Sorority & Fraternity Life: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Greek Life Task Force, charged by the Office of Student Life in 1998 to assess and recommend improvements in the current status of the Ohio State Greek Community, has developed the Goals and Standards of Excellence as set forth since its inception. The assessment was requested based on concern for the current state of the Greek Community. Although, the members of the Greek Life Task Force no longer meet, they set forth the Standards of Excellence, having gone into effect March 9, 2001, as a plan to improve the condition of the Greek Community whereby chapters will establish a Chapter Plan each year and will detail their progress towards attaining this plan in a yearly Chapter Annual Report. By improving the quality of life for students within the Greek Community, the Standards of Excellence purposes to achieve several goals:

• Academic achievement with a minimum GPA of 2.50 for chapters and for all new members, as well as the strive to achieve as a chapter the all-undergraduate average.
• Member and organizational growth including, but not limited to, diversity education, risk management education, and community service opportunities.
• Safe and healthy organizational environments through structural improvements in chapter facilities and improved risk management procedures.
• A strong, connected Greek Community.
• Widely recruited Advisers from the University and Community that have undergone the Adviser Certification Program.
• An improved relationship between the university and the Greek Community.
• If any of the set requirements are not met, the chapter may be called before the Greek Progress Review Board.

BAD:

My primary job as the Greek Intern, is to oversee the Standards of Excellence (SOE) Program for Sorority & Fraternity Life. In this position, I must work with difficult chapter presidents and advice chapters on programming that is in compliance with the policy. This job is difficult. Many days it challenges my patients to work with chapters that don't understand the importance of the SOE.

If I could change one thing about my position, I would increase accountability on chapter to report their information on our schedule and not their own.

GOOD:

The good thing about my position is that I get to see change first-hand. Our community has many excellent leaders that go above and beyond in their roles. I can see how my position is making a difference in the fraternity and sorority community here at OSU. 

My job is all about evaluating that progress so I enjoy seeing how chapters are making steps in the right direction toward true values congruence.

FUTURE:

While the progress has been great since the implementation of the SOE in 2001, there is still much work ahead. I am looking forward to continuing in my roles to help make Ohio State the leading Greek Community in the country. If organizations live true to their values, I have no doubt that the fraternal community would need programs like the SOE, but until that day, my position will continue to be necessary. I am proud of the work and the progress that has been made so far this past year and look forward to moving ahead in the year to come.

CS

Perfect World

In a perfect fraternal world:

• Fraternity men and women will be models of excellence and true values congruence
• Fraternity men and women will be committed to serving the community and the world
• Fraternal organizations will be ones that only the finest men and women will be selected to join
• Fraternity will redefine the mean of social on college campuses and truly build men and women of character
• The fraternal cause will no longer be about the undergraduate experience alone, but a life experience that begins as an undergraduate
• Fraternity is not about the Greek letters, but about being a part of a community of people with unique but similar visions and beliefs in creating the finest world citizens

Too often we have the ability to make change but we choose not to because change is not easy. As college students, we have the attitude that our contributions are small but this is not true. The fraternal experience has the potential to transform lives. If we live by our values as fraternity men and women, we can achieve greatness in a world that's skeptical of us. 

Fraternity men and women will be men and women of selfless-service. Greeks will no longer write checks and call it serving the community. Men and women of character will make the sacrifice of time, pleasures, and comforts to serve greater causes.

Membership should no longer be extended to anyone willing to pay dues. Joining a Greek organization should be selective and exclusive. While the fraternal organization should be in the business of building young men and women, the men and women must also bring something to the table besides a checkbook. Recruitment should never again be a struggle, because college men and women will come to us, not the other way around. Greek life will be a lifestyle that non-Greek yearn for, not avoid.

Greek life will redefine the social life on college campuses. Young men and women will be transformed through social experiences with brothers and sisters not through the party scene. Social scene will not be an exemption from values, in fact, the social scene should be a testament of values congruence.

Greek life will no longer be about the collegiate experience, but about a life transformation. Graduated brothers and sisters should no longer say "I was a brother". Instead "I am a brother". After all, these are lifetime commitments, aren't they?

The fraternal community can no longer be a community based on competition for membership. Each organization brings something unique to the table. Going Greek should be about finding the right match for the individual. The Greek experience should be a pleasant experience, and not fitting in the right organization, is the worst scenario. Being Greek should be a source of pride and we should be proud of our whole community, not just the letters we wear. 

