Upcoming Anniversary Location

GammaZeta · #1 03-04-2006, 01:08 PM

Surprisingly, I hear that we may have some sort of a special anniversary coming up. (sarcasm)

I was talking to a fellow LXA/GC'er a while ago, and I was surprised that the location of that years conference isn't going to be held in the area in which our founding had taken place, but in Indiana.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Indiana is a good place for it, but only as an alternative to Massachusetts.

Why in Indiana? Because our HQ is there? So? Every other fraternity and sorority have their HQ there. It is not a special place of any significance. If our HQ was in Florida, then the conference and celebration would have been in Florida.

Now why wouldn't they have it in Massachusetts? Mass. has NUMBEROUS state of the art conference facilities. Boston recently opened the new convention center, as well as Hartford, Springfield and Worcester. Plenty of low cost hotel rooms. Great public transportation. Great site seeing places. Historic Boston and New England. Great food. New England/Mass. is the PERFECT place for this.

But the real reasons should have been obvious. Our Alpha Chapter is in Boston and flourishing. Boston University...MIT...

Boston/Amherst is the place of our founding. Warren Cole is buried in Massachusetts. Amherst is just an hour away, imagine having a tour of the very first LXA chapter house? Imagine having our ritual ceremony performed in the exact location in which our VERY FIRST ritual was performed so many years ago to the date?

I'm a little disappointed that on such a special occasion, we choose to celebrate the location of a concrete building instead of the location in which our founding and heritage occured. A place with real history relevant to our organization.

Where did America celebrate it's Bicentinial? That's right.

LXA has been ignoring alot of areas around this country. Our anniversary could have been really special. With special tours of our history. Actually being in the areas which we were founded.

Oh well. I just had to say I am a little disappointed.

JonoBN41 · #2 03-04-2006, 05:48 PM

How can we possibly celebrate everything that went into creating Lambda Chi Alpha in one weekend or even one week - and in one place? Significant events happened over a period of time, conservatively speaking from 1909 to 1915.

Granted, most of the "stuff" is in Indianapolis and it would be impractical (not to mention risky) to try to haul it all to one distant location at one time, but why even consider doing that?

Why not have a number of events spread over a period of years, and hold them in places like Boston, Amherst, Philadelphia, and State College, for instance? The chapters there will be holding their own centennials anyway.

Something to think about.

ZAX,
Jono

GammaZeta · #3 03-04-2006, 06:12 PM

It just made sense to me. When we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, why not celebrate it in Seatlle Washington? Places are important. That's why you see the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield (birthplace of Basketball) or the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (American birthplace of baseball).

What does Indiana have? Our HQ? Just another concrete building on the same road as DOZENS of other fraternities and sororities. What's so special about that? Every other fraternity that celebrates its anniversary has it there. I always thought LXA was different, unique, and went above and beyond to demonstrate that. What's so special about it now that we are carbon copies of other fraternities.

I can tell you of a place that does hold special significance - the birthplace of Lambda Chi Alpha. Which all occurred between a distance of less than 100 miles. From BU, to Gamma Zeta, to Maine (Beta), all occured within 1-2 hours driving. Hell, even our FOUNDER is buried 20 minutes outside of Boston.

We could have had a ritual to celebrate our anniversary IN THE SAME EXACT SPOT AS OUR FIRST EVER RITUAL. Wouldn't that have been amazing? To have LXA's from ALL OVER THE WORLD congregate for the 3 hours to perform the ritual that started it all in the same exact location? Man, THAT would have been the way to celebrate. That would have been special.

Almost 100 years ago, what LXA would have thought it would become something this big and significant?

Could you imagine a LXA tour? Going to the actual locations? Seeing where Mason stayed, or Cole's old dormroom at BU? Visiting Alpha chapter. Going to the gravesites.

HQ really missed out on a golden opporunity here, one that only comes every 100 years. It's the 100 year anniversary of our FOUNDING, so shouldn't we pay homage to how and where it was founded?

Imagine THOUSANDS of LXA's coming to the place that Cole first wrote the letter. I would have liked to think that is how Cole and Mason would have wanted it. A true homecoming for LXA's.

Oh well, just a little disappointed is all.

Tom Earp · #4 03-04-2006, 09:32 PM

gammazeta, I can totally understand where You are coming from and why.

But while Indianappolis is not the seat of The Birth of LXA nor the first Chapter it is still Headquarters of LXA.

I take it, that You have never been to a General Asembly before. Your time is not Your own as everything is planned out from 8:00 AM until You go to bed.

I had contacted the then Ex. Ditector about getting a tour of IHQ and He set it up and transportation was provided.
The main reason that I attended My first and maybe the last G A was because it was where it was and I had never been to IHQ.
Of the Thousands of Brothers who are LXs, I would venture to say that very few have actually been there.

By having it in Indy, this will give a chance for many Young Men/Brothers to have the same chance that I did along with Jono and others who hve not been there.

While it is somewhat dissapointing from the size of the physical structure, it is where decisions are made, publications are sent from, the interentet, the records and many other things are kept.

While I say dissapointing from the size, I was thrilled to death to be able to say I have been there and seen where everything is deceminated from.

If I am lucky enough to be alive and I can go to G A in 2009, I plan to make a visit once again to IHQ.

As Jono said, there may be otehr opportunities to have some type of meetings that would cover where LXA was formed and Gamma Zeta was located for Historical significance.

Please worry more about what You and I discussed than this now.

In ZAX,

GammaZeta · #5 03-05-2006, 01:49 AM

Surprisingly, I have been to many LXA conferences and have probably met several of us GC'rs already in person.

I'm just saying HQ is just a building. There is nothing special about it. It has no history. Our HQ could have been in California, Mississippi, Delaware, Florida, etc.

