulfilling our promises to our organizations but doing them in a manner that is sincere and meaningful because if we don't we are breaking our oaths. Another important aspect of oath, is that it unites all Greek organizations and sets us apart from other organizations. Furthermore, an oath is for life. When taking my oath, I don't think I realized the implications of that. This means that once you are an alum, you still hold an obligation to your organization. Your continued support is needed to further the growth of new generations, whether that be through donating to scholarship funds or volunteering with current members. DZ is not just 4 years but for life..

Citizenship

Alpha Pi's Mud Tug with my DZs! Me and my contestant for Big Man on Campus!






ME & Citizenship
CHAPTER: One of the most important ways in which I display citizenship within my sorority would be through attending chapter. This is one of the simplest ways to participate. Part of citizenship is through voting and sharing your opinion. I hate it(and I’m sure this happens with everyone’s chapter) when people complain about all the things they hate about the chapter, yet they are unwilling to give suggestions of how to solve these problems. I just want to be like if you want things to change you have to take action or run for a position
PHILANTHROPY: Within my chapter I participated in our annual philanthropy Big Man on Campus which is a male beauty pageant. My role was to be a coach and be on stage with my contestant and support them. Furthermore, I’ve participated in numerous other philanthropies of other chapters such as Mud Tug, Derby Days, Alpha Pi/Delta Tau Delta flag football, ATO Casino Night, etc.
COMMUNITY SERVICE: Personally, during winter quarter I volunteered at the Columbus Literacy Council every Wednesday night. I also volunteered with some of my sisters at the Habitat for Humanity warehouse.


DZ & Citizenship Me at Sigma Pi's chartering dinner PHA: My chapter shares our opinions by attending president’s meetings, being a part of attending roundtables for each of the chair positions of each chapter, having members of our sorority have leadership positions on PHA.
SOMETHING OF VALUE: Our chapter participated in Something of Value. All of the sororities of PHA were invited. It was a really beneficial event. We learned a lot about personal responsibility and responsibility for the members of our chapter, especially when it comes to planning social events. Personally, I learned a lot from all of the other social chairs of the sororities and during our small talks we all opened up to each other.
INVOLVEMENT: My chapter tries to send members to all the philanthropies hosted by other chapters. Recently my chapter has participated in Alpha Phi/Delta Tau Delta’s flag football, Chi-O’s Moonball, Alpha Chi Omega’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes, Kappa Alpha Theta’s 5k, etc. My chapter had members participate in all of the events for Greek Week. What does this look like?
SUPPORTING EACH OTHER: Recently my chapter sent two delegates(me and my president) to Sigma Pi’s chartering reception. It was kind of disappointing to not see a representative from all of the chapters, but I was really glad I attended. We got to see what an actual charter looked like and it was so cool to hear their creed.
CHAPTER RETREAT: Part of showing citizenship within the sorority/fraternity community is through supporting the community through service. My chapter volunteered at Columbus Speech and Hearing last Saturday. It was the day after a tg, but everyone showed up and had a good time. We helped set up for a garage sale to help raise money for Columbus Speech and Hearing and organized some of the classrooms for the children.
COLLABORATION: I know this is one of the other C’s but I think it plays into Citizenship. Our chapter has worked with Delta Theta Sigma to host a Wiffleball philanthropy. Currently, our Chapter is working on a Lacrosse Philanthropy with ATO for next fall.

OSU GREEK COMMUNITY & citizenship
IMPROVEMENT & MAKING PROGRESS: I would say that the fraternity/sorority community could definitely improve on being involved in the university community/ improve their image. I know most chapters participate in Greek Week and Homecoming Week, but I’m not sure if those events really impact the university community in a positive way because I feel as though most chapter focus on the social aspects of those weeks(tgs and socials). I know many chapters have participated in Rock the Block and Community Commitment day, which is good. I know currently PHA is working on an event Capture the Splash, which our chapter is participating in to promote unity within the sorority and campus community. After talking to a few friends on IFC, I know they are making strides to work collaboratively to promote Greek life in general, rather than just for specific fraternities.

Congruence in the Greek Community-fact or fiction?