Change is happening!

Opportunity vs. Delimma

The almighty President Gee once said that different times call for different leaders--he said it's a matter of matching the right leader to the right situation.

Here in the Ohio State Greek Community, a new storm is brewing. Opportunity has never been higher and neither has the motivation to make improvement in the Sorority & Fraternity Community. Unfortunately, it is not the responsibilities of leaders to single-handedly do ALL the work themselves either. Leaders have a responsibility to empower others and make change through motivation!

As individuals with influence on chapter leaders, we have an amazing opportunity to correct the wrongs and ensure that we leave a Greek Community here at Ohio State that is truly working toward actual values congruence. 

We have the opportunity to eliminate stereotypes, build men and women of character, commit ourselves to service, and live the ritual every day. The dilemma does not rest in our ability, but rather, our actions. As community leaders it's one thing to come up with grand plans, but it's another to bring those plans to fruition. 

Here at The Ohio State University, we have the opportunity to lead the way in redefining the fraternal movement. We have capable leadership and the resources to make change happen--we must make others aware that change is necessary too. The timing is perfect.

Greek Racists, Aristocrats, Homophobes, Sexists & More!

The dictionary defines the term discrimination as "the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, esp. on the grounds of race, age, or sex".

In the fraternity and sorority community, we are as guilty as any for  being "exclusive" and "elitist": we know these opinions exist and we're okay with them, aren't we? My fraternity is exclusive in its selection of members and often we turn away members that just don't "fit the mold" and even remove members that don't live up to our standards even after they've been initiated. These decisions are made--not based on the color of skin, sexual orientation, or the money in parents' bank accounts--these decisions are made based on values and character, not discrimination. Or so I thought.

Last week while attending one of my fraternity's "leadership" conferences in Atlanta, Georgia I was struck by a newly apparent and real threat to the fraternal cause. A threat that many often brush under the rug, ignore, and knowingly disregard.

In the picture above, standing on the left is a member of the Tennessee chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity and on the right, the head honcho, mac-daddy, a.k.a. The Executive Director of FarmHouse International Fraternity. This picture was taken at the opening session of the conference shortly after the brothers arrived at the Peach Tree Hotel in downtown Atlanta. At the session, the Executive Director himself led discussion about the expectations of the conference. As you can clearly see in the photo, the boy on the left is wearing a t-shirt proudly displaying the Confederate Flag (a former symbol of the Confederate Army--now commonly used as a symbol of white supremacy). Some ignorantly argue that this is a symbol of "rural values"--this rebuttal sickens me to the core.

As many of you know, I grew up in a rural community and was proud to have grown up in a town where everyone knew everyone else and took care of their neighbors, for the most part, as they would their own families. I remember when I was younger, Mark & Erica (my parents' best friends) would always come by the house for dinner and to hang out with our family. My mom and Erica went through nursing school at the same time and worked for the county MRDD as floor nurses together for over 10 years!  

Mark & Erica waited until much later to have children of their own and we always called them aunt Erica & uncle Mark. Finally, a little over a year ago, Mark & Erica were blessed with their first son, Mark, Jr.! Mark & Erica have decided to raise baby Mark in our rural hometown and attend the small school system that my sisters' and I attended. They are proud of where they live and hope that baby Mark is influenced by the rural lifestyle. Does that mean he'll one day be donning his rebel flag at fraternity leadership conferences--I think not.

Now, back to the point of this blog... I think it goes without saying that the rebel flag does not represent rural values, nor does it have anything to do with states right anymore either. The rebel flag is a symbol of hatred! The Southern Poverty Law Center even notes that the rebel flag is used as a symbol for over "500" white supremacist organizations.

As Chad, the executive director, began calling on individuals (without acknowledging the racist scribe's shirt) to come up with group expectations, his trusty scribe wrote them onto the easel pad. Some of the ground rules that Chad mentioned were things like: not wearing hats to sessions, using manners, and participating in the sessions. I WAS FURIOUS! In my opinion, this was the perfect opportunity for a lecture on eliminating stereotypes around the name "FARMHOUSE", but he preferred to talk about not wearing hats instead! ...What was about to happen during this conference-expectations session reassured me that my choice to join ALPHA TAU ZETA--A farmhouse chapter--really was the right choice for me...

