[QUOTE=ellebud;2179020] It is now a fraternity. Are they taking care of the wood paneling? Where did all the books and pictures go? Sad...
QUOTE]

I've posted my chapter story, but Ellebud's message reminds me of another.

DH and I went to his 50th reunion at Bowdoin in May. Bowdoin closed all the fraternities unilaterally about 10 years ago. As I understand it, the college has long-term leases on the houses which respective house corporations still own. The houses have been remodeled for different uses (students with common majors in the living quarters, conference space in the public areas), updated kitchens and bathrooms, ADA accessible. BUT evidence of the former fraternities is obvious. The class of '62 reunion headquarters was the Zeta Psi house -- the lounge had all the Zete plaques on the walls, old composites, etc. We went into the AD house chapter room (yikes -- painted dark green, no windows, but the dais from which DH presided when he was president is still there. "No windows?" I said. "Yep," he replied. That must have made for short chapter meetings. But he wouldn't tell me the secret work...). The bar in the AD rec room was still AD-themed, and there was a large coat of arms painted on the wall in the entry.

I suppose Bowdoin will continue to house the fraternity heritage until all those alumni are gone so as not to jeopardize donations to the college endowment! (The class of '62 alone (198 still living out of 224 who matriculated) has given/pledged $7.2 million for their anniversary year.)

Yay Yay Yay I love this! Gamma Phi wasn't my first choice either, but now, like you, I couldn't see myself anywhere else.

Love in IIKE!

I think this statement says it best.

2013 PNMs, heed this thread!

After I finished my masters, I spent a year or two as a Greek advisor. It was a job I loved, but it did not mesh with three children in elementary school. I remember attending a good many IFC meetings and discussing with the men that it was to their advantage to encourage women going through Panhellenic recruitment to go Greek without any benefit of which was the only (in the individual fraternity member's eye) chapter to join. I pointed out that the Greek system was small and that the experience to be had by any sorority member was essentially the same in any of the chapters. The groups all did the same things (Greek sing, talent show, homecoming floats, formals, etc.) I tried to point out that the more women who became members of the Greek system, the more it would help grow the system; the men would likely benefit from any gains made by Panhellenic. The fewer women who were heartbroken that they did not get the choice encouraged by the misguided fraternity men in their lives and who then dropped out or declined their bid would mean that fewer women would go back to their residence halls to badmouth Greek life. It seemed fairly obvious to me that the men hadn't really thought this out.

The compelling fact is the experience to be had in any of the 26 NPC groups is essentially the same. Membership is what you make of it. Many, many moons ago, a Panhellenic friend made a comment that has always resonated with me. She described another member of her chapter as being like a comfortable pair of shoes. And I started using that analogy. Stop in the shoe department of any department store and you'll see all sorts of beautiful and magnificent shoes. There are shoes that catch your eye or seem so full of exotic delights. When you try on a shoe that truly feels comfortable, you sense it. You know it will get you through all sorts of adventures. Sometimes that comfortable shoe isn't the one you first saw when you entered the department, but once you try it on you just know that it was meant for you.

That is a very good analogy nyapbp.

To continue it - sometimes that beautiful sparkly pair at the store seems right at first glance, but you realize it pinches your toes. They look great on your friend - but another pair is the one thats right for you.

Awesome analogy!

I love the shoe analogy!

My daughter found the right fit on her campus, but she was a bit sad that Gamma Phi hadn't been an option and that we'd never be sisters. After we watched the Pi Phi Convention highlights video you posted, I told my daughter that it reminded me so much of Gamma Phi Conventions. Parade of flags/chapters, awards given out, cute tote bags, huge group photo, foundation room, etc. Basically, you could have changed the letters and the message was the same...lots of women filled with pride for their GLO and devoting time and energy to keep it vital. She'll have a great college experience with her sisters, and she'll have the same lifelong benefits and opportunities to serve.

And, she gets the Cookie Shine :D, which we don't have. Rats....

Now, Cookie Shines are fantastic!:D

I. am. jealous. of. Cookie. Shines.

Exactly! And as for Cookie Shines, guests are allowed. After all, it was a guest, University of Kansas Chancellor John Fraser, who gave the celebration a name.

