Monday, April 9, 2007

Date Auction

This week Delta Phi Epsilon is holding their annul date auction. This event involves auctioning off the girls in the sorority for the highest bidder. All of the money raised goes to Anerexia Nervosa and Associated Disorder, following the event all of the girls take their dates on a group date. The location of the date varies however this year we are going to a country western club since the theme of the auction is a western theme. In the past we have gone on group dates ice skating, bowling, out to dinner, and to the zoo.

Often times the date will cost anywhere from $20-$100. However most are happy to pay the price for such a worhty cause. The function takes place at FAU's Cayote Jack's Restaurant and pub, Tuesday April 17th at 8:00 pm.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Recruitment Worskshops

One week out of the entire year, Flordia Atlantic University Sorority women gather together to recruit young women to take over the future of their chapter. Out of all of the evnts sorority women hold throughout the year, most agree that recruitment week is by far the most important. If the current members of the chapter to not succeed throughout the week, the futue of the chapter could be in jeoparty.

Most members come together and work hard to make this week succesful because they want the future of their chapter to succeed as well as have a strong alumni association on the future. Without a strong undergraduate chapter, the alumni association is pointless.

Greek Housing

New developments have recently been made to speed up the process of building Greek housing on campus. However, current plans were put on hold last week due to the current developments of a hospital that will be built in 2010. Although a hospital on campus is clearly more important then Greek housing, this was a huge disapointment for the Greek community.

President Brogan says the plans for Greek housing will fall back into place once more funding is available, however any construction has been put on hold inevitably. Many Greeks find the recent decision a step backwards for Greek life. John Marquez, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity says "the Greeks are ready and have waited long enough, at this rate, Greek housing will never become a reality."

In the mean time Greek organizations are continuing to push for housing despite the recent developments.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Perhaps it is just a girl thing, however it is very possible that holding parties when a particular TV show comes on, may be a sorority girl thing. In most normal day activity, people end their day by watching a television show or two. However for sorority girls, the television show "The Hills" is reason for a party.

Every Monday night, my sorority gets together with food, wine, and occasional desserts all to celebrate the latest episode of "The Hills" an MTV show which was created as a spin off of "Laguna Beach." Most say they enjoy the show so much because they can relate to it, "its like a glammed up version of my life, when I look at lauren (the main character) I look at a much prettier, much richer, and much all around better version of me," says Danielle Cohen, member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority.

"The Hills" is a reality show but much debate had gone on regarding the true reality of it, "even if the show isn't real, it still keeps us interested every episode," says Amanda Clare, member of D Phi E.

Whatever the case may be, sorority girls flock to the show every Monday night, only time will tell us the true success of the show.

How About $20

As Vice President of my sorority Delta Phi Epsilon, one of the many tasks that are given to me is planning our annual formal. This year, I decided to hold our formal in Walt Disney World, however the formal is not a magical experience just yet. Months and months of planning to into preparing this one night for the sorority.

One of the many things I have learned from planning this event is the ability to bargain. I have to bargain with the DJ, with the hotel coordinator, flourists, and any other company that plays a part in the final product of the event.

Bargaining is something I have never had to do, and something I hopefully never have to do in the future. I am horrible at talking down a price and most of the time I am a complete pushover. Therefore, I don't ever see myself getting involved with sales in the future.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Facebook!

Facebook has become a popular craze throughout the college community across the nation. However, when organizations are attempting to put out a good name for themselves, Facebook can be their worst enemy.

Sororities across the nation are trying to prevent their members from putting up explicit or revealing pictures on their Facebook page that promote sex, drugs, or alcohol. They have discovered this to be a rather hard task since the majority of the pictures were taken at a location not relating to the sorority and at a party or event on their spare time outside of sorority life.

National Pan-Hellenic Officials (the governing bored of all sororities) have decided that regardless of the fact that the pictures were not taken at a sorority event, the individual is still representing her organization regardless of where she is at the time of the picture.

