Citizenship

Citizenship is defined by certain rights and responsibilities that one has to a community they are a part of. Citizenship is about participating in the betterment of the community. I think that much of what it entails is self-sacrifice for the greater good. An easy example of this is volunteer work. This is something that many people take part of regularly, especially within our Greek community. If you read my previous post about Fiji's philanthropy event, then you could get a great sense on something that we try to do to give back. All the money that we raise through our fundraisers go to the Stefanie Spielman Fund, which is based here in Columbus. 

Besides volunteer work, I think that there are other things that go into good citizenship. Many of the basic responsibilities of citizenship include those that we are all aware of, such as voting and paying taxes/dues. But there are many more things that go into being an excellent citizen, such as helping someone carry groceries into their house, calling 911 when you see a car accident, letting someone share your umbrella when it's raining, or getting up on the bus to let an elderly person or pregnant woman sit down. In my opinion, these little things are what makes people excellent citizens. These are the things that bear no reward or publication of your effort. The things people do without the want or expectation for recognition and reward to help others is what makes good citizenship.

Quote of the Week:

“I never look at the masses as my responsibility; I look at the individual. I can only love one person at a time - just one, one, one. So you begin. I began - I picked up one person. Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand....The same thing goes for you, the same thing in your family, the same thing in your church, your community. Just begin - one, one, one.”

-Mother Teresa of Calcutta quotes (Albanian born Indian Missionary and Founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. 1910-1997)

The Rivalry Run

Muck Fichigan. Ann Arbor is a "loose woman." We don't give a damn.... You know the drill. Now, I'm as anti-Michigan as they get. I've got a different shirt for every day of the week. I don't mess around when it comes to OSU football, especially not for OSU vs. that state up north.

In spite of all the rivalry hatred this week, some good does come of this week. This good comes through the chapters of Phi Gamma Delta at both Ohio State and Michigan and our annual Rivalry Run. We started our annual rivalry run six years ago to honor two men, Rick Smudz ('75) of Ohio State and Jeff Chiambretti ('05) of Michigan. These two men dedicated themselves to rechartering the chapters to their respective schools, both of which were shut down in the late 1990's. Both men suffered from cancer. Jeff was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 17. Rick lost his battle to cancer in 2002. The Michigan chapter of FIJI raises money for the American Cancer Society. Our chapter raises funds for the Stefanie Spielman Fund. Each chapter has already individually raised about $12,000 for their respective philanthropies.

Here is a video from the Stefanie Spielman Fund. For those avid followers, I know I posted it before, but I just love this video.

The Rivalry Run itself is exactly what it sounds like. Because the game is at Ohio State this year, the Michigan chapter of FIJI starts at their stadium and runs a game ball all the way to the state line. Then the Ohio State chapter receives the ball at the state line and continues running it to the Shoe. The Rivalry Run is something that is very common among FIJI chapters throughout the nation including Wisconsin/Minnesota, Western Kentucky, University of Virginia/Virginia Tech, University of Georgia/Georgia Tech, and Kansas State/University of Kansas to name a few. I love this concept because I think it is a great way for us to step outside of the rivalry and remember that we can come together with our brothers in order to help the communities that support us.


We normally hold the run starting on the Friday before the game and continue through Saturday. However, because of Thanksgiving this year, we actually ran the ball this past Sunday through Monday. This is a total of 186 miles and takes about 30 hours to run. We run the ball in relay style, passing it off to another brother every half mile. This philanthropy event is very unique and is a great way that helps to bond different chapters of FIJI. I look forward to the run every year because there is nothing else like it. If your chapter has the ability, I would encourage you to find something that you can do with chapters at other schools. It's a great experience.

Continue the fight. Continue her fight.
therivalryrun.com
spielmanfund.com

Guest Panel

One of the main points I took away from the panel last week was about communication. Obviously, it's really easy to talk to your brothers and sisters.  However, the hard part comes with confrontation and criticism. It can be really hard to tell a brother or sisters when you think something is wrong, but this is an essential part of communication. This needs to be done to hold people accountable for their actions and to make sure that your fraternity or sorority is staying congruent with their values.

Another point that I really took to heart was the one Jordan made when she was talking about being thrown into the recruitment position for Chi Omega. She said that she wasn't sure what she was doing and that she didn't know if she could do it. But, her sisters believed in her and chose her for a reason. What I really took away from this is that we shouldn't hold back. We shouldn't be afraid of what we can't do and just trust in each other and do the best we can. Diving into leadership head first will allow you to do great things.

I also liked the idea of rewarding those members who are dedicated as opposed to just reprimanding those who don't participate. I really like this idea because I think that rewards can be more effective than punishments. Having a tangible reward will often encourage people to do better because they want that reward. Punishments sometimes aren't followed through on or don't phase people. Rewards offer an incentive to those who are involved and will keep those involved motivated to keep participating.

