All about citizenship

What does CITIZENSHIP mean to me?

My conduct to society displayed by an array of actions such as...my duties, my obligations, and functions of a citizen. This trait, although sometimes forgot about, is vital if a community wants to be succussful and remain there. Various duties include...

1.Obeying all government laws

2.Taking  responsibility for defending our own life, liberty, property, and family

3. Being self sufficient

4. Not littering

5. Participating in community service

6. Treating other's with how you would want to be treated

I'd like to elaborate more on this point. I know everyone has heard it a thousand times..but really..how many times to we really follow this or stray away from this point at some time or another? I know I have. Whether it is opening a door for a complete stranger, putting coins in a meter that is about to run out of time for a complete stranger, walking around with a smile on your face even if it isn't the best of days [because there's always somebody out there that has it worst than you!], or just being kind. No one is asking for you to go out and buy a stranger a sleek, black Diablo Lamborghini [however, if you would like to buy me one, I will not object-- hehe!], but it really is the little things in life that make a huge difference.

“To the wrongs that need resistance, to the right that needs assistance, to the future in the distance, give yourselves."

-Carrie Chapman Catt

What role does PI BETA PHI play in CITIZENSHIP?

Pi Beta Phi has a rich history in citizenship.

• Carrie Chapman Catt (Iowa Gamma 1878) was a guiding force in obtaining voting rights for women.

Here is our sister CARRIE!
• For nearly a century, we have taken on the cause of literacy
• Through programs such as First Book  and Champions Are Readers
• We try to enrich the lives of others through our thoughts and actions.

What role SHOULD we play?

• We should be more active in the community. We have an obligation to help build the community in which we live. This is because every community is built by the contributions of individuals.
• We need to be more active into reaching out into not just our campus, but into our community and extending across nations about what cause we are fighting- literacy!

Thanksgiving

On the eve of Thanksgiving, I'd like to take this time out to wish everyone safe travels and a hearty meal...


Here is a list of what I'm thankful for...


1) my family


2) my sisters


3) other friends/important people in my life


4) health


5) roast tom turkey


6) a great Pi Phi housemother (MJ)


7) the fall leaves


8) attending THE best university in the world...


9) being surrounded by laughter and smiles every day




These are just a few things I'm appreciative us, and I hope that in the next few days everyone gets a chance to reflect on the important things in life.


Here are some quotes that I found..


"Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude."
-E.P. Powell




"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice."
-Meister Eckhart




"If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily."
[Gerald Good]



 On that note, have a great time with your family and get ready for THE BEST RIVALRY in football...

Advice from the panel

Last Tuesday we had a panel of members from the Greek community come in and talk to us...They asked us questions and vice versa about questions relating to fraternity and sorority life in general. At the end of the allotted time, each member of the panel gave us one piece of advice to take with us. There were two quotes that stuck with me...




"Find yourself by losing yourself in the service of others."



I never truly knew the importance of service til this year. Service to any person really makes you value life that much more.


"Make Memories"


Making memories is one of the themes that I try and incorporate in everyday life. If you are not making lifelong friends, then what is the point? I'm not looking for "short term" friends...




I really enjoyed when each panel member discussed their favorite memory. I could relate to what they were talking about and when reflecting on the past 2 and a half years as a Pi Phi, it is so hard for me to think of just one instance. Most of my favorite times at college, come not when alcohol is involved, but when I am a "Sober Sally" just hanging out with my sisters- whether it be at the movie theatre, talking, or going on random road trips to get sweet tea from Sonic.

This is a picture of us before we went to the midnight Harry Potter premiere...so much fun!!


Another thing that I took from the panel, was the importance of accountability. Although I may be attending every event, I shouldn't be content with that. Instead, I should confront others who do not have an excuse for not being at a philanthropic event or whatever it may be. I really do believe that you get out of Pi Beta Phi (or any fraternity/sorority) what you put into it.



And on another note..I hope everyone had a safe mirror lake jump! I was ill, so I did not attend, but I thought everyone might enjoy this video..

Oath

Definition of OATH

1a (1) : a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says (2) : a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one's words b : something (as a promise) corroborated by an oath

2

: an irreverent or careless use of a sacred name; broadly : swearword

An example...

Oath of Initiation by a Georgia Tech chapter

I, of my own free will and accord, in the presence of God and of these witnesses, do hereby solemnly declare that the principles of this Fraternity as they have been explained to me accord entirely with my own views; and I solemnly promise that as a member of this Fraternity I will faithfully adhere to those principles endeavoring in every way to perfect myself morally, intellectually, and socially, and endeavoring also to act towards others according to that high standard of conduct required by the Fraternity.
I solemnly promise that I will be loyal to the Delta Upsilon Fraternity and to this chapter, abiding by their rules, discharging my obligations to them faithfully, and using all honorable means to promote their interests.
I solemnly promise that I will share with my brothers the duties of my chapter; that I will uphold and encourage them in all that is honorable and right; that I will ever extend to each brother the right hand of sympathy; and that at all times and in all circumstances I will endeavor to cultivate those sentiments which should ever exist between brothers.
All this I solemnly promise upon my honor, without any equivocation, mental reservation, or secret evasion of mind whatsoever.

From the "RITUAL OF INITIATION," The Delta Upsilon Fraternity

So after an example and a definition...what does taking an oath mean to me? I will say that since joining a sorority my personal definition has completely changed...well, maybe not so much, but I have had way more time to think about it...

This upcoming Saturday is Pi Beta Phi's initiation for our fall pledge class. During this sacred ritual, new members take an oath to Pi Phi devoting themselves to our fraternity through scholastic, philanthropic, and leadership roles.

