Alpha Tau Omega

Utah State University will be welcoming a new fraternity to its campus in January.  Alpha Tau Omega took interest a few months ago, and starting in January the fraternity will be officially recognized as a chapter.

“Colonizing and getting student’s interest is the first step to becoming a chapter,” said Greek Advisor Alanna Hill. “Once they colonize, they will become an official chapter at Utah State.”

The announcement was made to the USU Greek community on Monday.

“I’m interested in seeing what kind of people ATO is going to attract,” Sigma Phi Epsilon Derek Kent said. “The houses we have on campus right now all have their stereotypes, so I hope they get some good guys.”

ATO was founded at Virginia Military Institute in 1865, and was originally founded on Christian, not Greek, principles. ATO was the first fraternity founded after the Civil War. Striving to heal the wounds created by the devastating war, ATO wanted to help reunite the North and South, according to the fraternity’s website.

One of ATO’s main standards is that of leadership. The fraternity developed The LeaderShape Institute in 1986. LeaderShape is considered to be one of the highest quality leadership training programs in the United States, according to the Institute’s website.

"I think with Alpha Tau being such a leadership-based fraternity that they will get a lot of quality people,” Kent said. “A few student government kids are planning on joining.”

The students that are currently interested in ATO will soon be assigned roles in the fraternity, so they can begin full force in January.

With the addition of ATO, the USU Greek community will have eight active Greek houses. The ATO interest group holds weekly meetings in the library and treat nights for potential members to attend.

Hazing

Hazing can be used as a way of initiating someone into a group, such as gangs, clubs, sports teams and military units. Hollywood films and television shows portray hazing as something that normally happens within Greek communities.

The truth behind this is that all Greek organizations have an anti-hazing policy. Each one is different, but the members are required to abide by such rules and policies. In addition to the individual organization’s policies, each university has a hazing policy as well.

Utah State University has revised its hazing and alcohol policies after freshman Sigma Nu pledge Michael Starks died in 2008 from an alcohol and hazing related incident. Since then, the university hasn’t had any Greek-related hazing incidents according to Greek Advisor Alanna Hill, and the community has improved greatly.

I personally have been hazed more on the USU soccer team than I ever have been in Alpha Chi Omega,” Brittany Boyack said. “I actually can’t think of any times I have been hazed while being Greek, but many come to my head when I think of my sports teams,” Boyack said.

According to a study by Alfred University and the NCAA, more hazing occurs on sports team than it does in Greek organizations and 80 percent of college athletes had been subjected to some form of hazing. Half were required to participate in drinking contests or alcohol related initiations while two thirds were subjected to humiliating hazing, the study said.

 “Delta Sigma Phi’s hazing policy states that ‘each chapter shall not conduct in hazing activities,’” Conor Reese said. “I’m proud to say that my fraternity has never hazed me. It’s not something our fraternity was founded on and it won’t be part of the experience.”

Ritual vs. ritual

A ritual is something one does every day, from the order of shower activities to brushing ones teeth. But to Greeks it’s something much more than that. To Greek students, Ritual is a way of life and an initiation, but to non-Greek students, these mysteries will always remain so.

“We vow to never tell anyone anything about our Ritual. A major part of it is that it’s secret,” Max Gonzalez, Sigma Phi Epsilon member, said.

“There is a difference between capital R Ritual and lowercase R ritual,” Kevin Webb said. Webb is Utah State University’s program director and Pi Kappa Alpha alumni. “Lowercase R ritual is something that you go through every day, while capital R Ritual offers up value that we as Greeks are supposed to live by,” Webb said.

According to Mari Ann Callais of Louisiana State University, a Ritual ceremony was written by the founders or the early members of the organization. The ceremony would most likely include ritual equipment that is comprised of items that have some significance or meaning for the sorority or fraternity.

A lot of misconceptions about fraternities and sororities, though, come from Ritual. Gonzalez said he believes media has a huge part in that. “People outside the Greek community only have the option of getting their info from what they see in movies and television shows. People sometimes associate that with cults and groups that do random or crazy things,” Gonzalez said. “In the Greek community, the word ‘ritual’ has a completely and separate meaning.”

“When I think of frat initiations all I think of is beatings, lashings and streaking,” freshman Gregory Sullivan said. “All of those things are shown in movies.”

Fraternity and sorority Ritual’s are an allegory for what the organization cares about and values the most. It teaches the members the meaning behind the organization, where it came from and what it truly means to be a member. 

