Bid Day Tees: More Ultimate Mission Statements (In Several Words Or Less)

The possibilities are endless when it comes to finding amazing & oh-so-dazzling quotes to put on our Bid Day tees.  As a matter of fact, the following quotes can tell others a whole lot about our Sororities/Fraternities in more ways than one:

“Nothing beats a Delta Zeta/Alpha Chi/AOII/Gamma Phi/ADPi/etc. girl!!“

“Simply the best.  Simply (put your Sorority’s/Fraternity’s letters here).“

“Never settle for second best.  Go (put your Sorority’s/Fraternity’s letters here).“

“Love the life you live.  Live the life you love.  Go (put your Sorority’s/Fraternity’s letters here).”

“There’s no place like home…Go (put your Sorority’s/Fraternity’s letters here).”

“Be you.  Be classy.  Go (again, put your Sorority’s/Fraternity’s letters here).“

“You’ll make a difference in AOII/Chi O/Delta Gamma/Gamma Phi/Delta Zeta/Kappa Delta/etc.   AOII/Chi O/Delta Gamma/Gamma Phi/Delta Zeta/Kappa Delta/etc. will make a difference for you!!”

“Go with the best.  Go (put your Sorority’s/Fraternity’s letters here).“

The little things mean a lot, so choose your Bid Day tee quotes with care & with plenty of forethought, since (like I’ve said numerous times before)  first impressions are lasting ones!!

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Sorority Life: Some More New Year’s Resolutions

It won’t be long before Spring Semester arrives in full swing & for who knows how many of us, it’ll also be time for Formal Recruitment.  After being away from campus for a few weeks, it’ll be back to business as usual, returning to the routine of keeping busy inside & outside our chapters.

Yet Spring Semester is also an opportunity for us to make good on the following resolutions which we’re making for 2012:

First of all, stay true to your Sorority’s/Fraternity’s core values & reaffirm those values in all that you do throughout Spring Semester.

Second, ask yourselves:  “Am I truly living the values of my Sorority/Fraternity?  Am I going to live & articulate those values on a daily basis to others day in & day out?  Am I going to reflect my Sorority’s/Fraternity’s values back to others in great & small ways?”

Third, keep setting your standards & expectations high!!  Don’t rest on your laurels or be content with the awesome job you & your sisters did during Fall Semester.

Fourth, keep striving for excellence!!  Whether it’s in academics, through fulfilling your expectations/responsibilities as chapter officers, philanthropy, service, leadership opportunities, or simply upholding accountability/integrity, give 110% every step of the way as you strive to be the best leaders & women you can possibly be.

Fifth:  Since Formal Recruitment’s around the corner for who knows how many of us, choose quality membership based on integrity, academic excellence & the character of the women we’re selecting for our Sororities/Fraternities.

Sixth, make a positive & lasting impact for your colleges/universities & communities through philanthropy & service.  One of the most heartfelt, beautiful & life-transforming things that any sorority woman can do is to give her time, talents & resources selflessly to enrich the lives of others around her, both Greek & non-Greek. 

Last but not least (& I’ve brought this up ad infinitum):  Don’t just tell others about who our Sororities/Fraternities are & what we’re about.  Prove why we’re among the best of the best on campus, or for that matter, why our chapters are among the best both statewide & nationwide.

Sigma Chi: More Snaps To Drew Brees!!

Whether you’re a loyal fan of the New Orleans Saints or not, you’ve got to love & respect the great things Drew Brees has been doing lately.  Case in point:  Last night’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Not only did the Saints win & clinch the NFC South; Drew Brees also broke Dan Marino’s single-season passing record in the process.  (Brees currently has 5,087 passing yards compared to the 5,084 passing yards Marino had back in 1984.)