When I took this this oath two years ago, during my freshman winter quarter, I had no idea what I was really agreeing too. Although the ceremony is something I will always remember, I have just recently learned what it means to truly follow this oath.

I try and follow my pledge to Pi Phi as best as I can through daily life by bringing joy not only to my life, but more importantly to others.

And on a completely unrelated note...Here is a video that should cheer everyone up!...especially if you're a lint licker...hehe! ohhhh, and it wouldn't let me embed the video? so just click on the link!

LINT LICKER

Incongruencies

Incongruencies
in the Greek community... cause our numbers to go !!!!

We talk about;

-being respectful
-setting good examples
-being men and women of integrity
-To lend to those less fortunate a helping hand

-Believing that our given word is binding.
-Being honorable and courteous

But how can we do that when;

-we 'hook up' with multiple random people
-drink in our letters
-talk badly about other chapters
-say mean things about our OWN sisters/brothers
-steal composites from other houses
-don't attend mandatory philanthropy events (but still have time for date parties and themed gatherings)


I'd like to expand a little on this last point. Not attending mandatory philanthropy events really makes me upset. First off, people should want to attend these events such as initiating new girls/men into the sisterhood/brotherhood of each chapter and raising money for your chapter's philanthropy.

Instead, people choose not to show up, to show up hammered, or to show up and "sit on the sidelines" (which may be worse than not showing up at all). Then...a date party comes up and everyone is excited to go, even the members who miraculously haven't been to any chapter dinner, etc. want to go. Member's in Pi Phi who do not have an attendance rate of 80% cannot attend social functions. Members under this mark constantly argue with the Vice President of Administration (deals with attendance) to let them go to the social function. I have a life outside of Pi Phi, but I still have a 100% attendance rate. I'm not saying that everyone should have a 100%, but what I am saying is that members almost have to TRY not come to any event. If this is the case, then he/she should not even be thinking about wanting to go to date party. If they aren't trying to make the chapter better, then they should take their social life somewhere else...


We should eliminate these incongruencies by...

taking an active role in being aware of our actions and how they affect our sorority/the greek community as a whole

by doing this, we will...

have a better reputation

which will...

cause our greek member count to go !!!!!!!!!

Pi Beta Phi

The Mission of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women is to promote friendship, develop women of intellect and integrity, cultivate leadership potential and enrich lives through community service.


Congruence: [kong-groo-uhns, kuhn-groo-]

–noun

1. the quality or state of agreeing or corresponding.

Promote Friendship: If there is one thing I have learned since becoming an Angel, it is the true meaning of friendship. Never have I met a group of girls so tight knit and caring. I have always cared about others, but these past two years- I have learned what it truly means to be there for someone in her time of desperation. When a sister is upset, has had two hours of sleep, or any other problem- she can count on another angel to bring her a coffee, write her a note, or just provide a shoulder to cry on.

Develop Women of Intellect & Integrity:  I believe that Pi Beta Phi has definitely improved in this section a good amount over the past few years. Collectively, we are studying more and more and thus, getting higher grades. However, there is certainly still room for improvement. I believe we are 11th out of 17 sororities in terms of grade point average. We should be higher on this list.

Cultivate Leadership Potential: Our sorority gives countless positions to encourage and develop leadership skills. Members not only have executive positions (president, vice president of membership, vice president of fraternity development etc.), but there are also chair positions available. In fact, I am the yard chair. If anyone has seen the beautiful mums outside of Pi Phi-- you know who planted them!

Enrich Lives Through Community Service: Pi Phi has many opportunities to serve the community. We participate in the Boys & Girls Club, In2Books, and our national philanthropy- First Book. Together we are committed to bringing new books to children from low-income families in communities across the United States and Canada. Pi Phi and First Book have already donated $1 million and 2 million brand-new books since the beginning of the partnership. Although this is a really nice figure, I think that as a whole should have higher participation rates. Serving the community is such a great cause and we should be even more active.

SIDE NOTE: We are having our second annual dodgeball event- Dodge the Arrow- this November 14. It is such a great cause and so much fun. Please come out and help support literacy. All proceeds go to First Book!
Here is a link! Dodge the Arrow

And on a completely UNRELATED note...I saw this Youtube video and thought it was funny!

Companies and Values

In this day and age, it is very easy to wonder if companies have any values of merit. These past few years, I can recall seeing numerous horror stories on the news about businesses cheating their customers out of millions of dollars (retirement plans, investing schemes, etc.). I automatically went straight to the negative which is mainly what our news channels broadcast.

Then, one company came to my head; The Coca-Cola Company. I have never heard anything negative about Coke as a company (excluding the nutrional facts). In fact, I have only seen them participate and give money to different charities. They give away millions to help others, but what else does this company entail? What are they all about (ie-values)? To find this out..I went to their website. This link goes specifically to a page dedicated to their mission statement, mission, and values-- Coca-Cola.

These are the values that encompass The Coca-Cola Company (from their company website)...

Leadership: The courage to shape a better future

Collaboration: Leverage collective genius

Integrity: Be real

Accountability: If it is to be, it's up to me

Passion: Committed in heart and mind

Diversity: As inclusive as our brands

Quality: What we do, we do well

I chose this company not because it is a multi-million dollar enterprise, but for the fact that these traits are so similiar to mine. I truly believe that this company tries to live by these seven values; from the bottom up (vendor to the CEO).

One value that Coca-Cola didn't list, but that I think also fits them pretty well is Family. There's just something about opening an ice cold bottle of Coke with the family..

Here is a link to what other Coke fanatics have to say about this combination...Coke/Family Stories

And with a commercial completely devoted to POLAR BEARS..how could I not pick The Coca-Cola Company?!