At Greek Leadership Weekend held in October, Webb asked participants about other organization’s Rituals. “I’ve never talked to Markus Schuette before, but I know the Sigma Chi Ritual by the way he acts and the way he treats others,” Michael Brice, Psi Sigma Phi member, said. “I know that his fraternity stands for and values all the things he shows every day.”

Webb went on to tell the GLW attendees that even though they may not know the direct words of another organization’s Ritual, they should still know it by the way the person acts. “If you’re really living your Ritual every day, people will know it. They just will,” Webb said.

                                                                                                                                                 

For most Greeks, Ritual is their favorite part of being in a fraternity or sorority. “I absolutely love my Ritual,” Alpha Chi Omega member Kacie de Jong said. “It’s definitely something I always think about and it can help me better myself,” de Jong said. Gonzalez agrees. “Ritual is my favorite part of being in a fraternity. It was literally a life changing experience. It means that a group of guys or girls trust you enough to let you into the deepest most meaningful parts of who they are.

According to Callais, if Greeks didn’t have ritual, they wouldn’t keep ongoing relationships with members because there would be no continuity or anything to pass down. Members can only pass friendships so far, but Ritual is that something that Greeks were founded on and that is what makes the difference.

Letters Today Leaders Tomorrow- Greeks on Campus

While only 1.9 percent of the Utah State University population belongs to a fraternity or sorority, 21.7 percent of the Associated Students of Utah State University are Greek. ASUSU is Utah State’s student government. ASUSU consists of an executive board, student senate and student traditions and activities board.

Erik Mikkelsen is president of both ASUSU and Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. Hannah Blackburn, ASUSU’s public relations chair is also a member of Kappa Delta Sorority. Zach Larsen, programming chair is a Sigma Chi.

Blackburn says that has helped her with being on ASUSU. “I have the best people serve as my volunteers,” Blackburn said. “I can count on my Greek sisters to do what they say they will do. It’s helpful to have people I know will be there.”

Blackburn also said that Greeks are good ASUSU candidates because they have experience in leadership and programming through Greek life. Many Greeks volunteer at ASUSU events and hold some sort of position on an ASUSU committee, such as president, or an event volunteer.

“When it comes time for ASUSU elections, the Greek candidate has the most experience and knowledge of the position he or she is running for,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn said holding an elected or appointed position is a sort of internship. “Any skills, technical and leadership, can be directly applied into another leadership position on campus or my future career,” Blackburn said.

According to Michigan State's Collegiate Employment Research Institute, employers look for career-related work experiences, leadership experiences, and problem-solving skills rather than memorization of coursework.

Being a member of the Greek community can help build résumé’s by giving members experience in all of those things.

“Being Greek definitely helped get me to where I am,” Kylie Martinez said. Martinez is the Alpha Chi Omega president and ASUSU tradition’s director. “I’ve gained so much event planning experience and people skills being Greek and all of that helps me with my ASUSU position,” Martinez said.

Being involved on campus also helps Greeks give back to the campus that gave so much to them. “It’s motivated me to better myself in classes, and given me motivation for everything I do. It makes me want to be an active student rather than a passive student,” said Delta Sigma Phi member Conor Reese.

North vs. South

South vs. North: the never ending debate

The North vs. South debate has been ongoing since before the Civil War. With blazers and 5 inch inseam shorts in the south, and coats and jeans in the north, fraternities vary greatly between the two.

Two of the major differences are in how members act and how they dress. Southern fraternity members are typically seen wearing khaki shorts, a polo and a blazer, complete with RayBan sunglasses. Northern fraternity members typically sport more everyday clothes, such as jeans and a T-shirt, according to Katie Haberstock, a North Carolina native now living in Utah.

“Apart from dressing the part, manners play a role in the Southern fraternity gent way of life. You might think it would have to do with Southern hospitality but I think it goes deeper than that,” said a Phi Gamma Delta from Memphis, Ten. “I think it has to do with how a person is raised by their family. Older generations are the ones that teach children how to act and behave.”

Travis Chambers, a Pi Kappa Alpha from North Carolina believes the difference between Northern and Southern Greek life can be characterized more by the way America perceives a citizen of the south and the citizen of the north, rather than being Greek or not.

“When you perceive southern people you usually think of Southern hospitality, strong religious values and very family oriented,” Chambers said. “The North can be characterized as however you would characterize the North. I believe many of the differences are based off the individual that is born in the North or the South, but not on whether Greek life is different in those places.”

Northern fraternity men have a differing opinion on the biggest difference in Greek life as a whole.