Besides being a man with a plan on the football field & being a history-making, record-breaking quarterback, Drew Brees is also all of the following:   A Sigma Chi.  A Significant Sig.  A Truly Proud & Truly Worthy Sig.  A Man of Good Character on & off the field.  Above all, Brother Brees is one of the most selfless Sigma Chis around, doing great things for his alma mater (Purdue University) & the city of New Orleans.  (For my fellow Sigs or for anyone who loves Sigma Chi, these words continue to hold true about Drew Brees.)  Even if you’re not a Saints fan, you’ve got to love, respect & appreciate Drew Brees & the work that this man is continuing to do both in a Saints uniform & outside it. 

Thank God for Sigma Chi.  At the same time, thank Sigma Chi for giving us such amazing & truly dedicated Brothers like Drew Brees!!

Greek Life: Much More Than Meets The Eye

You’ve heard & seen firsthand how Greeks have been portrayed on television & in the movies:  more often than not, in a negative & unflattering light.  In addition, some Greeks are actually perpetuating the very stereotypes we not only want to avoid, but also want to transcend altogether.  (The most recent case in point:  Sigma Phi Epsilon  at the University of Vermont.) 

To be honest with you, it’s amazing how many times Greeks have been caricaturized & stereotyped to death.  Whether from a fictional standpoint or not, it’s no secret why non-Greeks are so skeptical & suspicious about fraternities & sororities in general.  Moreover, seeing those same old myths about Greeks per se is enough to make the doubters & haters say to this effect:  “If this is what Greek life is all about, I want no part of it.”  “Why would I want to pay for my friends?”  ”Greeks just party & drink all of the time.” 

For us, Greek life’s not about parties.  Likewise, it’s not about drinking.  In the same way, it’s not about looks or the kind of clothing we wear.  It’s not about Prada. It’s not about Kate Spade & it’s not about Lilly Pulitzer either.  The true story about Greek life is a far cry from all of these things you’ve seen on TV & the movies (& worse yet, in our own backyard, by men & women who failed to live their organizations’ rituals & values). 

It’s on us to accept the challenge.  It’s up to us to show non-Greeks who we truly are, what we truly do & what we’re truly about.  Just giving them a bunch of facts & figures won’t convince them as to why our chapters are doing great things for our colleges/universities & communities.  Rattling off names of famous men & women who have graced our organizations over time won’t suffice either.  It’s on us to not only fight the stereotypes non-Greeks harbor about our fraternities & sororities, but also to shatter them as well.  If we’re not doing our job, who’s going to?

Sorority Life: The True Meaning Behind Ritual

What is Ritual? 

Ritual is at the heart of who our Sororities/Fraternities are, what our Sororities/Fraternities do & what our Sororities/Fraternities are all about.  At the same time, ritual is about the little things which define who we are as Sorority/Fraternity members:  values, pledges/promises  & ways/guidelines to live.

Ritual is something to be lived out on a daily basis.  It’s not just a bunch of words which are read only on certain occasions.  Ritual is alive, real & relevant in telling others who we are as Sorority/Fraternity members & showing them the values which we’re striving to uphold.

Ritual is about being an living example for others to see.  No matter which letters we wear & no matter which Sororities/Fraternities we represent, the life-transforming lessons & values which we learn from our Rituals should never be a closed book to others.

Ritual is holding dear to the things which make our Sororities/Fraternities forces to be reckoned with: integrity, accountability, high personal standards/expectations, academic excellence & recruiting women with strong character.

Ritual is all around us:  the interactions we have with other Greeks & non-Greeks on campus, the ways in which our chapters recruit quality women for membership, the impacts which we make on campus & in the local community through philanthropy & service.

To make a long story short, ritual is all of the above & much more:  a set of guidelines handed down from generation to generation by women who wanted to bring about positive change.  For us, ritual is & should always be a way of life!!

Ask yourselves:  “Are we truly living our Ritual?  Are we truly living the values of our Sororities/Fraternities?  Or are we just going through the motions?”

Sorority Recruitment: Weather Or Not, Part Two

For those chapters who have Formal Recruitment this winter, there are plenty of things to think about between now & the start of Spring Semester.  Besides the obvious practicing & preparing for our Recruitment Week events (& getting all of our sisters on the same page as far as participation is concerned), we’ve got something else we need to be concerned about:  inclement weather throwing a major wrench in our Formal Recruitment plans & events.

