Observation 8

This weekend a group of over 30 men were intiated as brothers in the Kappa Sigma fraternity at Florida Gulf Coast University. The installation of the Rho Zeta chapter at FGCU was an all day event. The initiation process was helped along by the Kappa Sigma chapters from NSU, Johnson and Wales University, and University of South Florida. The day began early with everyone meeting at 7:30am and not finishing till after 3pm. The whole day was the exact reason that all members joined Kappa Sigma, it was filled with ecxitment and brotherhood. Brothers gathered to help out people that they have never met before fufill their desire to become a member and brother of the Kappa Sigma fraternity.
For me it was a memorable experience. It gave me the chance to look back to the day that I was initiated on and allowed me to remeber and relive all those emotions that I had. Then seeing those same emotions on the faces of newly made brothers was really enjoyable. Everyone that participated had that same general positive feeling of accomplishment and brotherhood. I feel that it was truly the reason that many young men and women join a fraternity or sorority when they enter college. It puts you in connection with so many others that have had the same experiences as you and it gives you a family of friends to always be able to fall back on.
FGCU is just starting their journey as a chapter. Yet they have the same motivation and desire to wear their letters with pride and do great things. I walked away from this weekend with such pride in my letters and was able to have a renewed understanding of why I joined a fraternity.

Observation 7

Sunday night at 7:30pm the whole NSU Greek community got together for a night to socialize and celebrate. The gathering was for the end of the year Greek formal and awards banquet and to put a close on the 2010 Greek week. The week consisted of events that were designed to challenge the different organizations but also promote unity between them. Some of the evnets included a banner decorating contest, a brain bowl, and a Greek Olympics.
The banquet began with at 7:30 and everyone entered the second floor of the U.C for dinner and a brief period to socialize before the awards were handed out. Once everyone got their serving of food and took their seats the ceremony began. The Delta Phi Epsilon sorority girls were the big winners at the banquet. They took home multiple awards for achievemnts in philanthropy and recruitment just to name a few. For the men the Beta Theta Pi fraternity won awards like president of the year and come back chapter of the year.
The largest award of the night was the Greek lifetime acheivemnet award. The award is given to the Greek that has shown dedication, leadership, and has been a model Greek to look up to. Delta Phi Epsilon's senior sister Victoria Lafferty won the award. It was the ending to night that allowed all the Greeks to come together to show their spirit and support towards one another for the different events and accomplishments that were accomplished during the school year.

Observation 6

I spoke with Kevin Newborg, a sophmore Kappa Sigma about how they congratualte the graduating seniors. He said that graduation time "is kind of bitter sweet, its great to see them move forward in their lives and profession but still sad to see them go." To honor the work and commitment that the seniors have put into the fraternity they receive a special senior send off dinner. It is actually more than a dinner its really an all day event begins in the early afternoon. The send off begins at a brotherhood lunch were the seniors have a chance to participate in their last brotherhood event will being an active member. Once lunch has finished they proceed ahead to the ritual aspect of the sendoff. I am not allowed to give details concerning the ritual because of the secrecy that all members are held to regarding the ritual. Once the ritual aspect of the send off is completed the seniors are served their send off dinner from the chapter. During dinner a slideshow is presented that details through pictures and videos their time in the fraternity. Once dinner is complete and the slideshow is over they have completed their last event as an active member of the fraternity. It is really their last hoorah with their brothers before they go onstage to receive their degree and then move onto grad school or the working world. I feel that its a great thing to do for them though, it might be small but it truly is a heartfelt way to say thank you for all the work that they have done and the positives that they have brought to the fraternity.

Observation 5

Since graduation is only 2 months away I thought I would use this post to discuss what I found when out about graduation. Undergraduate graduation is planned for May 16, 2010 at 4:00 pm at the Bank Atlantic Center. Soon students will be receiving information packets that they will have to complete if they wish to participate in the ceremony. The mailed packet includes an official invitation to the graduation ceremony and a Commencement Participation Form (CPF) that has to be returened to the university. Once the CPF has been returned then the student will receive a final packet that explains all the finer details of the gradutaion day. But before any of these forms can be completed an Application for a Degree must be filled out. This application is entirley different from the CPF and just because someone fills out a degree application it doesnt mean they will automatically receive a degree.
Students also have to purchase their regalia, or cap and gown. The fees for the cap and gown differ depending on the degree that you are obtaining. Starting with an Associates degree and going all the way up to a Masters the prices escalate with the degree level.
It is apparent that graduation is a ceremony that involves a high degree of planning and preparation. It is not an event that you just show up to and leave with a piece of paper that claims your academic achievement. Thousands of students will graduate all over this nation and it is truly a prestigous event and it is obvious why so much planning goes into it.

