We had to go around campus asking Greek about their values, about what their chapter works most on, and what ritual means to them.
From this experience, I interacted with many different Greeks from all councils. Part of what I think the exercise was intended to do is make everyone realize that our chapters' endeavors, values, and ritual mean the same to most of us. Ritual is something special to reflect on, to connect us as sisters or as brothers, and to connect past alumnae with the future.
I learned something new about one of the fraternities on campus from a good friend of mine. Ben is an Alpha Tau Omega and told me about the founding of ATO following the Civil War. Part of his creed talks about discriminating against a brother based on whether he is from the North, South, East, or West. So, part of the values of ATO is acceptance. It was just a really awesome story and shows how the fraternal movement is impacted and adapts to changes in society and history.
Overall, I enjoyed listening to everyone recount the most important aspects of their chapter lives. Not everything was philanthropy and brotherhood/sisterhood. One person remarked that TGs were the most important, another partying. It just shows that peoples' reasons for joining a sorority or fraternity vary across campus.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
FIJI Friends Forever
So, I am sitting at the FIJI house right now, hanging out with my friends, Nick Weaver and Mike Cox. Both of them have taken this course before, although in a FIJI-specific class. We were talking about how great it is that we have friends in other chapters. One great benefit is that we can go and hang out, reflect about our own experiences in the community or just pass time with friends.
I met my FIJI friends last Greek week, when we were paired together. And now we're BEST FRIENDS FOREVERRRRRRRRRR. But really. Our Greek week shirts said, "We're the five best friends that anyone could have...". We were the Wolfpack. We actually just had a conversation about the social change model and how to implement it in our lives. Kinda cool how EduP&L 270.04 affects a lot of people, right?
Right!
I met my FIJI friends last Greek week, when we were paired together. And now we're BEST FRIENDS FOREVERRRRRRRRRR. But really. Our Greek week shirts said, "We're the five best friends that anyone could have...". We were the Wolfpack. We actually just had a conversation about the social change model and how to implement it in our lives. Kinda cool how EduP&L 270.04 affects a lot of people, right?
Right!
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Happiest Place on Earth!
Yo, watch that!
And this:
WHO WILL GO SEE AFRICAN CATS WITH ME? I love cats.
Anyway, I chose the Disney Corporation. The company is in charge of a plethora of television channels, theme parks all over the world, and a multitude of other things like stores and merchandise. What really strikes me as great about Disney is that they manage all facets of life. Aside from making me an incredibly happy child in 1997 and 2000 when I visited the parks, they make me happy now at age 21 (in seven days).
Check out this site: http://corporate.disney.go.com/citizenship/environment.html to see what all Disney is doing in terms of environment conservation and awareness. For the past three Earth days, they have released movies showing nature and its beauty. Aside from that, even if their latest animated films (think, "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E") an environmental focus has emerged.
In fact, Disney encourages young students to get involved. It hosts Planet Challenge-a project-based learning competition designed for 4th-6th grade classrooms enabling teachers to engage and empower their students in environmental stewardship.
I think that Disney does a great job of selling its values to the public through the mass media and through film outlets. But, really, who wants to go see "African Cats"? I do!
And this:
WHO WILL GO SEE AFRICAN CATS WITH ME? I love cats.
Anyway, I chose the Disney Corporation. The company is in charge of a plethora of television channels, theme parks all over the world, and a multitude of other things like stores and merchandise. What really strikes me as great about Disney is that they manage all facets of life. Aside from making me an incredibly happy child in 1997 and 2000 when I visited the parks, they make me happy now at age 21 (in seven days).
Check out this site: http://corporate.disney.go.com/citizenship/environment.html to see what all Disney is doing in terms of environment conservation and awareness. For the past three Earth days, they have released movies showing nature and its beauty. Aside from that, even if their latest animated films (think, "Finding Nemo" and "Wall-E") an environmental focus has emerged.
In fact, Disney encourages young students to get involved. It hosts Planet Challenge-a project-based learning competition designed for 4th-6th grade classrooms enabling teachers to engage and empower their students in environmental stewardship.