Whether that lousy winter weather comes in the form of ice, sleet or snow, it can put a damper on our Formal Recruitment schedule in more ways than one: 

First of all, some of our most important Recruitment events may end up getting rescheduled, or worse yet, cancelled altogether.

Second, the Office of Greek Life/Office of Student Affairs (among others) will be scrambling around like crazy to get our Formal Recruitment activities rescheduled.

Third, the crummy weather can also affect the turnout of women who are planning on going Greek – not a good thing to think about.

Ask yourself:  Do you have an alternate schedule in place for Formal Recruitment if the winter weather is downright lousy?  Are you ready to go with Plan B if Plan A fails because of snow, ice, sleet or all of the above?  Are you going to inform/update the potential new members about Formal Recruitment events getting changed around/rescheduled because of the weather conditions?

In situations like these, the sooner you can prepare, the better.  And in the case of Formal Recruitment, our approach should be no different.  It never fails to have an alternate Recruitment schedule in place which is workable both for our chapters & the PNMs who will be visiting our Sororities/Fraternities.

Sorority Life: Forever, For A Lifetime

(The following post is for Sorority/Fraternity undergraduates & alumnae alike.)

Whether we’re undergraduates, whether we’re alumnae, or whether we’re alumnae who just graduated from college, one thing remains undeniably true:  our Sororities/Fraternites aren’t just for college days alone.  They’re forever.  They’re for a lifetime.

No matter which letters we wear & no matter which Sororities/Fraternities we proudly represent, one thing continues to hold true, even today:  our experiences as Sorority/Fraternity sisters aren’t just for college days alone.  They’re forever.  They’re for a lifetime.

Whether we’re young or old & whether we live in small towns or big cities, one thing continues to hold true, even now:  Sorority life isn’t just for college days alone.  It’s forever.  It’s for a lifetime.

Whether we do great things on campus or whether we do likewise in the communities where we live (& to a much greater degree, the world), one thing will always hold true:  our Sororities/Fraternities aren’t just for college days alone.  They’re forever.  They’re for a lifetime.

Whether we do amazing things for our undergraduate chapters or whether we do just-as-amazing things in our alumnae chapters/associations, one thing always remains true:  our Sororities/Fraternities aren’t just for college days alone.  They’re forever.  They’re for a lifetime.

No matter where we went to college & no matter which chapters we represent, one thing holds true for all of us:  our Sororities/Fraternities aren’t just for college days alone.  They’re forever.  They’re for a lifetime.

For those women who sincerely & wholeheartedly agree, it’s all true:  a Sorority/women’s Fraternity isn’t just for college days alone.  It’s forever.  It’s for a lifetime.

Sorority Recruitment: Decisions, Decisions & More Decisions…

Decisions, decisions, & even more decisions.

Finding a Sorority/women’s Fraternity to join during Formal Recruitment can be a challenging task; to be honest with you, it’s more difficult than it looks.  As for finding the right Sorority/women’s Fraternity to join?  Even more so.

When it comes to finding a Sorority/women’s Fraternity where you can truly feel right at home, making that final decision takes plenty of soul searching & plenty of forethought.  Whether you’re visiting four, a dozen or sixteen chapters on campus during Recruitment Week, keep these things in mind:

First of all, each of these chapters you’re going to be visiting is amazing in its own way & in its own right.  So visit each Sorority/women’s Fraternity with an open mind, assessing their pros & cons/strengths & weaknesses as you go along.

Second, none of these chapters you’re going to be visiting is “better” or more “superior” than the others on campus.  Each of them is going to be different (yet amazing, of course) in some way or other.

Third, ask yourself, “What kind of reputations do these chapters have on campus?”  Do they have a proven track record when it comes to promoting & staying committed to academic excellence, service, philanthropy & leadership development?  Do they have a proven track record when it comes to doing great things on campus & in the local community?  Or is it vice versa?  (Once you accept that bid & decide to join the Sorority/women’s Fraternity you chose, you’ll always be associated with that organization.)

