I read blog posts and tweets from Greek-letter Organizations (GLOs) other than my own. I get teary-eyed reading some and I swell with pride after reading others. The feelings conveyed in the posts are ones I’ve had about my own organization. I think all GLOs have things of which they can be proud and things which they need to work on. I truly think we are all special in our own ways. We all have rich histories. We have those special people, places, and things which make us unique.
I have friends who belong to some of the other 25 National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) organizations. I expect that they love their organization more than mine.I think we each love our own organization more than any others. That is just the way it is. There is nothing wrong with that. Just as I love my own kids a tad bit more than my nieces and nephews, I love them deeply, too. They are my family.
Being proud of our collective history is important, but first things first. Chapter members need to know the history of their own chapter and their organization.
The odds are overwhelmingly great that a member will be an alum of a GLO for much longer than they were a collegiate member. However, collegians hold the future of the chapter in their hands. The efforts put forth by those who stood where current members are standing today can be for naught depending on the commitment, knowledge and dedication shown by the current members.
Sometimes members get caught up in the “firsts” for their organization and/or the famous individuals who wore their letters. Our organizations stand for so much more than who had the first central office located in a city of more than 50,000 in a state beginning with the letter “M.” Does anyone make a conscious decision to join a particular group because of those things? Frankly, I would be suspect of a member who became a member solely because of one of these “firsts” or a famous alum.
Why can’t we be proud of the sum total of men and women who have worn the badges of all our organizations? Would it mean we don’t love and cherish our own GLO? Absolutely not! An impressive number of notable men and women have belonged to our organizations over the years. An even greater number lived their lives in relative obscurity outside of their sphere of influence, and yet they gave of themselves and dedicated themselves to the ideals of their organization on a daily basis.
All who take the oath of membership in a GLO have a responsibility to the organization. Knowing how your GLO spread from an idea, the “let’s have an organization of our own” moment, to what it is today, in 2014, can help cement dedication to the ideals put forth by those paved the way. Knowing the history of one’s GLO and chapter as well as a general knowledge of other organizations can only help the entire fraternity and sorority system grow. We are all in this together.
Months ago, I put together a series of Pinterest pages on GLO history. I haven’t revisited them in a while, but I needed some information,and I knew I had some of the answers there. Having forgotten most of the pins that were on there, I took a new look at it and what fun it was. If you have some spare time or are getting tired of watching football, take a look https://www.pinterest.com/glohistory/. It truly is a fun way to learn more about the history of GLOs.
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2014. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