“I personally think the biggest difference between Northern and Southern Greek life is that they haze a lot more down there. Some bigger fraternities have hell week, whereas we have initiation week,” Utah State University Delta Sigma Phi member Conor Reese said.

Hell week is the inaugural week of Greek organizations, particularly fraternities, in which pledges are abused and tortured as an endurance test, according to Urban Dictionary, an online user-powered slang dictionary. If the pledges make it through hell week, then they can become full-fledged fraternity members. 

“Down in the south, pledges have to do a lot of terrible things in order to be initiated. Here, we focus more on our ritual and brotherhood. I don’t know if that has to do with being raised in the North or South or just being Greek there or here, but that’s the biggest difference I see,” Reese said.

 “My boyfriend definitely went through hell week when he was pledging. He couldn’t tell me anything they were doing, but he came home with bruises and paint in his hair every day,” Kimberlie Peterson said. “I thought they only did that in the South but I guess it happens up here too.”

Reese believes that Greeks are more looked up to in the South and you’re nobody if you aren’t Greek. “If you’re Greek in the North, people just think you’re a hoodlum,” Reese said.

The difference between Northern and Southern Greek life comes either from the nature of being raised a certain way in a certain place, or from the nurture of being in a fraternity as a whole.

Greek Council Elections

Seven new students were elected to The Utah State University Greek Council Monday night.

The Greek Council is responsible for governing the Greek community. Their purpose is to promote good relationships among Greeks, sponsor philanthropic events, act as a judicial body and improve the relationship between the Greek community and the USU community.

Greek Council has seven positions including men’s and women’s president, men’s and women’s recruitment, judicial and finance, secretary and scholarship, and public relations and activities.

“I am super excited to start doing things for the community,” Tanner Hughes said. Hughes was elected to be men’s recruitment. “I plan on trying to unite the community more with recruitment. One of my big plans is to have guides that take the guys around to each house so they get to experience more than one house,” Hughes said. “I think that would make them find where they really belong.”

Hughes will be working closely with Women’s Recruitment Elizabeth Speckhard.  New Women’s President, Caitlin Rasmussen held the women’s recruitment position last year.

Sloan Bailey was elected to the public relations and marketing position. “The PR position entails that I am responsible for publicizing and promoting Greek council and the Greek community throughout the campus and even the community. I get the privilege of working with other student organizations to help foster involvement for the Greek students,” Bailey said.

Bailey said her plans are to create a stronger marketing campaign for fall recruitment. She also wants to utilize the USU Greeks Facebook and Twitter pages, to make it more beneficial for active Greeks and Greek alumni.

The men’s and women’s president positions are designed  to “provide guidance and oversee Greek Council officers and committees, while building positive working relationships between the Greek Council and chapter leaders,” according to the job description.

“I don’t know much about my position yet since I was just elected to it, but I can’t wait to get started,” new Men’s President Jake Giles said. “I see a lot of positive change coming to the Greek community.”

The other positions on Greek Council are judicial and finance, filled by Jordan Garner, and secretary and scholarship  filled by Shannon Peters. Both Garner and Peters are new to Greek Council.

(s. stephenson and k. warburton)

Order of Omega

Order of Omega is a leadership honor society for members of Greek organizations.

The Utah State University chapter of Order of Omega, Delta Phi, initiated 15 new members Monday.

In order to be eligible for Order of Omega, one must be a junior or senior, have at least a 3.0 grade point average and be in good standing with a Greek organization on campus.

According to the Order of Omega website, members are selected from the top three percent of students at each institution. To date, over 500 chapters have been chartered throughout North America, each sharing the common goal of recognizing the many outstanding leaders of the Greek community.

“We have 35 active members right now,” Taylor Jarvis said. Jarvis has been a member of Order of Omega since fall 2010.

Being a member of Order of Omega helps students with their academic and future careers.

“It helps for my future because even with a small alumni base, we have the networking for careers. Order of Omega means you know what you're doing, know what it takes to succeed and have the drive to do so. The alumni will see that,” Jarvis said.

“I’m really excited to be a member of Order of Omega,” Chelsea Dean said. “It makes me feel more secure in my future because it provides more networking.” Dean was initiated into Order of Omega on Monday.

The majority of Order of Omega member are involved elsewhere on campus.

Joe Watson, a senior at USU is a science senator, Dean works in the USU Student Involvement Office and Jarvis is the Vice President of the Residence Hall Association.

(s. stephenson and k. warburton)