Fraternities members also tend to post explicit pictures however, rules such as this do not apply to them. Perhaps it is due to the double standard that it is more socially acceptable or men to have revealing pictures as apposed to women. Whatever the case, sorority members across are going to have to make major changes to their Facebook pages.

Under Quota

Sororities are intended enhance the college experience for college woman as well as help develop them for the real world. However, on rare occasions sororities risk the chance of having their charter taken away and being kicked off campus. This can be the result of any number of reasons. The most common reason is when sororities are caught hazing their new members or drinking alcohol at an event when they aren’t supposed to.
At Florida Atlantic University this week one particular sorority announced that they would no longer be retuning to FAU as a chapter next year. This organization did not break the rules or get in trouble for any reason but rather, they failed to recruit the minimum amount of girls required to stay on campus.

Every recruitment for the past three years they have not recruited more then seven girls per year. The total amount of girls the other sororities recruit per year is 20. The amount of girls in a chapter is called Quota, when that number goes below 40, it is called “under quota.” Despite their attempts this past spring to recruit more girls, their numbers were still not high enough. As a result, their charter will be taken away at the end of the school year.

GABO Fest

This week in the life of Delta Phi Epsilon, we are holding our annual GABO Fest. This is where all four D Phi E chapters in south Florida get together and compare notes on what works and what doesn’t in their chapters. It also serves as a great way to get to know other members from other chapters.

D Phi E has four chapters in South Florida, they are at University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University, Florida International University, and of course Florida Atlantic University. Usually, the day starts off with a meet and greet and then we all break off into teams. The teams are divided by your position in the sorority; since we are all very small chapters most people have a position unless you are unable to hold one because of academics.

All teams compare and contrast ideas and stories; this is a great way to get new fundraising and event ideas that our chapter may have never thought of before. It serves as a great tool for networking and connections as well since most alumni also attend the event.

What's In It For Me?

When an individual first joins a Greek organization, they are bombarded with a calendar packed full of philanthropy’s and other events that take up a large portion of their weekend. Many pose the question “so what’s in it for me?” A short question with a very long answer.

Most people first join a sorority or a fraternity as a freshman in order to meet people on campus and develop a stronger social life. As they get older, their classes get harder; they get more involved with internships and work, and slowly steer away from socials, formals, and other social events.

However, many stick with it throughout the long hall and maintain their membership until graduation. These students often develop great networking tools for the future as well as great connections through alumni. Most active alumni of a Greek organization are high paid individuals that donate a lot of money their organization. They also take an active role in being mentors for the members and helping them prepare for the real world.

Any national organization has a wide variety of alumni, weather they went to your particular school or another school; you have a common bond because you were in the same Greek organization. As a senior, utilizing alumni relations is a great way to land your first job.

Holding an executive bored position in your particular organization also looks great on a resume. Also, a lot of employers were in Greek organizations themselves and understand it consists of a lot more then just drinking and keg parties. There are several reasons why a Greek organization can be beneficial in the long run; it just requires a little dedication to stick with it throughout good times and bad.

Dry Week

Non-alcoholic weeks are a standard part of being in a Greek organization. A non-alcoholic week also known as “Dry Week” may be set as a rule due to any number of things. Recruitment for one, is dry for a number of reasons, firstly the Dean of Student Affairs does not want any current members to drink with potential new members in hopes of steering away from the stereotypes of typical Greeks.

A second occasion is Greek Week; this is a week full of sporting events and performances put on by each individual organization. The week is intended to promote Greek unity there for drinking throughout the week is prohibited.

Lastly, any and all official events put on by either a fraternity or sorority is strictly dry unless a third party vendor serves alcohol. This rule usually surprises outsiders that are unfamiliar with the Greek system. Many stereotypes of fraternities and sororities involve alcohol, however with such strict rules, alcohol is rarely a part our events.

Recruitment

Every year, the four sororities at Florida Atlantic University come together for one week of annual recruitment. In order to expand the membership amongst the sororities, recruitment is a vital part to the future of the Greek system. Each night consists of a different theme, this year Delta Phi Epsilon chose the theme of colors and each night all of the girls dressed in a different color and decorate their assigned room in that particular color.