Zach, a new member of my chapter, was sitting next to me and quickly caught on to the situation and raised his hand to contribute to the "expectations". When Chad called on Zach, he stood up and said "my expectation is that we be open-minded and leave our prejudices behind us". At that point I stood and gave my 2 cents about being "open to diversity". After that, the other ATZ chapter brother stood up and echoed again: "to be accepting of differences". At that point, it was obvious that the comments were directed toward the racist's shirt. A few minutes later we went on a 10 minute break before beginning the programming. When the next session began, the Tennessee chapter member re-entered the room with a different shirt (and hopefully a different perspective). I was proud of my group for representing the ATZ chapter and Ohio State so well and I hope we made a difference that day. 

Can you imagine the change that we could make if we began truly living the values of our organizations and stood up against injustice and discrimination within our own groups? Unfortunately, hatred runs much deeper than tasteless t-shirts. Hatred is alive and flourishing within our community whether it's blatant or masked. Here's where the problem lies though: Exclusivity is at the root of our organizations--I'll be the first to say that I don't want just anyone in my fraternity! The problems don't lie in being selective in standards for membership, it's about discrimination! 

The first thing that comes to mind, sadly, when I think of discrimination in the Greek community is the themes for our social events. Themes like: White Trash Bash; Cowboys & Indians; Immigrants & Border Partol; Sex & Execs; CEOs & Hos; and the list goes on! Take a look at some of the discriminatory parties in the news below:

• Tarleton State
• University of California, San Diego
• Auburn
• University of Georgia
• Johns Hopkins University

To be honest, it disgusts me how the community shrugs off the issue of diversity awareness here at THE Ohio State University. For example, chapters that report for their diversity program, they "watched YouTube videos of a racist Simpson Episode and had a discussion", or that chapters "attended a Step Show", or that the long list of other ridiculous diversity awareness programs that chapters report to simply meet requirements. We will never be capable of building a community of true unity if we don't learn how to accept each others differences as men and women of values. Whether those differences are racist or differences such as gender, sexuality, income, religion, lifestyle, or affiliation, we must overcome discrimination in our community through education.

Too often our OSU Greek organizations view commitment to diversity as a minimum standard instead of an opportunity for growth.

As leaders of the sorority and fraternity community, we must be committed to holding Greek men and women accountable to living lives of character--not ignorance; open-mindedness--not hatred; tolerance--not bigotry. 

It is my hope that chapters continue to be exclusive in the members they retain and the new ones they select based on values and character, not their god-given traits. After all, the fraternal community will be no stronger than the quality of its members. 

Exclusion does not = Discrimination.

Uh Oath! Commitment?

On April 18, 2009 I swore my oath to the Alpha Tau Zeta Chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity.

Making this commitment to my fraternity did not mean I was selling my soul or giving away ANYTHING of mine. In fact, the only thing I gave them was my "word". I committed myself to living the values of my fraternity and promised to hold my fellow brothers accountable when they fell short. 

Less than one year later, I am one of only a small number of brothers with the secret combination to our safe where our ritual is kept. Every once in a while I think about bringing this book out of the safe to share with the chapter "outside" of the scheduled ritual during our initiation ceremony. I think that this is important, especially when our members' values begin to slip. Similar to renewing wedding vowels, this would be a reminder of the sacrifice we made by swearing to the oath and giving our "word" and the commitment that the oath entailed. 

Each of our oaths are different but I'm certain that they're all very much the same. The day I took the oath to my fraternity was a very special day for me because I then became a part of something unique. My oath would probably mean very little to another fraternity or sorority member, just like anyone else's oath would probably mean little to me. The importance of the oath is to reinforce and verbally express one's commitment. Whether that commitment be to service, leadership, integrity, progress, etc., each of us was impacted by the commitment that we made to our organizations. Every oath is unique but they are all about the same theme: commitment.

"Secrets Don't Make Friends": Myth, Fact, or Neither?

First of all, this week was insane! Midterms completely threw off my daily routine and I think I am finally getting caught up. On a normal day, I wake up brush my teeth, take a shower, get ready to go to work, go to the Union, class, and then back to the house for more work. I pretty much do the same thing every weekday almost ritualistic. This week was a bit of an exception with midterms, papers, and projects along with the crazy schedule. Yesterday, when I woke up, I hit the alarm clock 6 times! Usually I get in the habit of only hitting it once or maybe twice, but yesterday was horrible and completely destroyed my routine.

