Tree Painting and Fratenity colors?
 

As you can see I am a new member and joined because I was curious about something that is happening on a Big Ten campus. There is a tree that has been painted in various colors on this campus and I have been told that the Black Faternities are doing this. I have done a Google search trying to find out anything about it but have not turned up much. Maybe the people on here can help me understand why they are doing this and if it has caused any problems anywhere else.
Yes -I take care of the trees on this campus so I am a little biased about this practice but am willing to see both sides if there is some value there.
Thanks in advance!

Hi there.....it's a tradition. I don't know where it comes from. I am providing some pictures which will show various examples:

At the very top, middle is the Sigma Gamma Rho tree at Howard; to the far right is the Gamma Sigma Sigma tree, which I didn't even notice at first. (Those are Deltas in the foreground)

http://oldgoldsoul.com/gallery/data/...54/06dst19.jpg



Zeta Phi Beta tree
http://oldgoldsoul.com/gallery/data/media/56/06z35.jpg

Alpha Kappa Alpha tree:

http://oldgoldsoul.com/gallery/data/...0/AKA07001.jpg

To explain further, on some campuses, fraternities and sororities are given a plot of land -- usually just called a "plot" for short. Some of these plots have trees, or there are trees nearby. (Some campuses only have trees and no plots.)

The trees are painted with sorority or fraternity symbols or letters and serve as meeting or gathering place.

Some organizations incorporate the plot into homecoming activities or new member presentations.

It's a source of pride that is usually approved by the school. Other schools have huge rocks (mini boulders) that their GLOs paint.

A lot of campuses have fraternity and sorority trees. I don't really know the origins, either, but it's not uncommon. Judging by what I've seen, the paint isn't going to harm your campus' trees, if that's what you're worried about.

Thanks for the quick replies! I would still like to know just how widespread thie "tradition" is. I've been on around this campus for fifty plus years and working here for twenty five plus years and didn't see this "tradition" show up until about five or six years ago. Plus as far as I know there has been no campus approval that has ever been given for this activity.

I honestly don't know how widespread it is. But traditions (no quotes :)) can and do travel.

If there has not been campus approval, I am sure that the administration will speak up on the matter. It is hard for me to believe that any organization would up and decide to paint a tree without the approval of the administration though, because I imagine that there would be consequences for such actions.

If your concern is for the trees, I think that you can rest assured that they have not been harmed in this show of fraternal/sororal spirit. :)

Build a fence and they will come....

http://cmufence.com/wp-content/uploa...nce_pic005.jpg

I think it's neat - but do the groups ever "prank" each other by painting on each other's trees? Or are the trees sacrosanct, and no one would think of it?

On my campus, tree painting (or doing anything to a tree) was a no-no for anyone. You couldn't paint them, climb on them, nothing. So instead the admin gave greeks trash cans to paint with their org's colors. Yes, I said trash cans.

Those that didn't have a trash can had "plots" instead (rock-esque monuments in various forms). Here is the Alpha's plot:

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u.../untitled1.jpg

The Kappas had one too btw but I can't find a pic.

No way I would put my letters on a trash can. :rolleyes:

I think something along these lines would be much more all encompassing to Panhel/IFC/NPHC:
http://photos.jpgmag.com/251647_24055_63b14dbe26_p.jpg

Unlike the Fence at CMU, no one ever paints over another unit's decoration.

I of course instantly thought "Founded on a rock!"

Founded on a rock, is that your group or the Catholic Church!? :)

The pic I clipped is from the National Training Center, Ft Irwin, CA. We had the (mis)fortune to be stationed there for 3 interminable years. It actually wasn't so bad as the closest town was only 40 miles away from the base and true civilization was only 70 miles away.

Founded on a Rock
 

I believe both Gamma Phi and the Catholic Church are reading from the same book on that one. :)

The tree painting and plot creation are a tradition on most/all HBCU campuses and of course the school is okay with it. I have never seen this on any of the PWI campuses I have been to.

Don't get me started on the Sigma Nu's here on our campus....suffice it to say that their Christmas tree one year was uprooted from a planting next to their frat and was drug across the ground over to their back door-then they couldn't figure out how we knew that they had done it ;).

At the University of Hartford, there is a huge anchor at the front of campus. Fraternities and sororities have been painting it for as long as I can remember (the 80s). From WIKIPEDIA:

The large anchor that sits near the entrance to the university's main campus once belonged to the USS Hartford, a sloop-of-war and the first ship of the United States Navy named after the city of Hartford. Each year it is painted by the college's various fraternities, sororities and other organizations.

Back then, if you painted it, you had to guard it so that no one painted over it during the night. If it rained, you had to put vaseline on it so that the paint didn't run. You had to also be prepared for a paint war - in which case you better watch out that you not paint the grass.

These days, you have to register to paint the anchor. I should note that during orientation, the Orientation group paints it in UHa's colors - red and white.

At Central CT State University, there is a rock in front of one of the academic buildings, that were painted as well. There were/are few GLOs there, however, so worrying about "owning" it for the day wasn't much of a big deal.

Pepperdine has The Rock, which is actually a different rock these days than it was when I was a student. The Rock WE painted was taken to Las Vegas by the Psi Upsilon pledge class my senior year (I have no idea how they got it there), where it now welcomes people from its place next to/below the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. It's a different Rock on campus now, but in the same place. The students must now register their intent to paint it, then they guard it to make sure no one else grabs it/paints over it.