Really?! Ok, I'm going to tell her they need to have one for Parents Weekend this fall! She already told me her Cookie Shine technique...flop on the candy with your body and drag yourself backward, pulling the candy with you. Seems a bit greedy to me!

I know.

Peanuts and olives just can't compete. Why couldn't those fraternity boys/Alpha Phis/fill in the blank according to chapter tradition have left desert? Sheesh.

And Zetas get strawberries!

You mean I have to be jealous of both my sister (a Zeta) AND my daughter?!

We did have a lot of fun explaining the old peanuts and olives story. My chapter was very observant in serving those at events. I don't remember anyone actually eating them, though.

What??
Cookie Shines??
What's that?
I never heard of it.

Cookie Shines
 

http://piphiblog.org/2012/06/28/what...-cookie-shine/

Hold on, peanuts and olives story? How on earth have I missed this over my years around here? Where might I find such an interesting sounding story please?

PS: I would love one day to be a guest at a cookie shine. Even though I read about it, I would just like to observe. It's one of my favorite NPC traditions.

Gamma Phi Beta - Peanuts and Olives
 

Here is the story as I was told:

During one of Gamma Phi's first initiations at Syracuse (sometimes reported to be THE first) a lovely after-initiation feast was laid out to be enjoyed by all the sisters. While they were performing the initiation, SOMEONE (Alpha Phi? Helen M. Dodge had been asked to become an Alpha Phi but declined, and then there is always friendly panhellenic rivalry. Fraternity boys playing a prank? We'll never know!) stole everything for the banquet - except, you guessed it, peanuts and olives. So now they are the traditional food served by Gamma Phis. We even have "The Peanuts and Olive Song".

"Then come my sisters true!
And crack your peanuts do!
For in Gamma Phi Beta
from Alpha to Eta
we eat peanuts and olives too!"

I like that song!

And who is it with the tomatoes story?

This is similar to the version we were told. According to The Legacy of Gamma Phi Beta, there are two other common myths:

Myth #2: Someone comes to visit the Alpha chapter, but the only refreshments that can be found are peanuts and olives...which are served graciously.

Myth #3: A young Alpha chapter member is assigned the duty of arranging food for a rush event. She gets busy, distracted, etc. and forgets to get the food. Right before the event, she rushes to the cupboard, but only peanuts and olives are available (which are served graciously).

The real story, as told by Founder E. Adeline Curtis and affirmed by the first pledge, Clara Worden, goes as follows. It actually reminds me of the cookie shine.

Apparently, simple buffet banquets were popular in the late 1800s. Eva Seymour (1885) invited Alpha chapter to what she termed a "chocolatetaire," in which chocolate was served in many forms. A few weeks later another member entertained the chapter. One of the featured refreshments was peanuts and olives. The guests dubbed the event a "peanutetaire." The combination so captivated the fancy or the appetite of these college women that they straightaway adopted the peanut and olive spread as one of the features of their informal gatherings.

According to the Legacy, when this "true account" was published in the Crescent in 1998, IH received quite a few e-mails from indignant members who questioned this account and defended their own chapter's version of the origin.


I also want to know about the tomatoes story.

If the real story is the real story, I want to know why we didn't go with the chocolatetaire!

LOL!! Seriously!

Can't you just see a bunch of 20-year-olds laughing at the "chocolatetaire" name the alum came up with, though? Sounds a bit hoity-toity. And then mocking that with the "peanutetaire" name? It sounds to me like this was a private joke that's lasted through the ages.

Now that I've heard of this delightful Cookie Shine concept, I am almost retroactively reconsidering not having listed Pi Phi first on my bid card. I'm almost certain there was no cookie shine talk during rush.

The other Pi Phis and I should have a Greek Chat cookie shine in Atlanta for the rest of you!

And I found the tomato thread--it was making me crazy because I knew someone had tomatoes for mascots!

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...gt%3B+tomatoes

Ahhhh... the Cookie Shine :-) And Sciencewoman, I think there may be a parents' Cookie Shine for Parents Weekend? Don't hold me to it, though.

I bought a "Red Hot Tomato" shirt at the '88 Convention. (!)

Angels and angles, if there isn't a cookie shine for parents' weekend, I'm making it happen!