In fraternities, we have LOTS of "routines" too. Some of these routines are great--they keep us value-oriented and on track. Just like brushing our teeth "the same way and in the same order" every morning, these routines occur with little thought and are consistent from day-to-day; year-to-year; and even decade-to-decade. My guess is that this is a shared mutual experience that I have with all of YOU. You all brush your teeth in the morning right? This morning routine is a lot like our fraternity and sorority "routine". The brand of toothpaste may change over time as improvements are made and preferences demand modifications--but it essentially stays exactly the same.

My fraternity ritual has changed significantly over the years, yet it has stayed exactly the same. As my fraternity has undergone its merger with FarmHouse Intl. our ritual has been added to significantly. We still keep out local ritual which makes us unique here at Ohio State. FarmHouse publishes its ritual online, while the ATZ (chapter) keeps ours locked securely in our safe. The questions is: do I think this ritual makes our fraternity what it is? The answer: yes and no.

I think it's great that fraternities have secrets. Those secrets are a shared mutual experience that is only between brothers and bonds them together and distinguishes them from others. Let's talk about the friends we have outside of our fraternities for a minute. I have secrets with my friends (contrary to the saying "secrets don't make friends"). It's not those secrets that make me friends with them though. What makes me friends with my closest friends is all the shared experiences and stories we have together and knowing each other almost as well as we know ourselves. That's what friendships are all about.

While I do believe that fraternity secrets are an element of shared experiences that unite individuals-- I don't believe it's the only key to fraternalism. My fraternity has its share of secrets. I don't think that's what makes us a good fraternity though. What makes us a good fraternity is that we work well as a team and at the end of the day, we all committed ourselves to a shared system of values. Don't let this beautiful image of fraternity fool you though. The fraternity is not an environment where we all sit around the campfire and sing Koom-Bya either. We have our disagreements--if we didn't, there would be any need for the vote or even meetings for that matter. Just like friends arguing over what restaurants to go to, we fight over things like parties, rules, requirements, dues, apparel, etc. This is what relationships are all about.

There are MANY fraternities that have partial or even ALL their ritual published online. I don't think that sharing those rituals is a bad thing though. In my opinion it's just a different approach to Fraternity than the traditional. Personally, I like that my fraternity has its secrets--but it's not what makes us a fraternity though.

Whether a fraternity claims to be free of secrets or not, I guarantee there are secrets... It might not be about the ritual, initiations, or secret handshake, but there are secrets nonetheless. Whether its a biggest fear of a brother or an out-of-this-world dream that someone had--all people have secrets. For more understanding on the importance of "knowing information that others don't" watch this video on how to develop deeper and deeper relationships (kinda boring, but it gives a pretty basic overview): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FcoyU5VtHY

The interesting thing about social penetration, is that the more you know about a person, the closer you are to them. Why do we love our parents as much as we do? It's all about social penetration and shared mutual experiences. That's what brings us together... While secrets can play a role, it's not the defining factor for Fraternities.

SO what does this all mean? It means different things to different fraternities.

You Want Us to Do What?

In this course so far, we're learning a lot about "living our ritual".

The only thing I have to say about this is--if you don't know your values, how do you expect to live a values-based life? It's kinda like being a heart surgeon but not knowing the difference between a vein or an artery OR being a banker and not knowing how to count OR being a pastor and have never read the gospel.

To be 100% REAL, here's where I think the problem lies: when we take new members into our organizations, we have these REALLY HIGH expectations of them to learn our values, history, purpose, founders, and all else but then the education stops there. Why do we have Directors/Masters/VPs of New Member Education but not Total Member Education? Why do we put so much emphasis on those coming into our organizations but not those that are IN or organizations? Maybe this problem is just an IFC issue but I know that it exists abundantly in our community and the interviews last Friday proved just that.

If we were to walk down the streets and ask people to provide some words that describe what it means "to be an American", here are some responses you'd probably get: freedom, liberty, justice, innovation, enterprise, etc. etc. etc.

If you were to walk down the street and poll the regular "passer byer" on what it means to be "in a fraternity or sorority", can you imagine the responses you'd get? Think about it for a minute... All it takes is one news headline. One story from a friend. One facebook post. Here's the very scary thing: there are 3,000 people in our community! All it takes is one.