Fourth, ask yourself what’s compelling you to choose AOII/Delta Zeta/Alpha Xi Delta/etc. over the other Sororities/women’s Fraternities on campus.  Is it because of the sisterhood?  Is it because you’ll have an opportunity to participate in social events?  Is it because of the philanthropy?  Is it because your top chapter is about setting high standards & expectations in academic performance?  Is it because your top chapter inspires its members to achieve their personal best?  Is it because you can relate to/identify with the values of your top Sorority/Fraternity?  Better yet, is it for all of the above reasons I just mentioned?

Last but not least, don’t let the doubters/haters affect/influence your decision-making.  You’re going Greek & you’re deciding on which Sorority/women’s Fraternity you want to join; they’re not!!

Sorority Recruitment: All Of The Above

As you’re searching for the right Sorority/women’s Fraternity to join during Formal Recruitment, it never fails to take the following things into consideration before finally accepting your bid:

First of all, consider the potential to build long-lasting relationships with the women of the Sorority/Fraternity you’re planning on joining.  (Like I’ve stated time & time again in previous posts, sisterhood & friendship aren’t just for college days alone.)

Second, think about the values & mission statement of the Sorority/Fraternity you’re planning to join.    They’ll not only allow you to make a connection with other women who share the same visions, goals & values as you do.  Both of the above will also make you into a stronger individual as well; moreover, the values & mission of the Sorority/Fraternity you’re thinking about joining will inspire & encourage you to discover your true potential as a leader on campus & beyond!!

Third, consider the reputation of the Sorority/Fraternity you’re going to join.  Does that chapter take academic excellence seriously?  Does that chapter put equal emphasis on philanthropy, service & leadership opportunities?  Also, does it provide its members with an authentic atmosphere of friendship & sisterhood?  Or does that particular Sorority/Fraternity have a bad reputation on campus?  Think about these things before you decide to accept that bid, because once you join, you’ll always be associated with that organization (in a good/bad way).

Last but not least, think about the reasons for why you want to join that Sorority/Fraternity:  not only for the sisterhood, but also for that particular Sorority’s/Fraternity’s commitment to academic excellence, that Sorority’s/Fraternity’s ability to empower, inspire & encourage its members to make an impact on their campuses & communities through philanthropy & community service, & last but not least, the opportunities which that Sorority/Fraternity provides you to be a leader on campus, for your chapter & in the real world!!

Sorority Recruitment: A Question of Where & When

Depending on where you go to college, Formal Recruitment usually takes place at the following times:

(1)  Before the beginning of Fall Semester.

(2)  Shortly after classes begin/one or two weeks into Fall Semester.

(3)  A few weeks or so into Fall Semester.

(4)  Midway through Fall Semester.

(5)  At/shortly after the beginning of Spring Semester.

(6)  A few weeks into Spring Semester.

If you know when Formal Recruitment’s going to be for your college/university, make sure to prepare accordingly, as well as take note of deadlines for such things as registration (among other recruitment-related things).  (The sooner you can do these things, the better.)  Also, ask yourself the following questions to make sure you’re good to go for Formal Recruitment:

Are you registered for Sorority Recruitment? Check. 

Do you have your grade transcripts/other relevant academic information sent out?  Check. 

Do you have any additional pertinent Recruitment information ready to go, such as references & recommendation letters?  Check. 

Do you have the right attire to wear for Formal Recruitment?  Check.

If you have any additional questions, don’t be afraid to address them to, say, the Office of Student Life, the Office of Greek life or even your college’s/university’s Panhellenic Council.  They’ll be more than happy to answer any pressing questions you might have & they won’t hesitate to respond to any issues/concerns you may have about the recruiting process.

If you know when Formal Recruitment’s going to be & are thinking about going Greek, it never fails to be prepared ahead of schedule.  Are you ready to go?