Spirituality and Character in Fraternities...
 

I am fairly new to greekchat, so please bear with me if don't quite know what I'm doing!

I am a Kappa Sig. It is no secret that our national fraternity has its roots in a spiritual background (specifically Christianity).

There was a thread sometime back in which greeks were unhappy about their jewelry (particuarly membership badges) being sold on ebay. Is anyone besides me disturbed by some of the really lewd t-shirts that are sold there? I run a check from time to time on "Kappa Sigma" to see what is selling on ebay, and I would be ashamed to tell you what some of the Kappa Sig pledge and party shirts say on them. This sort of thing is completely against the spirit of our founders, I know that. I would NEVER wear a shirt like some of those I've seen...and I wouldn't allow a son of mine to pledge a chapter where the guys had so little self-respect that they would wear them.

What do you think? I'd particuarly like to hear from some Kappa Sigs about this. "The star and cresent shall not be worn by any man," right? Our creed says we are to be gentlemen and men of God. Do we still believe this, or is it time to change the creed? Is it time to put a new character education program in place?

Phil
elwoodpfiggs@hotmail.com

Phil in answer to your question, most of us as GLOs were Founded with some sort of Religious back ground.

Yes, there is GLO Badge/Pins being sold on EBay!

I am as I am need of money to live on.:(

I am trying to get to My Fellow Brothers to buy them. I have bought certain Pins for a Historic value for My Chapter. I have gotten some threatening emails and it is a shame.:mad:

If they feel so bad, then why not bid on them as I put them on at low prices:confused:

Well, I think I will go dine now!;)

I agree with you about what seems to be to be misuse of letters. But some people are Greek because they love it and some are only to "have fun".

A stupid question...
 

What does GLO stand for? Phil

Earp: King of "It's all about me"
Greek Letter Organization

Either is fine.

As far as t-shirts go, I recently wrote a column about vulgar language in society today. It's not just GLOs - I'm amazed at what people wear in public.
I wouldn't want to wear anything that would reflect badly on me, my GLO, my college, or Greeks in general. I suspect I am a distinct minority, however.
It's not that I don't appreciate the humor in some of them - I just think they cheapen the image of the org.
JMHO -

Thank you. I agree.

They can also cheapen the image of the person wearing them.

As far as embodying the creeds and ritual of GLOs - I think it is the same for any group. You have some to whom it is important, and who work to incorporate it into their lives. You have some who are only interested in the more social aspects - but one can hope that the more spiritual elements might make an impression. You can plant a seed - and it may not flower for years. Still, it is there. I taught at a Christian school. Many of our students were there simply because their parents made them go to get a good education. You would be amazed how many of them, years later, went into the ministry or became active in their churches, and point to the influence of the school. So it is with GLOs. Sometimes the character and spirituality aspects may not seem to make an impression - but look at how many alumni turn around and commit themselves to the GLO years after college.
I would hope that whatever draws you to the GLO, the larger, lasting elements are what are going to stay with you.

I'd just like to say SECOND - for fraternity AND sorority shirts. I was raised to know that no matter what, I am always representing something to someone, even if it isn't always apparent to me that I am, and that I have to always be aware of that fact. You stand for something whether you want to or not, and so you have to be conscious of what you're choosing to stand for. Sometimes I don't think people think about that.

This brings up an issue I have wondered about. Many Christian fraternities have caught flack from regular fraternities for calling themselves Christian. Many fraternities say well we are built on Christian beliefs which is completely true. My response though is if you are offended by the fact you are Christian and we refer to ourselves as a Christian fraternity, then act like it. Going to church does not make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car. So I have a kinda side question to this one. If you are Christian and in a regular GLO do you have a problem wearing a shirt that has questionable content on it.

See above.

If you're organization has class, then you shouldn't have to worry about it.

I think a lot of it depends on your campus culture. On my campus, religion is emphasized in the fraternity. We pray together, go to church services together, etc. For that reason, it does sort of bother me when an organization came to our school calling itself a "Christian Fraternity." Saying so implies that since they call themselves "Christian," and emphasize Christianity, they must be unique in that aspect of their existence which implies we (other IFC fraternities) must not be spiritual.. or at least, that's the message that I imagine the campus at-large gets.

It's not their fault of course. They are what they are. I suspect they were founded to counter the behavior of some of these groups the OP was complaining about and provide a home for men who wished to belong to a GLO, but didn't want their experience to include anything which might compromise their morals.

In the end, I'm not really sure it affects us much. Our chapter does most of its recruiting during the summer, so most kids don't even hear about Christian fraternities until its too late. I'm assuming the Christian fraternities get most of their kids from the Baptist Student Union (a big deal at my school for some reason), so we're not exactly competing for the same guys.

Anyhow.. bottom line, do what you do.. I'm just uncomfortable with what is implied when one group calls itself "Christian" while others do not.

Some of the Christian organizations seem to have more of an "attitude" about it than others. I think as long as you handle it well, it shouldn't be an issue. But there was an incident on my undergrad campus where a member of a Christian sorority was asked by a member of an NPC sorority about the significance of the label, noting that her sorority was founded on Christian principles as well. The Christian sorority member's response was "The difference is we don't drink and we don't have sex." Um ... yeah. Nice.