Like I've said in other posts--I'm not a fan of being a whistle-blower unless there's a solution to the problem... Here it is once again: ACCOUNTABILITY. Let's hold ALL members of our organizations as accountable as we hold our new members. Let's call out active members during meetings to recite the object (that's not hazing--if so I'm reporting my Poli Sci prof!). Let's change the title of our VP/Director/Master/Captain of New Member Education to Total Member Education. Let's have our members' facebook pages monitored to ensure that they're living their values on the web. Let's implement an alcohol-free facility policy. We know the problems. They're in the headlines, we hear them from non-Greeks everyday--why don't we act? The answer: WE'RE COWARDS.

Let's start living that ritual. Why do we disgrace heroes like Martin Luther King or Abraham Lincoln in our blogs (people that died for social change) if we are too coward to even speak up and be bold. The ONLY thing that a member would sacrifice is criticism. Can you imagine if just ONE member of a party "frat" (yes, i used the f-word) made a motion in a chapter meeting to ban alcohol in their chapter facilities?! That's heroism. Stop worrying about political correctness and instead worry about correcting problems.

Just Do It!


Another Angry Rant,


Clark Siddle

Values - Living with Worth: Commitment to Excellence

What are your values and how do they define you? Where do they fit in terms of your council's values? In terms of the community's values?

Unfortunately, for many individuals interested in joining Greek Life, the values of the organization are some of the last things that are sold. At least for fraternities, sometimes those words from the ritual are thrown around as catchy jargon without "real meaning". For me, it wasn't the proscribed values from my fraternity's object or any of that that sold me on "going Greek", it was the similarities between me and the brothers that made the sale easy.

At this point in my life, here are some of my top values: selfless service, education, family, and hard-work.

SELFLESS SERVICE: In my opinion, too often people get involved in community service in order to add one more thing to that resume or maybe because it's required (i.e. the Standards of Excellence) and so that is why my emphasis is on the selfless kinds of service. Selfless service doesn't necessarily come in the form of taking on a massive community service effort or stomping out illiteracy by volunteering to tutor others in someone's spare time. Selfless service in its purest form is the service that's not planned and its typically small but abundant--those random acts of kindness (RAOKs) that mean the most. For instance, do any of you have that type of friend that you know would "literally" give you the shirt off their back in order to help you out? Do any of you have a friend that always offers to buy your lunch or dinner but never expects anything in return? Do any of you have a friend that's stayed up with you half the night just to talk out a problem or even just share funny stories when they know they've got to be at class or work bright and early in the morning? When I think of selfless servants, I think of someone who values the success of others above the success of self. Someone that does the right thing because it's just the right thing to do.

In my role with Sorority & Fraternity Life, I see these selfless servants everyday. Service is something that's contagious in a lot of ways. For instance, when someone has a regular 9-5 job and they still will be up many nights sending out emails until 4 or 5 in the morning and you know it's just because they know they're making a difference in others. OR when someone fills their whole schedules with back-to-back meetings even when these meetings are not required of anyone. I do see this value at work everyday, and I am happy to say that I see it in everyone I work with at the Ohio Union and especially in Sorority & Fraternity Life.

As a community, we are getting there. I don't like that students are REQUIRED to serve others BUT I do see the necessity for it too. As a community, just since starting this class, my opinion on this has slightly changed and among classmates I know that commitment to selfless service is abundant in this group. It's an encouraging thing and I hope the enthusiasm doesn't fade.

EDUCATION: First and foremost, we all came to Ohio State for an education. Originally we thought that education came solely through the classroom but as we Greeks know, that's not always the case. Education defines who I am because I know that if I view every situation as a learning experience then I am able to grow as a person. Maybe it's been pounded into my head over the last few years, or maybe it's something I've been taught growing up.

Education obviously aligns with my job and the people that I have the opportunity to work with everyday. Many of them have degrees in "higher education" but everyone I work with is committed to providing an educational experience for us students. In the Greek community, it's a different type of education, but it's just as deliberate as the classroom, in many cases just as planned out as the classroom. We learn about living a life of principle, how to successfully work with others, how to settle conflict, and how to care for others. The individuals that I work for are committed to enhancing the educational experience for us all.

