Hey brothers and blog readers,
This blog I think I am going to discuss what it means to represent Fiji and stigmas in the greek community itself.
Last class we discussed for a while why we do not drink in our letters. Out of respect for our fraternity and to not adhere to the normal fraternity stigma, we make it a rule to keep our attire Fiji free (when alcohol is involved). Jon Brown brought up a point that even if we aren't in our letters people can still associate us with Fiji. I have been thinking about this a lot and am very conflicted. Does this mean we shouldn't drink alcohol at all? Do we have to be the "perfect" fraternity in order to break these greek stigmas? And if we do go and partake in a few libations does that mean we aren't in congruence in our values as a fraternity?
These questions have been running through my mind ever since last tuesday. WE are already known as an "organization" of the greek community. We aren't greek week partners with theta because we couldn't throw the big parties the older ladies were looking for ( damn ATOs ha). This brings me to another question I have been thinking of. How can we change a community that actually lives up to the negative stigmas that are placed upon it? 90% of the greek community joined in order to be sexually promiscuous and go to raging parties. You can see that in the Ohio State greek community where the "best frat" is the one who has the biggest bros, throws the best parties, and has with the most free alcohol.
I think representing Fiji in the Ohio State greek community is similar to representing your faith in the present day. You want to be an example in your community, but people judge you for not "living your life" like they do.
This similarity brings another question to my mind. Just how perfect are we supposed to be? One of the main reasons I question faith is because of people who have to adhere to strict rules and believe their way of faith is the only way to worship. I don't want Fiji to take on this role in the greek community because I feel that it is counter productive to getting the results we wish to see in fraternal life.
Anyways... I kind of feeling that I am rambling and not making to many coherent thoughts.. So I think I am just going to leave this blog for now. It is something to consider so please let me know what you think on this issue. ( And sorry if this offended anyone. It wasn't supposed to. I was just trying to convey my thoughts. ) PLEASE RESPOND.
Well this is very similiar to the way that I feel about Fiji and upholding our values. I do think that it is common sense that we shouldn't be wearing our letters when we partake it activities with alcohol or any other activities that would tarnish Fiji. However, even without wearing my letters I still feel I have an obligation to act professionally because people will know that I am a Fiji. At the same time, some of these events, when done legally, create a sense of brotherhood between us. It is college and everyone who is older than us but has gone through college has done the same exact thing yet they judge us for doing it now. They created the stigma and they can be ignorant enough to judge yet do nothing to change it. Thats my opinion. I know it is in our hands now but jeeze.. some people haha
ReplyDeleteI think about this a lot too, and I honestly consider it a non-issue for Fiji. College is a time when you make mistakes and learn from them, and I am forgiving of most people's occasional "bad night." Of course, I'm not saying I want anyone drinking in their letters, not at all. I'm just saying as long as something bad happens only on occasion, I don't have an issue. It's when it becomes a regular thing that I do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone and I want to thank Tim because I was having a hard time conveying in words what i wanted to say last class. This blog was awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd my thing is we want to change the greek community to put it in a better light. Yet Tim said, and I think most of us can agree with it, that what most sororities and fraternities value most is that big party mentality. The get the girls get drunk, use it as an excuse to be stupid, and then claim "it was the alcohol, I never would have done that if I was sober." That statement makes me so mad. It has gotten to the point that people want to drink so they can do stuff (that deep down they really do wanna do) and use the excessive alchol excuse for their actions. sorry my post was so long but this is a topic i constantly take issue with.
ah and my bad Oz. I just got done reading one of Tim's blogs and just put the wrong name in. Thanks for voicing what I was thinking!
ReplyDelete^ I was gonna say I didn't post this one bud. Chris you're right that a lot of people join greek life for the stereotypes. Honestly, I don't know what to say to those people besides this:
ReplyDeleteIf your reasons for joining Greek life are to a) be sexually promiscuous and b) be an out of control drunk, consider the following. There are plenty of people out there who are not Greek who want to do the same thing. In fact, those people are probably better off because they aren't paying dues so they can have "brothers" to get drunk with. Do yourself a favor and be a waste somewhere that your bad decisions won't ruin something great for the rest of us.
hahaha I totally agree with Tim. Seriously, don't waste our time with your stupidity.
ReplyDeleteIn the Greek community however I feel that it does make a difference what we are doing. It is a challenge, but in the long run we are setting an example that people will respect and look up to. While we d idn't get the greek week parter we wanted, it's for the better. If you are going to live up to your stereotypes then in the long run you are going to miss out.