Citizenship

When I first heard the word "citizenship" I thought- voting. But, clearly citizenship means much, much more than that. To me, citizenship refers to community participation where people are not required to take part in, but rather take upon themselves the responsibility in order to benefit their community. And being a member of a community doesn't show that one is exemplifying citizenship; citizenship is demonstrated by the individual in an effort to serve the community. Even the smallest actions a citizen can take for their community can really positively affect the lives of their fellow citizens. For example. the man in the video we watched in class who woke up early every morning and shoveled the driveway for all of the single mothers living on his street. If more people worked together to help the people around them, communities would be much stronger and united.

Alpha Gamma Delta promotes diabetes awareness. Our philanthropy campaign, Defeat Diabetes One Step at a Time, focuses on the health and well-being of our sisters, friends, family and community. Every spring the Alpha Gamma Delta fraternity at Ohio State raises diabetes awareness through our "Dodge for Diabetes" philanthropy event. This is a really fun way to get our community involved in helping raise money for our foundation to fight diabetes. Another way my sorority demonstrated citizenship this past year was through the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk.  I actually really enjoyed participating in this event! The walk was early on a rainy morning, and to be honest I dreaded going. But I enjoyed myself  a lot more than I expected! It was cool to be apart of something that really affected people. And we got to see that affect. To make the event more entertaining and successful, there were fun activities for the families to get involved in before and during the walk. I was in charge of one of the kids moon walks. It was such an easy job, and for a few hours to stand in the rain and help brighten these kid's day was really fulfilling and worth it. My sisters all took part in some activity and really helped this event be a big success! My sisters and I not only demonstrated the form of individual civic engagement of philanthropic giving, we participated in direct service. It was really cool to be apart of this event and to see the families we were affecting, and not just to raise money for a foundation.
 

Last Week's Panel

It was really cool last week to talk with a panel of various members of the Greek Community and to ask questions on how to improve Greek life at Ohio State. I got the privilege to listen to what other leaders in the Greek Community had to say and it really caused me to think from a different perspective on a few topics.

For starters, I agree with what the class was saying on how it's disappointing when only a few members show up to a philanthropy event or sisterhood.. etc. It's frustrating to the chapter and especially to the person who programmed the event. One of the guys on the panel, the President of IFC and is a former president of Pi Kappa Alpha, (he sat on the far left side), made a very interesting point about attendance. He said that ya, maybe only a few people will show up for a program, but hey, at least those people did show up. And those people need to be acknowledged for their dedication. So, instead of at chapter, reprimanding everyone else for not going, we should focus more on the people who did, and just say thanks! Hopefully with this attitude, more people will want to be acknowledged and be part of that group who did go. It is kind of like positive reinforcement. People don't want to be yelled at, instead they want to be rewarded. (Thank you Psych 100) I think if more chapters take this approach, everyone will see greater attendance.

Also, if I've learned anything in this class and from the panel, it is that to be a leader does not necessarily mean to hold a position. I've been debating for some time now if I want to hold a "leadership position" in my sorority. But what I realize is, if I have an idea, I need to express it. I don't have to be a leader of a committee to share my ideas. The one woman in the middle of the panel, a Chi Omega, was explaining this idea to the class. If I want to see an improvement I can help achieve that even if I'm not a head of a committee. This really inspired me to be more involved in my sorority, and not necessarily feel compelled to hold a position right now.

and... GO BUCKS!!!! BEAT MICHIGAN!

Oath

Initiation Day- So many thoughts were running through my head! I was so excited to finally be joining Alpha Gamma Delta! I was just so happy I was going to become a member of the sorority where I felt such a strong connection with the girls. I couldn't have been happier. I was so nervous too! Honestly, I was just focusing on not falling over in my heels! Alot of my initiation is a blur because I was so excited and nervous. This was the first time I was introduced to Alpha Gamma Delta's rituals and the meanings behind our rituals. I didn't fully understand all of the information I was being told. It was alot at once. But looking back I more fully understand what I was committing myself to as I signed an Oath to myself and to Alpha Gamma Delta. I no longer only represent myself, but I am apart of something bigger than myself. I agreed to uphold to the values of Alpha Gamma Delta and to instill these values into my daily life and into the relationships  I am building with my sisters. And as a recently new member, I am still learning the importance of the Oath which I have signed. This Oath will not end in a few years at the end of my college career, yet will be apart of me for the rest of my life. The Oath I have taken is a constant reminder of my need to challenge myself and grow as a woman, with the help of my sisters. I'm excited to be apart of the future Initiations. I think each time I will be able to get something new out of it and will be able to better incorporate these things into my life.  

Incongruencies- The Drunken Stereotype

 Pictures like this drive me nuts! Pictures like this is the reason why Greeks are stereotyped in such negative ways. In my opinion, these girls are not that provocatively dressed, clearly they were going to a themed party, but it was the actions they probably did that night which made people associate sorority girls with being drunken sluts.

The Greek community, as a whole, has many incongruencies that we need to improve upon. But one main thing that we need to focus on is the way we present ourselves. Just because you have finished a long week of studying and midterms, it doesn't give you the privilege to let go of all inhibitions and act like a drunken fool. But let's be real. We are in college. College students drink. We party. It's not a secret and it's not something we have to keep private. However, everyone needs to be conscious of their actions and stay in control of their behaviors.

Whether you are part of the Greek community or a member of a sports team, chess club, tye-dye club, BBQ club, etc.. most likely, more times than once, you have partied in college, which I think is fine. It is part of the college experience. It is not only the members of Greek Life who drink on the weekends. However, it is much easier to associate poor behaviors connected to drinking with members of the Greek community. It's easy for a person on high street to classify all sorority girls as sloppy drunks if they see a girl, wearing her letters, stumbling down the street. It only takes one sorority or fraternity member to make someone think poorly of us. We should set an example for our community, instead of giving people reasons to build on the stereotypes.

Simple ways we can attempt to avoid these stereotypes is by being more conscious of our actions while wearing our letters. Greek members of all fraternities and sororities are being incongruent to our values by drinking, smoking, or just simply acting belligerent in letters. Please, if you're going to drink, whether you are in a fraternity or sorority, don't wear you letters! You represent more than just your fraternity or sorority, but you represent the entire Greek community. In letters, or not, we need to better uphold our values. Another incongruent behavior that drives me nuts is when sorority girls, in particular, chant their cheers on the streets or on the way to TG's and date parties. Many of these chants are degrading and humiliating. Some chants, not only talk about drinking, but suggest that sorority girls are promiscuous. Even if you are not the one cheering these chants, it is important that you stop your friends. More importantly than how people perceive us, we need to be more congruent with our morals and have more respect for ourselves.