As a community, I feel that we are heading in the right direction, but not where we need to be. One of the best features in selling the Greek community is that we have a high value of our educational experience as evidence by our "higher than undergrad GPA". Unfortunately, when some groups fall short of this and do nothing to address the issue, we all suffer. I feel that the community as a whole has in the last few months gotten more serious about this issue because of the attention that's been put on those that give us all a black eye but we're not there yet.

FAMILY: I love my family! About a year ago my family got a little bigger. I went from having 1 brother to having almost 30 in just a short time. I really do view my fraternity as part of my family. I HATE referring to our chapter house as our "chapter facility"... that's not what it is. It is our chapter home. While the house is not what defines who we are and I understand that we as brothers are not a "house" as many refer to it (even I've made that mistake), this IS our home though. Family is a neat part of my fraternity. First there's the immediate brothers, but it goes even beyond that. I know and have met 90% of my fraternity brothers families and they're some of our biggest supporters (alumni or not). The fraternity experience, no matter the fraternity, should be about building a strong close-knit family.

In a sense my role with Sorority & Fraternity Life does feel like a family. That's one of my favorite things about working in the Union. It's one of the most enjoyable work environments I've ever been a part of. We have our inside jokes, our shared moments of chaos, and definitely a sense of family within the Union.

As a community--again--there's room to grow. As I said, my chapter is very tight-knit but as a community I feel we're not quite there yet. UIFI was a neat experience because I feel like we made great strides toward building that community/family, but it would be great to see more of that on a broader scale. I wouldn't expect ALL 3,000 Greek members to know each other by first name but it would be beneficial if there was a familiar face in every chapter. I think in the past year, we've taken a big step forward in growing together as a community and across council and across chapters.

HARD-WORK: My value of hard-work goes hand-in-hand with education in a lot of ways but it goes a little beyond that. As an individual, I sometimes have the tendency to "stretch myself thin". How I would apply this value to our Greek organizations is pretty simple. We all have individuals in our groups that have great ideas, or do good jobs of pointing out problems, or draw attention to big issues. Someone who values hard work never stops at identifying the problem. People, in my opinion, that value hard-work ACT. Hard-work goes back to my motto of JUST DO IT. It's really easy to be a whistle blower in an organization and point out big issues, complain about the status quo, or just sit by and let others take the charge, it's not so easy to be that change. Growing up in the country and raising livestock taught me the value of hard-work. It wasn't easy getting up an hour or two early for school just to go out to the barn and care for my projects. But I always knew that the hard-work yielded great rewards in the end (that reward partially being the money I was able to bank for college). Can you imagine is for every time someone blew the whistle for needed change in our organizations, that same person would lead the charge to JUST DO IT? Hard-work is sometimes just that: hard.

The team in Sorority and Fraternity Life understand hard work! Each of us do just as much work while "on the clock" as we do off. I love working with people that are passionate about the difference their making. It's a values-driven work environment for a values-driven industry.

As community leaders, we have a responsibility to work hard and challenge other to work hard too. We were all chosen for our positions for particular reasons. I hope that in our respective positions, this value stay at the front of our minds. It's easy for us to identify the problems plaguing our community, but if we don't act on them we are doing a disservice as leaders. Sometimes the tasks will be difficult and unrewarding, but if we remember that hard-work yields great rewards, I think we will be successful. This community "ain't seen nothin' yet!".

My values are different from everyone-else's. These 4 are just some at the top of my list. As Greek community leaders I think we ALL share one primary value. This value will be the determinant of whether we are successful or just another group of positional figures come-and-gone. That value is COMMITMENT. I am committed to living my ritual and I look forward to being a part of this movement with all of you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commitment


Fraternally,


Clark

υπεθυνότητα (Greek Accountability)

Dr. Martin Luther King was a man committed to leading a life of values. He was the son of a minister and followed in his father's footsteps and became a minister himself. Dr. King's values of civic involvement, human justice, and service, among other values is echoed in the fraternal values established by Alpha Phi Alpha. Dr. King, like many of us, chose his career because he wanted to help people and make a difference in the world. I believe that that the reverend's career choice, which eventually led to his mission in fighting social injustice, is the result of some existing values developed early in life by his commitment as a follower of Christ. BUT I also believe that Dr. King's fraternal experience did serve to reinforce and provide an environment where men of common values could sit at that "table of brotherhood" he talks about.