The cookie shine has a song/chant that goes with the passing of the cookies, as well. We always have a lot of fun singing it and clapping along at my chapter while the tray gets passed.

"Here's to the Pi Phi cookie shine, here's to the friendships true
Nothing's as fine as a cookie shine under the wine and blue!"

And then we always do a few whoops before we launch into the next verse. :)

How fun!

I never would have guessed that it was a Gamma Phi chapter!

Our IH has been discouraging local mascots, colors, etc. I agree with this. A resolution was made at a recent Convention to look into making the old Gammie Bug a mascot. The resolution was voted down. The current philosophy is very much geared toward "back to basics and what the Founders did." So, I don't think peanuts and olives will go away!

A few whoops! Not sure the whoops were a part of the first Cookie Shine in Lawrence, KS, but then again, no one is coming to it in a horse and buggy :-)

Yes, please have a Cookie Shine for Parents Weekend and then make sure to sing Ring Ching.

When I was touring Colorado State many moons ago, I went over to the Pi Phi house to visit. They invited me to eat lunch with them and we sang Ring Ching and they were clanging their forks loudly on the glasses during the chorus. I was :eek: because when our chapter sang it, we daintily tinkled our forks on the glasses.

Not that we were a dainty chapter! It was my first realization, though, that sororities' chapters vary.

Don't get me started! There are the chapters whose tradition it is to throw the spoons on the table once it's over. I did a little break-out session at convention about Fraternity Heritage and I made the statement that silverware is not an absolute necessity to sing ring ching. Clapping works just as well for those chapters without private dining rooms. I once went on a quest to find the tune to "When I was a student at Cadiz."

I love the Ring Ching, and I think the silverware/glassware part is my favorite (My chapter was probably on the daintier side of the fork-banging continuum, although daintiness was probably not in our top five adjectives in general). I hope I'm still friends with enough girls from my chapter by the time I get married to do a Ring Ching at my reception.

I love both traditions, too. And both have survived much more than a century. I think that's one of the best things about them. I just made that suggestion to chapters who don't know Ring Ching because they really don't eat together. Personally, I love watching the faces on the wait staff at convention when the glasses and cups start getting clanged.

Was Prudence Mackintosh right that the Texas Alphas would sing it while "ringing" their silver charm bracelets?

I seriously doubt it.

I love the Cookie Shine tradition, especially since it was started at my alma mater! At KU, we are so lucky to have several very old chapters with extremely rich history :)

Back to the topic...I didn't get my first choice, and believe me, it does all work out. I fell in love with a chapter during recruitment, and was dead set on them from Day 1. I was devastated on Bid Day, but I was very humbled and grateful for the bid that I received and decided to move forward and take every opportunity that I could to engage and learn more about my chapter.

I know that at 18 years old, I had absolutely no clue about the honor and priviledge of sorority membership and the lifelong friendships and opportunities that come with it. I could only see what was right in front of me - that I had been hurt and rejected from a group of women that I wanted to be a part of. I think that sorority recruitment is one of the few experiences today where rejection is part of the game, and while it can hurt, but it is a strong life lesson that I think that many young people NEED. Life isn't about getting everything that you want perfectly presented on a silver platter...it is about taking the opportunties that come your way with grace and a positive attitude!

I am extremely proud to be an ADPi and a Panhellenic woman. College was many years ago, but my membership is even more important to me, and my love for our sisterhood continues to grow year after year.

New PNM's...PLEASE open your mind and your heart to this process. Research national sorority websites and learn more about the wonderful things that women in all 26 groups are doing. We all believe in sisterhood, service, philanthropy and leadership...it is our ritual that makes us special and unique.

Best of luck to everyone!

^^^ Well said!

I was curious as to how the Pi Beta Phi "Ring Ching" song goes, so I found this rendition on Youtube. It is so cute, as is the story told by the song leader:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szBtafzdYjY

I should have warned you, but now it's too late...I can't get the Pi Phi Cookie Shine song out of my head! Formerly, it was the Ring Ching song. My daughter loves to sing that around the house this summer.

I love that legacy story from the song leader.

At least both of my kids also know "I Love the Crescent Moon" by heart!