I think that Disney does a great job of selling its values to the public through the mass media and through film outlets. But, really, who wants to go see "African Cats"? I do!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Valuable Homework
My own personal values are hard to define. Rarely do I take the time to examine what I find important to me. I know my strengths (Thanks, Strengths-Based Coaching Program through the Ohio Union!): Significance, Competition, Achiever, Focus, and Input. But, those are strengths and not values. So, since it's homework to figure out my values, here we go:
1. Hard work
Without hard work, I believe there isn't a point to do something. The way to success is through hard work, so I strive to do my best on every project. The majority of the great projects that have changed the world have been achieved via diligence and perseverance. Hard work is a core value of mine.
2. Passion
Whatever I take on, I need to have a passion for it. Whether that means shouting my lungs out for the Buckeyes, or putting together a competition tournament for Mock Trial at OSU, or trying to make change in the community through PHA, I have to be passionate about my work.
3. Trust
A key tenet of any core value system is trust. Friendship and loyalty revolve around trust and an open relationship. If you can't keep a secret, then you will lose the trust of friends. Sometimes that violation of trust can ruin relationships. So, keep up the trust, and all will be well! That is why I value trust so much.
4. Family
As much as I don’t like to admit it, my family means a lot to me. Whether this is my family comprised of my friends or my actual, biological family, I do value them all. They help me do what I do; they challenge me to attain new things; they help me life up to my core values. I love them all for that.
1. Hard work
Without hard work, I believe there isn't a point to do something. The way to success is through hard work, so I strive to do my best on every project. The majority of the great projects that have changed the world have been achieved via diligence and perseverance. Hard work is a core value of mine.
2. Passion
Whatever I take on, I need to have a passion for it. Whether that means shouting my lungs out for the Buckeyes, or putting together a competition tournament for Mock Trial at OSU, or trying to make change in the community through PHA, I have to be passionate about my work.
3. Trust
A key tenet of any core value system is trust. Friendship and loyalty revolve around trust and an open relationship. If you can't keep a secret, then you will lose the trust of friends. Sometimes that violation of trust can ruin relationships. So, keep up the trust, and all will be well! That is why I value trust so much.
4. Family
As much as I don’t like to admit it, my family means a lot to me. Whether this is my family comprised of my friends or my actual, biological family, I do value them all. They help me do what I do; they challenge me to attain new things; they help me life up to my core values. I love them all for that.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Something of Value
Hey Friends,
So, remember the post I had about if change in the Greek community is feasible? I challenged everyone to figure out ways to collaborate with other Greek chapters. Today I experienced a change of heart. Today, the program Something of Value was put on by PHA (and wonderfully coordinated by Stacy Duh). The program sought to bring all sixteen PHA chapters together to identify the top three risks this community faces that need immediate attention. After risks were identified, break out sessions had to come up with action plans for managing these risks. Common themes that were heard were excessive drinking, underage drinking, disunity between the chapters, social media concerns, and lack of collaboration with the non-Greek community.
We had an attorney from Atlanta preside over a Mock Trial (yeah, MT!) in which a young woman had pre-gamed before going to a TG at Barley's, gone to the O after the TG. She decided to go home by herself. As she was crossing 15th, she was hit by a car and died. We had to figure out who was liable out of her big sister, the social chair, and the chapter president. Turns out they all have been held liable and given HUGE damanges (upwards of ten-million dollars) in previous real lawsuits. I think that it was eye-opening to see who is held responsible for incidents like that one. We then broke for lunch, and talked about issues facing our own chapters with international representatives and chapter advisers in attendance.
Next, all PHA council members were paired with international representatives from women's fraternities and sororities to facilitate the small groups which were comprised of groups like risk management chairs, social chairs, presidents, recruitment, PHA delegates, emerging freshmen, and emerging sophomores. Within each group, we identified problems within the community. Then the groups ranked the top three high risks, broke into four of five groups and created action plans. After the session, we all reconvened as a group of three-hundred Panhellenic women, and we shared our plans for change.