FarmHouse fraternity began as a Christian men's fraternity and like many other fraternities, cites numerous bible passages in our ritual. While I do believe my fraternal experience has changed me, I was drawn to FarmHouse because of the common values of the individuals in the fraternity, not the values written in the book. Fortunately, in my experience, those values of scholarship, service, desire to meet and make friends, and congeniality mirrored the values that hooked me in the beginning. Also in my fraternity, a shared interest in "rural life". What about other fraternities? Do most fraternity men and women know and are able to recite their groups' values? Even if they can recite their values, how are they doing in living the values that they swore to uphold?

My favorite blog this week was Ryan's blog that shined the light on the lack of accountability and the dysfunctions of the Greek community. I like this blog because it didn't sugar-coat the issues and he was less concerned about political correctness and diplomacy and more concerned about identifying the issues that plague his council and the greater community. For every issue that Ryan, or any other Greek leader can identify, I provide one solution: ACCOUNTABILITY. Every member of this community, in one way or another, committed to upholding the values of their organizations. It's time that we hold those members accountable that fall short of their commitment. Whether it's throwing water balloons at sorority women on bid day, hosting parties involving alcohol as a method of recruiting members, or hazing members "because it's tradition". The Greek community needs to be held accountable for upholding the values that they vowed to uphold. Whether it's through formal punishment or social pressure, I believe that we can and should shine the light on those that do well and punish those that give us all a black eye.

Dr. Martin Luther King was a great American hero that lived the values of his church and also of his brotherhood. Can you imagine the change that's possible if we hold ourselves and others accountable the same way Dr. King did through his "fraternal movement"? It was in fact a fraternal movement with the end goal of one day sitting in harmony at the "table of brotherhood".

Change happens...

Hazing In the News: More Favorite Links

If only the good things made the headlines... Here's what the non-Greek public bases their views of Greeks on:

http://www.hanknuwer.com/blog/

Rick Barnes - Hilarious Risk Management Presenter

check out his link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A7myUBD1GU

Blog Prompt for Week 1 - Special Edition

Why did we choose to start a class about Fraternal Change with a service project, and what did you learn about yourself and your peers as a result of our shared experiences today?

WHY:

We live in a revolutionary era. Whether it occurs politically, economically, socially, technologically, academically, morally, or even fraternally--change happens, and it's happening faster than ever before! We live in some exciting times and I am looking forward to being a part of the fraternal change here at Ohio State.

As Greek leaders, we have committed ourselves to service through our roles within the greater community. Kicking off this course, which is ALL ABOUT CHANGE, with a service project sets the tone for the rest of what we'll hopefully be accomplishing through this course: "committing ourselves to Fraternal Change through our roles as selfless servants".

WHAT:

Last week during class I was learning how to be a better FarmHouse fraternity leader at my fraternity's International Leadership Academy, so unfortunately I couldn't join you all in the exciting PB&J-Makin'! BUT, I did have a neat opportunity to travel from where we were staying in Missouri to a suburb in Kansas that's doing amazing things for economically underprivileged individuals and their families. The place that I did my service event was a homeless program that offers shelter, food, daycare, and other amenities for the unemployed. Our project was to prepare a basement, where the people would be staying. We spent 3 and a half hours painting a nasty mud/brick wall in a really old house. The job was hard and we had ridiculous working conditions (it was below zero outside and NO heat inside) but I left with a sense of satisfaction.

It was neat being able to work side-by-side with fraternity brothers that I'd never even met before, with shared values, and passion toward improving home chapters. The whole time, we shared our struggles and learned from each other on ideas for "back home". The energy in that giant, gross, cold basement was electrifying! By the end of those discussions most of us wanted nothing more than to be back home. Not because we were miserable, tired, or paint-covered, but because we were so excited to go back and be the change in our fraternities.

LEARNED:

I learned that there are lots of challenges in our fraternities, but there are also a lot of other leaders up to tackling those challenges through positive change. I'm pumped!

Clark Siddle's Who, Why, and How

Who am I, why am I in my Fraternity/Sorority, and how do I feel after reading this Blogabus in its entirely?