http://www.nova.edu/cwis/registrar/commencement.html

In my interview I spoke with Kevin Alegret, a Kappa Sigma senior. I spoke with him on the impacts that he feels Greek life has had on his life. He said that he feels that being in a fraternity is a great thing and he believes he would not be the same had he not joined. He says that being a member of Kappa Sigma has given him the chance to build his social skills, his leadership qualities, and his ability to multi task. He says that going Greek is something that he would recommend to anyone in college. I also spoke to him on how he feels the media doesn't show the positives of being involoved in a Greek organization. He says that it is a little disappointing that they dont mention any of the community service projects or the giving back that takes place. I asked him if he felt that any of the sterotypes that people assimilate with Greek life are true and he says that believes it goes on an individual basis. Overall I believe the interview went well he touched on a few of the ways that he felt going greek has helped mold him and prepare him for the real world which is something that I expected to hear. I was a little surprised though that he didnt feel Kappa Sigma is a rseume' booster but as a chance to build himself and do good things on campus, in the community, and make life long friends. The beginning of that answer was a little surprising but the end was not at all. Because isnt that what going Greek is about, making friends that you'll have forever and sharing college experinces with them.
http://www.nova.edu/ioc/
http://www.toadville.org/todd/famous.html

Observation 4

For this obseravtion I'm going to do things a little unconventional again. I have been putting in a good amount of thought as to who the subject of my interview and profile is going to be and I think I have made my choice. No I am not going to reveal the person I have selected just yet I am going to leave that my little secret till the assignment is due. What I will say is that he is a very active senior in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity here on campus who demonstrates a great work ethic and is a good role model for younger members like myself. Someone else that agrees with me is the soon to be named person's little. (In a frat new members are assigned a big brother to help guide them and be like a mentor to them throughout their pledge process and even after)
For simplicity I will refer to the person's little as John. John is a sophomore who is a psychology major. I was able to sit down with John this evening in the U.C while we both were having our dinners. We made our way through small talk and the usual jokes of various sorts about each other and then I asked him to be serious for a few moments so I could ask him a few questions. I asked him what some of the advantages of having a big thats a senior were. He said that his big knows the ins and outs of the school and has many connections that help whenever we (Kappa Sigma) go to put on an event. He says that his big also taught him how to be an active member and showed him numerous ways to engage in activities that will benefit the fraternity as well as his standing in the fraternity. The next question I asked John was what is the best peice of advice your big has ever given you. His answer was very inspiring to hear especially because it is a phrase that I myself have heard many times. He said "Dilligence and commitment should be your watchword. Whatever you do, do well and may success attend your efforts." It is a saying that all Kappa Sigmas know and one that can be applied to any task that you have taken up in your life. The weight of this answer surprised me and it was another one of the moments when you realize the level of maturity that this subculture has reached and how at times they appear to be wise beyond their years.
The interview began to trail off from their some of our other friends joined us at the table and the conversation soon drifted to a different topic. The brief amount of information I received was enough to get me thinking though because it showed that members of this subculture have such a power to effect the lives of the people around them in such a positive way. Now that I have a little background on my hopeful research subject I plan to look for a little more information and plan to start drafting my questions.

Observation 3

For this post I'm going to do things a little different. Instead of talking to a senior or describing a soley senior event I'm going to describe a fraternity event. The purpose of this post is to point out that frats are not just about parties and booze. They actually do serious work on campus and host some amazing events.
The event that I am talking about is a Kappa Sigma philanthropy weight lifting event called Strong Man that will be in April and will benefit the MS society. I know the event has not happened yet but that doesnt mean that there is not a ton of work and effort being put into the event to make it a huge success. Last year the event raised over $4,ooo for the MS society and this year Kappa Sigma plans to rasie even more.
The meeting that I was at was Wedensday night and everyone was already a little tired from having a long day and an intramural basketball game that night. The meeting began at 9pm and lasted roughly and hour and a half. Many different tasks and goals were disscussed during the meeting and everyone was given a task to complete before the next meeting. (In order to not divulge to much about the Kappa Sigma event I am not going to go into detail about the things that were discussed during the meeting.)
The point that I am getting at here is that an event like this is not what the media sees when the cover a fraternity. The only news from Greek life that makes the papers is another hazing incident or party that got out of hand. It is time Greek life got attention for the good they do like raising money for the MS society or bringing awareness towards rape victims like Delta Phi Epsilon sorority did recently with the Take Back the Night event. This are things that help benefit our society through sevice and education. These are the things that break the sterotypes and SHOULD be making the headlines.