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A few thoughts...
Why were most GLOs founded? Were they founded to be a great group of men/women that like to hang out and have a good time, or were they founded on values such as Scholarship, Service, Integrity, Brother/sisterhood, etc.?
I cannot speak for every GLO out there, but I know that my Fraternity was founded with the expectation that her members would excel academically. Part of our Creed says "I believe that I am honor bound to strive manfully for intellectual, moral and spiritual excellence." I don't see how making below a 2.0 is honestly striving for intellectual excellence.
Frathole, when your Fraternity's founders sat down together for the first time, I can promise you that they did not say to each other "Hey, let's start a Fraternity that can be mediocre... the status quo." They founded your organization because they believed that they were called to be above the status quo…and they wanted to start an organization that recruited like-minded men.
You said that “being in a fraternity is a lot more than just having letters” and I believe you are complete right! What does being in a Fraternity mean to you? Think about those letters…think about what they mean…and then re-evaluate what being in your organization means to you. When you said “Your house says who your friends are, what you do during the course of a week, where you are going to come back to once you leave, what you did when you were a pledge, even to some extent what kind of person you are.” I unfortunately couldn’t disagree with you more. It’s not your house that should be saying this…it’s your Ritual…it’s the values and reasons with which your organization was founded!
You made the comment a few times that these things will take the “fun” out of Fraternity life. What fun are you talking about? I really am interested! I’d like to know more, because I have a HELL of a good time in my chapter…and we still strive to do well in school. We don’t have to have a 4.0 chapter average…hell, we don’t even have to have a 3.0 chapter average…but we do have to answer the call to strive for Intellectual Excellence. As the ending line of my Fraternity’s Creed says: “To the fulfillment of these beliefs, of these ideals, in the noble perfection of Phi Kappa Psi, I pledge my life and my sacred honor.”
I’d challenge everyone to remember the oaths that you each took at that solemn moment when you each became Brothers and Sisters in your organization. Think of what you said you would do. You weren’t just aimlessly repeating after someone…you were taking a vow that you would strive to uphold the values of your organization. Just a few things to keep in mind! I’m sure this has been heard before…but I felt that I had to say something.
Interfraternally,
Luke...
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