But there is one place that isn't moveable. That is our birthplace.

Could have been a very special anniversary with some unique events. I'm just very sad and disappointed that HQ refuses to embrace our history and past.

Tom Earp · #6 03-05-2006, 01:50 PM

Still agree with You.

Gamma is Mecca, but Indy is the seat of Power.

Would love to go to either if I am still breathing and can afford it!

But, as I mentioned early, time constraints are a problem.

GammaZeta · #7 03-05-2006, 03:15 PM

Ya, I know Tom.

But I think there is a bigger problem within LXA. When I look at other fraternities, like PIKE, the brothers there have an almost obsession on their history. They truly respect their past and do treat the places of history as you would call a "mecca."

Boston is our "mecca". I've met new brothers throughout the years, and they just don't seem to really know as much about our past as they should. I know GC'rs do (just read the Where are they Buried thread, simply amazing work), but this younger generation doesn't.

Now as a special treat for our anniversary, we get to have a 5 minute tour of HQ!!! Here we get to see the very seat that our Grand Alpha sits on! And here is the very pencil used by our Grand High Beta! And here on the first floor bathroom, THE OFFICIAL LXA TOILET PAPER OF POWER!!! Now the tour's over, let's all go back to our generic hotel rooms or generic convention center.

When it could have been like this:
After looking through original documents held within the BU library archive collection, we took a tour of Cole's meeting room and dorm room where the very first LXA meeting took place. Then after that we toured the first Alpha chapter house on Boylston St.

Then after lunch we took an hour drive to tour our very first chapter house. When we arrived, the ritual team was performing our ritual in the very place that it was first performed. Then after viewing the original photographs and documents located in the Umass library, on our way home, we actually visited the grave sites of our founders and influential LXA's.

Oh well...

iMAX386 · #8 03-05-2006, 04:10 PM

Gamma,

You also have to examine the feasibility of what you're saying. Would it be feasible to conduct the ritual in the Alpha Zeta house and cram the THOUSANDS of spectators into one house? Probably not.

We could probably do it in shifts and do it multiple times, but I'm sure the ritual team would not be in favor of that.

Also, considering the frugal financial mindset of our current administration, its fiscally wise to conduct everything out of the town where our HQ is located.

At the Celebration of Brotherhood conference in Texas a month ago, we got some insight into what the centennial celebration is going to be like. Trust me, the location of the ritual sounds amazing.

Whether we like it or not, Indianapolis is now the home of LXA. Were you to task every member to meet at the place where LXA centrally resides, people would go to Indianapolis, not Boston. Many people, though not everyone, see Indianapolis as the location of the heart of our fraternity.

GammaZeta · #9 03-05-2006, 04:19 PM

I disagree.

Everyone of the brothers I have talked to about this automatically thought it would be held in New England/Boston.

If the administration wanted to save money, why not have every conference or event in Indianapolis? That would save tons of money. After all, its only a 100 years, no need to spend a little extra.

That's just the thing, Indy isn't anything. It is definately not the heart of the fraternity. That's not in a location, but in our members.

If we moved HQ to another place, would that be the heart of our fraternity? No way. See, we can move hq anywhere we want. We can build as many buildings as we want, but they would all be insignificant.

Let's have it in a place with real historic value. A place that means something. NOT in a place where fraternity HQ moved simply because of tax purposes.

You all know I'm right on this.

Mooch279 · #10 03-06-2006, 02:34 PM

I have to agree with Gamma on this, I assumed it would be in Boston simply b/c that’s the event that we would be celebrating and where better to do that then the actual place it happened. My wife is a Phi Mu and they had their 150th bday in 2002 at their founding college which doesn’t have greek life anymore. I have to say I have been looking forward to the centennial since I was initiated, I wanted to see where it all began. The history of that city would have created an amazing atmosphere for our conference, there were two revolutions started in Boston. America spit in the face of England and Warren A. Cole did the same to the established elitist Fraternities of the time. Just my two cents.

GammaZeta · #11 03-06-2006, 05:17 PM

Hey Mooch, thanks for your post. That's what I've been trying to say but couldn't come up with the words to do so.

I think there should be a compromise. We are celebrating the anniversay of our founding, which should be in the place it happened, and then maybe we could celebrate our becoming a nationally recognized fraternity or maybe the opening of our HQ when that anniversary takes place.

Mooch, if you do ever get out here to New England (or any other GC or LXA that reads this) shoot me a message. I'm pretty familiar with most of the LXA historic sites (except for the newly discovered grave of Cole) and could show you around a bit.

GZ

Tom Earp · #12 03-06-2006, 10:39 PM

Okay, I have been swayed! I too would love to see Mecca and all that goes with it!

GammaZeta · #13 03-06-2006, 11:00 PM

Welcome aboard Tom!!!

I think it's time to start a petition...

Seriously, there is one (1) attraction in Indiana, and that is HQ, which not to be rude or anything, from what I have heard, isn't exactly the most awe inspiring building.

There would be dozens of attractions if it was held in New England. And with the amount of people attending, why not have different events people could choose from.

And also, it doesn't have to be a LXA event or attraction, New England is filled with thousands of historic or interesting attractions. There is so much opportunity here for a one of a kind gathering of LXA's for our anniversary.

Maybe it's not too late, hope you Big Shots at HQ are reading this!

Mooch279 · #14 03-07-2006, 12:22 PM

Sign me up.

Gamma,
I will take you up on your offer, my big brother lives in the city and will be getting married in late October/early November. So I should be up for an extended weekend.

On a lighter note I can't wait to walk in the foot steps of Nicholas Cage when he filmed National Treasure. Perhaps I will stumble across the Mason's gold.