Quote of the week:

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." - Henry Ford

Oath

For some reason, thinking about what I wanted to blog about for the topic of oath has been really difficult for me. Normally, something come to my mind right away with the other topics, but this one hasn't been clicking. Ironically, I think the reason is that this topic is the most straightforward. Oath is not something that can be changed. It has its definition as a pledge that you take continuous support of certain ideals or actions. But, I think the interpretation of oath is where things can get slippery. 

In my opinion, oath can be seen in two main lights: 1) something you have pledged to uphold or 2) something you have pledged to uphold.

I know what you're thinking and no, that wasn't a typo. I just can't really change the tone of my writing. The difference between the two options is that in one, you want to uphold your oath and in the other, you are obliged to uphold your oath. The first definition of oath stands for a way in which you want to believe, act, or achieve. This form of oath is one in which you are driven by the oath. In the other option, you are obligated to uphold your oath. This oath is something you have taken and now fell the need to follow.

The oath we have taken as fraternity men and sorority women should always follow the first definition. We should all have taken an oath to our fraternities and sororities to constantly uphold the values and ideals of our brotherhoods and sisterhoods. Just saying the oath and agreeing to it is what the second definition is about. The second definition come from an obligation to take an oath and saying it or signing an agreement to take that oath. This, however, means nothing. Oath is truly about action. Oath is about trying to constantly uphold the values of your fraternity or sorority. It is about the interactions you have with your brothers, sisters, and the world. Oath is truly defined by dedication and passion to values and rituals through the good, bad, easy, hard, happy, sad, success, and failure. 

Here is a clip from one of my favorite movies V for Vendetta. It is V's infamous speech. This speech is about how the people are blindly following their government even though that government is straying away from their oath to doing the best for their citizens. Or at least, that's how I interpret this scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chqi8m4CEEY

Quote of the week:

“Put more trust in nobility of character than in an oath”

-Solon quotes (Athenian statesman and poet, 630-560bc)

Incongruencies

Throughout the Greek community, there are several incongruencies I see between what the community and its members supposedly represent and what they actually represent.

One of the most common stereotypes people have about Greek life is HAZING. Obviously, hazing is a serious issue that many pledges in many chapters at many schools have unfortunately had to deal with. But why? I can confidently say that there is no chapter that stands up and exclaims their official viewpoint is pro-hazing. That would be absurd! Yet, hazing still occurs. I have heard horror stories from friends in other chapters, both at Ohio State and at other schools. The first question that always comes to my mind is how did they ever go along with the hazing? I would like to think that if I were placed in a situation where I was being hazed to join a fraternity I would get up and leave. Fortunately, I have never had to deal with any experience like this. The next question that comes to my mind is how anyone can justify hazing. How is this possibly building brotherhood/sisterhood? There are numerous enjoyable activities that chapters can partake in that don't include hazing, for example spending a day at a ropes course or taking a camping trip. Degrading, humiliating, and abusing pledges is one of the biggest incongruencies within the Greek community and it is the one thing we are notoriously known for.

Another major fault within our community is the amount of CHAPTER-BASHING that goes on. In my opinion, this is significantly more understandable than hazing. This verbal abuse of other chapters is often seen or meant as harmless jokes. Many people often bash other chapters in order to improve the way their own chapter is seen, both to people inside and outside of the Greek community. The logical chain of thought behind this is that making other chapters look bad will only make your chapter look better. This can possibly be a defensive mechanism in order to compensate for the shortcomings of one's own chapter (I'm a psych major, so I tend to analyze these things). Now, I'm not trying to make an excuse for this by any means, but it makes sense as the thought process any average human being could go through to "justify" bashing another. However, there are certain forms of bashing that just baffle me beyond belief. For example, greekrank.com. That website is the DEVIL as far as I'm concerned. I think that it is misused and abused by people to try to make their own chapters look better and carry out vendettas against other chapters that may hold different values than they do. All that bashing other chapters does is make our Greek community look bad as a whole. The more horrible things you say about a chapter, the more those things will become associated with our community as a whole, because that chapter is still a member of the Greek community.

The final incongruence I would like to address revolves around the one and only ALCOHOL. Alcohol is probably one of the most bittersweet things at the disposal of college students. Drinking can be fun and can make for memorable times. It allows students to let loose and really unwind from the normal stresses of college. However, drinking can also cause students to throw their values aside and to act in a shocking and atrocious manner. This poses a huge problem to the Greek community as a whole. When Greeks come together for social gatherings such as TGs, Homecoming Week, Greek Week, and various date parties/formals, we are exposed. Walking to a bar in costume or to a bus in formal attire sets us apart from the average student who goes out to party. For events like these, the community as a whole is under the scrutiny. Being drunk is not necessarily the problem in situations like these, it's the drunken actions people tend to take. Drinking is often a cover people use to allow themselves to stray away from their morals. However, this should be a time when we are striving to uphold the values our fraternities and sororities stand for. The Greek community should constantly be living up to the mission statements of our brotherhoods and sisterhoods. Alcohol is something that usually leads to a good night, but one small mistake could cost the reputation of your fraternity or sorority.