The first night was titled “pink night” where the room was lavishly decorated in Victoria Secret emblem. The second night consisted of white decorations and all of the girls wore all white, canals were lit all over the room, and the ceilings were draped with white silk material. The third night was purple and gold night; every sorority is required to perform a ritual relating to their sorority, our particular sorority performs a ritual for Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

The last and final night was black night, also known as pref night, this is where the girls narrow down their top two sororities and only go to two rooms. Only one sorority offer them a bid based on their top two choices. This process is complicated but effective.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Basket/Date Auctions

Many sororities hold an annual date auction in order to raise money for their national philanthropy. This consists of holding an auction where members go up for bid on stage and the person that offers the highest bid wins a date with that particular member. Although this process sounds rather promiscuous, the event is completely harmless and all sorority members go on a group date with the person that bought them. The location of the date changes every year however in the past members have gone bowling, ice-skating, ect.

This past week, Alpha Xi Delta held their annual basket auction. Since A Xi D headquarters does not allow their members to auction off themselves, they choose to hold a basket auction instead. All members are required to put together a basket filled with gifts of their choice. Most members have the contents of their basket donated by local restaurants and stores. The baskets can be auctioned for anywhere from $25 to $300 and all of the money raised goes directly to their national philanthropy which is Choose Children.

Valentines Day

If there is one positive aspect I can say about being in a sorority, it is that you will never feel alone on Valentines Day. Most sororities do some sort of event so that no girl will feel left out. Some argue that Valentines Day is just a day for card companies to get rich, although I agree; it is still a depressing holiday for a single young woman.

My particular sorority does an activity called Secret Crush. It is very similar to the famous tradition of having a secret Santa at Christmas time, only this time you have a crush. Each member of the sorority draws a name out of a hat and whichever name you draw, you are responsible for leaving him or her presents on Valentines Day.

Although the concept is very silly and rather cheesy, it still manages to make a normally depressing holiday a little bit brighter.

Deepher Dog

This past weekend, Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority hosted a new event called Deepher Dog.The event was a fundraiser held to benefit Pets in Distress. The event consisted of several dogs competing in a pageant or competition. Each Greek organization could enroll one dog to represent their group. Throughout the week Delta Phi Epsilon set up cans along the breezeway in order to hold a "penny wars" competition.

Each can had a picture of a dog and the organization they were representing, then as students passed by, they were asked to donate change to a dog of their choice. The winner of the Penny Wars was granted extra points added to his or her final score at the pageant competition.

The following Saturday, Delta Phi Epsilon held the dog pageant where each competitor was aloud to perform tricks and strut their stuff in hopes of winning the title of Deepher Dog. The winner of the competition was a dog owned by a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. All of the proceeds went to Pets in Distress.

Practice Makes Perfect

This month the FAU Greek system is practicing hard in order to achieve first place in the Greek Week competitions. Every year the different organization is assigned a different category according to the particular theme. This year, the theme is countries, which means each organization chooses a different country and they must dress and perform pertaining to the country of their choice.

The theme is most important when it comes to the lip sync, skit, and talent portion of the competition. If an organization fails to dedicate one aspect of their country to their particular performance, points are deducted from their total score. Choosing a good theme is the key to success in this competition. Although new and smaller organizations may find it amusing to choose countries such as Cambodia or Iceland, older and more experienced Greek Week competitors know that choosing such themes are Greek Week suicide.

As the date becomes closer, the tension rises. Only time will tell who will take home the championship this year.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Academics

When people think of a typical sorority girl, many envision a blonde, ditzy girl twirling her hair at a fraternity mixer. However most don’t know that all members of a sorority are expected to live up to an academic standard, which varies depending sorority.

If members to not meet the minimum grade requirements they are put on academic probation which means they are excluded from all social events. This past semester my sorority had several girls on academic probation. However, as Vice President of Academic Affairs for my organization, I am a strong believer in the fact that everyone is entitled to a bad semester.