The activity we did during our class week was really enlightening. For the most part, the Greeks I enterviewed gave me the "cookie cutter" answers(ohhhhh yeah service is one of our top priorities when in actuality it's getting hammered). A few of the people I think were actually congruent in their chapters beliefs, their personal beliefs, and how they act and reflect those beliefs, but I would say a majority of the people were telling me what they thought I wanted to hear or they might have been scared I would judge them... I thought it was funny how one of my friends was like do you want me to tell you the ACTUAL truth or do you want me to lie? From this, I think I have learned something positive. I think as a Greek community we sometimes get offended by the stereotypes that are thrusted upon us, but I think sometimes we do actually prove those stereotypes right(being a drunk fool one night). As a whole, I don't agree that those stereotypes accurately portray Greek life because Greek life is about scholarship, philanthropy, sisterhood/brotherhood, leadership, etc.(these are some of the things I got from my interviews). As a community we should unite and work together to highlight these positive aspects of Greek life. As seen through many of the mission statements of the chapters, we all share common goals and ideals. If we all reflect back on our roots, our common bonds can hopefully bring us together.

Livestrong today and everyday

The first thing that came to mind for an organization with values is Livestrong. Since I was in gradeschool I remember everyone wearing those yellow bracelets. Back when I was 10 years old, I never really knew what the bracelets even meant..I just knew everyone was wearing them. Obviously now that I am much older and wiser I understand what the bracelets stand for. Livestrong is an organization that gives inspiration to people affected by cancer. There mission statement states "At LIVESTRONG, our mission is to inspire and empower people affected by cancer. We do this by working to transform cancer care and policy and by fighting for people affected by cancer around the world. Most importantly, we strive to give cancer survivors hope. Hope that cancer does not have to be a death sentence and hope that survivors can live well beyond cancer." It is also amazing how much this organization has evolved. At first the organization focused on patients with testicular cancer(since the founder of the organization was Lance Armstrong), however the organization has grown to include all types of cancer. As someone who knows a few people who have died of cancer(my friend's little brother, my mom's friend), this organization is very instrumental in giving cancer patients a positive outlook and a network of support. It gives patients the energy and fire to keep fighting their disease. Livestrong is a really unique organization in that patients can participant in runs, walks, and triathlons. These events show these patients that if they can finish the race, they can also beat cancer. Nothing is impossible if you have a good attitude.

This video I found below is very inspirational. It shows how Livestrong has helped many people keep their head in the game when it comes to beating cancer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feXOVkDp-Rw

Daily Values

Honesty--The art of Giving & Getting Advice
"If you truly want honesty, don't ask questions you don't really want the answer to..."
I found this quote about honesty definitely relateable to my life. So many times have I asked friends for advice and been upset by their advice or even rejected their suggestions because it was not what I wanted to hear. I know I'm always looking for my friends approval and often times my immediate reaction to unfavorable advice is to completely shut off and not actually listen to them. Many times advice is far from what you WANT to hear; it's what you NEED to hear. Now that I reflect back to those situations, I see that my friends were right. Sometimes friends tell you things you don't want to hear, but they are being brutally honest. Honesty is one of the most important things I value in my life. Many of my close friends embody this quality. I know that honesty is something I need to work on. Looking back on the opposite side of the situation when I'm the one giving advice, I know I'm upset when my friends don't consider my opinions because it isn't exactly what they were looking for. I now can see why they get frustrated when they give advice to me..

Self-respect--The art of being true to yourself
I think this is a really important quality especially as a young adult who is influenced by media and a changing world. With so many outside pressures(friends, guys, stereotypes), it is hard not to be influenced by these pressures. I know I can say that there a few people I know who have definitely been influenced by the "sorority stereotypes." There are some people who try to be what they think people want them to be or say things they think other people want to hear. I feel as though these people are cheating themselves. Being yourself is one of the greatest things in life. If you are yourself, you are unique. Although I know some people who are not true to themself, I know some people who are true to themself. My roomate has this quality down to the "white tee." She never compromises who she is whether it be with guys, music, or lax pinnies. For this I truly admire her because I know at times sometimes I compromise who I am. The people I am closest with in my life, are who they are because that is what they want to be and that is something that I value. Each of them has certain qualities that make them who they are.

Compassion--The art of giving
This is a very important quality of being a friend and a good person. One of my friends(who I've known since high school) is the most self-less person I know. She puts herself before anyone else, and for that I truly admire her because I don't think I could ever be that self-less. At times I know I can be selfish, and I feel as though I could work on incorporating more compassion into my life. I think sometimes it is hard to get out of the mindset that we are the only person in the world. We need to remember there are other people in the world. From volunteering at the Columbus Literacy Council, I have come to realize that compassion is something very important. Giving my time and my ability to teach people how to learn English, was so truly rewarding. The people I taught were so grateful and positive. Giving a little goes a long way...