The group that impressed me the most was one of the emerging freshmen leaders groups. They identified our community problems of disunity, problems with philanthropy events, and other hot topics. They also agreed to host a freshmen roundtable to discuss or to continue a notion that we gained through the event called "Greek amnesty". Basically, nothing that was said within the groups would get any chapters in trouble. What happened at Something of Value stays at Something of Value. They still have new ambition for the Community, innovation that will help it grow and thrive here at Ohio State. And, even more exciting than that is the fact that they are the future leaders of both this Greek community and this even greater Ohio State campus.
All in all, we identified most of the same issues that need immediate attention and crafted action plans for them. Whether it is making all TG's cash-bar and splitting the venue costs with fraternities or hosting sober events before TG's to get to know other Greeks in a sober environment before going out, a lot of great suggestions were made. PHA now knows what the community wants, and I think that a lot of great dialogue about how to improve ourselves occurred. I am inspired to be a Panhellenic woman at this campus at this current moment in the community's history. We are making changes. And it's not just PHA; today showed the rest of the council and me that women in every single council also want change to occur. Now, we just have to take up the flag and begin our journey of progress.
So, remember the post I had about if change in the Greek community is feasible? I challenged everyone to figure out ways to collaborate with other Greek chapters. Today I experienced a change of heart. Today, the program Something of Value was put on by PHA (and wonderfully coordinated by Stacy Duh). The program sought to bring all sixteen PHA chapters together to identify the top three risks this community faces that need immediate attention. After risks were identified, break out sessions had to come up with action plans for managing these risks. Common themes that were heard were excessive drinking, underage drinking, disunity between the chapters, social media concerns, and lack of collaboration with the non-Greek community.
We had an attorney from Atlanta preside over a Mock Trial (yeah, MT!) in which a young woman had pre-gamed before going to a TG at Barley's, gone to the O after the TG. She decided to go home by herself. As she was crossing 15th, she was hit by a car and died. We had to figure out who was liable out of her big sister, the social chair, and the chapter president. Turns out they all have been held liable and given HUGE damanges (upwards of ten-million dollars) in previous real lawsuits. I think that it was eye-opening to see who is held responsible for incidents like that one. We then broke for lunch, and talked about issues facing our own chapters with international representatives and chapter advisers in attendance.
Next, all PHA council members were paired with international representatives from women's fraternities and sororities to facilitate the small groups which were comprised of groups like risk management chairs, social chairs, presidents, recruitment, PHA delegates, emerging freshmen, and emerging sophomores. Within each group, we identified problems within the community. Then the groups ranked the top three high risks, broke into four of five groups and created action plans. After the session, we all reconvened as a group of three-hundred Panhellenic women, and we shared our plans for change.
The group that impressed me the most was one of the emerging freshmen leaders groups. They identified our community problems of disunity, problems with philanthropy events, and other hot topics. They also agreed to host a freshmen roundtable to discuss or to continue a notion that we gained through the event called "Greek amnesty". Basically, nothing that was said within the groups would get any chapters in trouble. What happened at Something of Value stays at Something of Value. They still have new ambition for the Community, innovation that will help it grow and thrive here at Ohio State. And, even more exciting than that is the fact that they are the future leaders of both this Greek community and this even greater Ohio State campus.
All in all, we identified most of the same issues that need immediate attention and crafted action plans for them. Whether it is making all TG's cash-bar and splitting the venue costs with fraternities or hosting sober events before TG's to get to know other Greeks in a sober environment before going out, a lot of great suggestions were made. PHA now knows what the community wants, and I think that a lot of great dialogue about how to improve ourselves occurred. I am inspired to be a Panhellenic woman at this campus at this current moment in the community's history. We are making changes. And it's not just PHA; today showed the rest of the council and me that women in every single council also want change to occur. Now, we just have to take up the flag and begin our journey of progress.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Who are my sisters?
We are passionate.
We are loud.
We are funny.
We are unique.
We are amazing.
We are insane.
We are beautiful.
We are ridiculous.
We are loving.
We are opinionated.
We are driven.
We are scholars
soldiers
leaders
learners
servers
changemakers.
We are Delta Zetas.
We are sisters through and through.
We are not four years but for life.
PS
Studying in the Greek life office is pretty awesome. Even if it means I'm not out on Oval Beach. It looks like a party though.
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