Sometimes circumstances beyond our control cause our grades to drop significantly. In this case I am often sympathetic, however the girls that continue to go out and party every night despite their poor grades I have very little sympathy for. After three semesters of being on academic probation, the member is asked to leave the organization.

Sorority Perks

When the drama and stress of relationships subdues, I find being in a sorority has its perks. For one, I always have close friends I can count on at any time, without joining my organization I may have never been exposed to such amazing girls.

I also enjoy the fact that as a sorority member we are required to complete a certain number of community service projects. Although I am completely capable of doing a community service project on my own, most don’t go out of their way to complete them in college unless you are part of an organization.

Lastly, being in a sorority helps me with my organization skills. It gives me a positive incentive to keep up with my studies and is a great resource when it comes time to get a job in the future. When people ask me what being in a sorority is like I am honest when I say that despite that cattiness that sometimes occurs, it is easy to overlook when I consider all of the positive aspects I gain.

Drama Drama Drama

I think it may be impossible for a group of fifty girls to all get along. I contemplate this thought on a regular basis and I wonder why it is so difficult for a large group of women to be content with one another. I rarely see this problem with men. Many blame it on genetic differences, however I think with a little bit of effort it wouldn’t be that hard for a group of women to be civil.

In my sorority many problems occur, such as back stabbing, talking about one another, hooking up with ex-boyfriends, and of course those that feel they have competition. These are common problem in every female organization. Perhaps women should just attempt to make more of an effort to control their hormones and be more considerate of one another. If they did, I think the world would be a much happier place.

Ohhhhh Greek Week

Spring semester always holds a special place in my heart. Every year around the third week in March, Greek organizations get together to duke it out for the ultimate Greek Week championship. Members will participate in sports such as football, basketball, swimming, and relay races. The following night they will participate in a lip sync, talent and skit competition.

At the end of the week, all the points are added up, one sorority and one fraternity are awarded a trophy for placing first. The week is intense, injuries occur, tears are shed, and people always end up disappointed.

However as much as I love competing, Greek Week was created to unite the Greek system and smooth over hostility. However in actuality it does the complete opposite. Greek Week brings organizations further apart and creates enemies for insignificant reasons. Although I consider it one of the best weeks of the semester, Greek advisors should reconsider holding the week long event if they are looking to unite members.

Inter Greek Dating

If you ever find yourself desperately wanting to join a Greek organization, here is a word of advice, NEVER date a member of a different Greek organization. I have been a member of my sorority for four years, and throughout that time I have seen relationships rise and fall. However when the relationship finally ends it is a rare occasion that the two remain civil, here is why…..
1. As a member of “the Greek system,” couples often develop the same friends if similar friends had not already been established before the couple started dating. Therefore, when the couple splits those friends are often forced to take sides, which create a messy situation.
2. As much as one may think avoiding the ex will solve all of their problems, this is virtually impossible as a member of “the Greek system”. We all hang out at the same places in the breezeway, we manage to end up at the same nightspot, and simply avoiding where your ex goes means sacrificing time out with your friends.
3. Most people in Greek organizations like to use the Greek system as a dating tool, therefore, chances are your ex will more then likely move on to someone you know or even worse, are friends with.
4. On the off chance that you break off the relationship in a civil manner, the feeling of jealousy always comes into play at some point and seeing the other person on a regular basis only inflames the jealousy more
5. If you are one of the lucky few that get away with going out and having fun without seeing your ex, never forget the fact that as a member of the Greek system gossip circulates around in a new your minute, and even if you don’t care what is going on in your ex’s life, you can always count on your fellow members to tell you.

Rush Week

It’s a new semester, and Greek life at Florida Atlantic University is prevalent around campus. From social mixers to philanthropy events Greek organizations are quickly filling up their calanders.

This week is spring rush for male fraternities on campus. Throughout the week local fraternities set up tables in the breezeway and recruit perspective new members for their organizations. At night they hold various events and invite the perspectives to join them in order to get to know the members better.

At the end of the week, the fraternities extend bids to those who they feel will be an asset to their organization. A huge party to welcome of the new members into their fraternity follows this. Most organizations choose people based on academic standing, athleticism, and personality.