These incongruencies are ones that tend to shine above the many congruences that do exist within the community. The negatives tend to outweigh the positives in many people's minds and this is a tough reality we will have to try to overcome. Acknowledging these incongruencies is the first step to alleviating them. Working towards always being congruent with our values and coming together as a Greek community will help us to improve our reputation at Ohio State for years to come.

Quote of the week:

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

-Maria Robinson

Our Mission

Phi Gamma Delta's Mission Statement is:

Phi Gamma Delta is dedicated to developing men of character within the academic setting, with the aim that they will become fully contributing members of society. In pursuit of this mission, the Fraternity promotes five core values:

Friendship, which brings us together and is the basis of our brotherhood.

Knowledge, the primary reason our members attend college and the key to a fuller, richer life.

Service, in recognition of our obligation to give back to the campus and community that foster our growth.

Morality, our commitment to do what is right in all our relationships.

Excellence, the achievement of the full potential of the chapter and the individual members.

There are definitely ways in which my chapter is both congruent and incongruent with our mission statement.

Friendship: In my opinion, friendship is by far the easiest core value to live by and there is a simple reason for this: friendship is fun. Brotherhood/Sisterhood is one of the main reasons why college students join Greek life. Having that special bond with a group of people you can't EVER have with anyone else is something appealing within itself. I think that our chapter exemplifies this value very well and this is a strong way in which we are congruent with our mission statement.

Knowledge: This is one of the things most of our chapter values above all else. Knowledge is something that is very important in the life of a FIJI. Having a strong, academic background is something that is very important to our chapter and gaining knowledge is something important that can never be taken away. The drive to constantly be learning new things and being intrigued by the world around us is another strong example of how our chapter is congruent with our mission statement.

Service: Giving back to the community around us is something that is emphasized a lot throughout Greek Life as a whole. Philanthropy is a way to actively work together in order to do good for others and help improve the community around us. In our chapter, we have constantly been working over the past year to make our philanthropy event bigger and better. We do a Rivalry Run with the FIJIs in Michigan the week of the OSU/Michigan football game. This requires all of our members, along with their members, to run the game ball from one stadium to the other. Our chapter has been fundraising for almost a whole year for this event. We have also recently changed our philanthropy to the Stefanie Spielman Fund, an organization that is a staple within the Columbus community in order to give back to the local community.

Morality: This is definitely one of, if not the, hardest value to live by. This commitment to always do what is right is hard. It is constantly testing us as individuals, as well as a chapter as a whole. Having a strong sense of morality helps to guide us to live our lives in a dignified manor at every moment possible. Now, obviously people make mistakes and sometimes better judgement is lost. But, morality is more about living up to and learning from your mistakes. It is about making the right decisions whenever you can, and when you make that mistake, realizing that you did, fixing it to the best of your ability, and learning from it.
 

Excellence: Excellence is about living life to your fullest potential. It is about doing the things you do well. Excellence is about PASSION. Excellence is not necessarily about being the best at everything, but being YOUR best at everything. It is about commitment to anything you do, whether that be academics, extra-curriculars, jobs, social life, etc... Being excellent is about doing something with the highest intention of doing it to the best of your ability. Excellence is probably the hardest value to constantly work towards. It involves a level of commitment that many people are not willing or wanting to put into EVERYTHING they do, but I believe that when you strive for excellence in every aspect of life, the rewarding and fulfilling feelings are well worth it.

Quote of the week:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Aristotle quotes (Ancient Greek Philosopher, Scientist and Physician, 384 BC-322 BC)

freerice.com

I'm sure most of you, if not all, have at the very least heard of Freerice.com, if not been to the website. This website was the first thing that came into my mind when I saw the blog prompt for a very simple reason - they got straight to the point. For those of you who don't know much or really anything about Freerice.com, here is some history. When this website started in 2007, it asked users vocabulary questions that would progressively got tougher with the amount of answers the user got correct. In exchange for each correct answer, rice was donated to the World Food Programme. The website was donated to the United Nations World Food Programme in March of 2009 and they launched an updated version of the website last month, expanding the question asking to other subject areas including math, chemistry, and art.

I chose Freerice.com because there values are very clear and simple. This website was founded on two main values: promoting education and helping others. Freerice.com is promoting education by providing a form of free education to everyone and anyone willing to accept it. The website started out by helping users expand their vocabularies and even adjusted the word difficulty based on the level of the user. Freerice.com has shown its commitment to free education by expanding the choices on their website to include other subjects. They are also helping people around the world by trying to end world hunger by providing free rice to those who need it.

Clearly, educating people and ending world hunger are two things that Freerice.com is PASSIONATE about. Their website is based on a very simple concept, but it works. This focus on their passions has allowed Freerice.com to be extremely successful, donating over 83,000,000,000 grains of rice to date! Now, if you haven't picked up on this yet, you should use one of my many links to Freerice.com, visit the website, and earn some free rice while your procrastinate through your studies.

Quote of the week:
"Continue to surprise those who would put you in a neat demographic. Be insistently curious."
-Dr. E. Gordon Gee