Citizenship

Citizenship to many people is defined as being a member of a community.

When you think about it though it goes much further then just being a part of a larger group.

To me citizenship involves being active in that community in which you are a member of. This includes taking initiatives to accomplish the different ideas you may have, doing service, giving your opinions or anything that may better the community. The key thing that I see in citizenship is working for the greater good of the people around you and trying to make things better as a whole.

For me personally my sorority has helped instill in me this idea of citizenship in a number of different ways.

1. Our Purpose:
Part of Alpha Gam's purpose refers to "welcoming the opportunity of contributing to the world's work in the community where I am placed" This goes along with doing any action within your community-being active.

2. Elections:
Especially with elections having taken place just this past night it just emphasizes the idea that we have to do things that are good for the group. There are so many girls in our chapter and its not always easy to pick who should get which position but the main thing we keep in mind when deciding is who we think will do the best job for everyone as a whole.

3. Service/Philanthropy:
Our philanthropy efforts and service in the community add to my belief that citizenship is about taking initiative in the community because that is exactly what we do with philanthropy events and service opportunities. In addition with such actions we give back to the community which is also an important part of citizenship.

Overall both in personal belief and the actions/beliefs of Alpha Gam, citizenship can be seen as something that elevates the community...funny how well that relates to what we've learned in class all quarter :)

Greek Panel

I thought that a lot of the things that the panel said were really great and there were definitely a few things that stuck out in my mind.

1. I really liked the point they made about needing to be excited about the things you're doing, especially if you're in a leadership position. I feel like a lot of the time people don't get involved or don't follow through with plans because they don't feel the energy and support from the people around them. If all of our chapters and councils started talking up philanthropy events and other opportunities and really showing excitement for them we could get a lot more done.

2. Another thing I really liked was Jordan's story about being recruitment chair just a short time after she joined. I really liked what she said about her sisters seeing something in her that she may not have seen in herself. Being a part of a sorority or fraternity is all about supporting one another and appreciating each other for who we are. I thought what she had to say really described the bond of sisterhood and brotherhood and being there to support and believe in one another, especially those with the stress of a position.

3. One last thing I liked from the panel was when they talked about the difficulty of trying to please as many people as possible with the decisions they make and trying to do things that a lot of people like and think are right. Its hard to incorporate every single person's opinion into making a decision because ultimately you have to leave some ideas out. I think when the panel talked about this it really addressed what I think is the hardest part of leadership. That hard part being trying to do things not just the way you want them, but the way that works for the greatest number of people while keeping in mind your values and goals. As a leader you have to consider that what you think is a good idea may not be viewed the same way by others. You have to collaborate and work together to accomplish things.

Overall I thought the panel was really informative and interesting to listen to, especially with the variety of people and positions which they have held. I definitely think that what they had to say can help each one of us on our way to making a difference in the greek community.

I also found this video and it just made me think about our class in general and the discussion from the panel so enjoy :)

OATH

oath:
a solemn promise, usually invoking a divine witness, regarding your future acts or behavior

As members of sororities and fraternities we promise on the day of our initiation to make sure we uphold our values, mission and purpose in everything we do from that point on. I think its important that we realize we have made this commitment and that it is for a lifetime.

When I think of an oath I think back to when I was initiated into Alpha Gamma Delta. I know for me I took my oath because it meant that I was becoming part of a great organization with high standards and a strong sisterhood. It meant that I would commit myself to living the values of our 11 founders and always be there for my sisters.

In addition to this I think taking an oath is a very special thing. You are only initiated once and the ceremony is something shared by only you and your sisters. Its the first time you learn your ritual and its an experience you never forget. I know I'll never forget my initiation or ritual and I'll always try to live by the values of AGD.

Incongruency

I know that all of our chapters try hard to live our values but we don't always do the best job at it.

I think in the greek community one of the biggest issues we have is talking bad about other chapters - we compare each other, look at who gets paired up with who for events and read greekrank.com but this takes away from the fact that we talk about being one big, unified community. Wasting time and effort trying to figure out the irrelevant question of who is better than who takes away from time we should be spending to promote the greek community - let people know that each chapter is unique and great in its own way and that their is a chapter for every person who wants to be involved.


Going along with this I think of all the other things we could do with our time that would improve our community. A lot of the time we plan social events and don't put as much attention on our philanthropies and service. If we wouldn't worry about who our next tg will be with and what the theme is, we could use our efforts to plan a fundraiser or volunteer outside of events that count towards standards of excellence. All of our chapters think highly of service and philanthropy but yet they don't always seem like priorities. We can elevate ourselves above what is stereotypical of greek life and put the emphasis back on the values which we pledged to uphold.


In Alpha Gam I know that these things happen at times. Sometimes, just like in many other chapters, we forget to follow our purpose and let things happen that go against what we value. I do know though that we are working on more philanthropy events and ways to get involved, which is one way to fix our incongruencies.

As both individual chapters and as a community we can improve our actions as long as we remember we are...