THE WHO:

My name is Clark Siddle. I am a second-year student, majoring in Political Science and Strategic Communication and minoring in Rural Sociology. Apparent by my minor, I come from a small rural community in southwest Clark County (about 1 hour west of Columbus) called Enon. My hometown's "claim-to-fame" is its ancient Adena Indian mound and giant underground aquifers! Enon's home to just over 2,000 residents and is one of those "everybody-knows-everybody, single-stoplight, Friday Night Football, All-American hometowns". I know many people hate the nuances of living in "Small-Town USA" but I know it's largely responsible for molding me into the person I am today. My hometown has played a huge part in everything from my choice of major to my values (which we'll talk about a little later). My interest in politics even stemmed largely from my involvement with my town council and interest in local policy (i know... dorky, right?)! My home, while growing up, was actually about a mile outside of town. We had a barn, pasture, and of course animals (beef steers, goats, lambs, chickens, ducks, etc.) to show at the the Clark County Fair! :) Now, I know many of you are painting a picture of this pitch-fork-holding, tractor-driving, Beverly HillBilly-style, family but that's far from it. Neither of my parents grew up on farms (or would probably even know the difference between a steer and a bull if you asked them), both of them actually work in the city managing their companies; the agricultural interest ACTUALLY started with my two sisters and I--then turned out to be a great hobby and a way to put some money in the college fund. Some of you might be wondering how cows and small-towns have anything to do with my journey into Fraternity & Sorority Life... trust me, this blog goes full-circle--just keep going.

THE WHY:

Through raising livestock, I became involved in various rural youth organizations (4-H, FFA, Farm Bureau, etc.). I started locally, becoming a club officer in my 4-H club when I was really young. As I grew up I took on more and more leadership roles affiliated to these agricultural organizations (Jr. Fair Board, Teen Leadership Council, CARTEENS, etc.). During High School I became especially interested in organizational leadership and took on roles at the state and national levels. One of these roles was my appointment to the Ohio 4-H Foundation's Board of Trustees. This role led to friendships with many of the older (mostly retired) members of the Board (John Foltz, Irv Bell, Howard Warner, etc.). One of the individuals I developed a close working relationship with was Mitzi Kitchen, a 4-H alum from Kenton, Ohio. Her son (Stew Kitchen), at the time, had an internship with the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation and he in-turn offered me a temporary job over the summer working for OFBF. Since the job was in Columbus, he offered a place to stay on-campus at 153 E. 14th Avenue; the house wasn't full during the summer term and there was plenty of space and that way I wouldn't have to make the commute EVERY day! It turned out this on-campus arrangement was the Alpha Tau Zeta House! After staying at the house for over a week, I got to know a lot of the guys (several others worked for OFBF too). Many of the them came from similar backgrounds as I did and I had countless mutual friends and acquaintances with many of them. At this point, I knew NOTHING about fraternities, other than what I saw in the news, on TV, etc. Over that next year, the network of the fraternity became more apparent than ever. First realizing the affiliation between Foltz, Bell, and Warner (the ones from the Foundation Board...) and then even people from back home (my hometown mayor, my 4-H advisor's father, etc.)...all of them members of ATZ. Well, one thing obviously led to another and I was accepted to Ohio State and then came back to campus for move-in two summers after my job with OFBF. You all--I'm sure by now--know how the rest of the story goes with how Greek recruitment operates. Fast-forward, and here I am today.

One of the best parts about joining FarmHouse (previously known as Alpha Tau Zeta) is the connection I have with the other brothers. There's not a single person in the house that I don't share a mutual friend with or have met at some other point outside of being here at Ohio State. The number-one connection being those rural values. Values of hard-work, manners, selfless service, and hospitality, etc.

THE HOW:

Tid-Bits About Me:

• I'm rarely satisfied with status quo
• I enjoy pushing people outside their comfort zones (that's where you learn the most about yourself)
• I am always asking "why?"
• I have high expectations of myself and high expectations of those close to me
• I love being around lighthearted, funny people--even though I am ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE at telling jokes
• I'm a believer that technology is under-used
• I believe in the "pull yourself up by your boot-straps" mentality
• My favorite motto is "Just Do It"

As you can probably tell by the above "about me", I often like to "shake things up". This class is different and I think that's exactly what we need, something different. I find it a little hypocritical that teachers, from kindergarten through college, are always encouraging students to "think outside the box"! How can you make students think outside the box in school if the techniques in which you're facilitating that "outside the box thinking" is as old as school itself. This class is going to be great! I love the videos! My favorite video, I don't know why, is the last one about Entrepreneurs. I'm glad we pose the question of Greek relevance first in the course. I agree that if we define "why" we're relevant first, we can figure out how we can be even more relevant in the near future.

That is all.

Fraternally,