info...

[YUGOS]

I can t understand the most of this topics! Why are some people so fanatic in beeing a part of an organisation??? In Germany there is not such a culture phenomenon...

please excuse my english...

[John]

YUGOS,

It seems like you may be confused a bit. GreekChat.com is a website for members of collegiate greek letter organizations, not for speakers of the greek language or people of greek nationality. People of greek nationality and/or speakers of the language can be a part of the collegiate greek letter organization system - but this has nothing to do with the language or the country. I hope my explanation makes sense.

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John Hammell
Network Administrator, GreekChat.com

[Ghostface-Killah]

ASIA 2G: Why are yousoo damn rude? Yugo asked a question- Can youjust answer it if you can? Maybe he does not understand, it is our job to teach him/her.
YUGO: These greek letter org. Most of them founded at the turn of the century, were formed as a way to unify certain social and ethnic groups who felt the need to organize these groups and try to improve certain situations within their community. As of BGLO, there is a book called THE DIVINE NINE, which could be helpful if you want to know more about it. In additio, there are sites on the net where youcan find info that might help you understand us better. In fact- if you want email me and I forward you some info. We take pride in our org. the same way a person takes pride on being part of the government or any other prestigious group-
HOPE IT HELPS

ME AND AND THE OTHER PERSON ASIA NAMED ARE NOT THE SAME PERSON! i JUST WANT TO KN0W WHAT THE HELL MAKES ASIA SUCH AN EXPERT ON EVERY DAM THING! SOMEONE ASKS A QUESTION AND HERE SHE IS TRYING TO START SHIT AGAIN. WANNA BE GREEK ASS!

is this for real?

or is this another person trying to start a flame again (LOL, Me, Myself&I -- why do I think these are the same person?)

[Veritas]

But of course there is such a culture phenomenon! It's obvious you havn't been to a fraternity party or a "Kommers" in Germany! Just come and visit one! We don't have the Greek system, but our members are also very proud of their fraternities.
Greetings from Bonn
Veritas Z!

[SilverTurtle]

Veritas-
it sounds like you are a member of a fraternity in Germany. Since, as you said, you don't have a "greek system" in Germany, can you tell me if the fraternities are similar to or different than those in the states? I was just curious..

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SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity
Phi chapter

[Veritas]

Hi SilverTurtle,
Difficult question.- For two weeks now I've tried to find an answer to this question by surfing through all "Greek-related" pages. (But sometimes I just get more confused )
Some similiarities:
- We start being member of a fraternity at university, but we stay member as long as we live.
- Other members are called brothers and sisters.
- There are fraternities, co-ed fraternities and sororities.
- We decide between three stages: 1. Fux (~pledge), 2. Bursche (fully qualified member) and 3. Alter Herr/Alte Dame (~alumni)
- We have our special signs, needles etc.
- People say we do "hazing" (is that the right word?) and that we drink too much
Some differences:
- Some of our fraternities fight with a sword ("Mensur")- I've never heard that from an American fraternity.
- We don't get any help from the university.
- Charity work is done only by a few fraternities.
- Instead of Greek we use plenty of Latin names and words.
Do you have nicknames in your fraternities? We all have so-called beer-names which are always used when we speak with our and other fraternity members. It's a result of the times when fraternities were forbidden in Germany. My beer-name is Veritas.
Regards and our Latin salute: Vivat, crescat, floreat!
Veritas Z!

[Finer Woman10-A-91]

Veritas,
Thank you for broadening my perspective from an INTERNATIONAL pov. We get so caught up in American culture that we often forget our friends across the see have a totally different spin on the culture of fraternity and sorority life.

Has a community service component ever been a priority in the establishment of your greek/latin system of sorority and fraternity life?



[This message has been edited by Finer Woman10-A-91 (edited May 28, 2000).]

[SilverTurtle]

Veritas

-thank you for the enlightenment! I found it interesting. A couple (more) questions

1. Do you most or all of the organizations have the sword-fighting?

2. Is there a name (like 'fraternity' or 'Greek letter organizations' in America) that describes all of the groups?

3. Why were fraternities there banned, and when did it become okay for them to exist?

Thanks again, or maybe I should say 'danke'!



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SilverTurtle@greekchat.com
Phi Beta Fraternity
Phi chapter

[tickledpink]

Thanks for the info Veritas, that was very interesting!

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>>>"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised... Proverbs 31:29-30

[matthewg]

Hi Veritas - it is nice to see a fellow German fraternity member in this list...1.

Now to your questions Silver Turtle:
Do you most or all of the organizations have the sword-fighting?
There are about 1000 chapters of different fraternity organizations all over Germany and Austria. I would say most of them are fencing but as to membership the non-fencing ones are the biggest

2. Is there a name (like 'fraternity' or 'Greek letter organizations' in America) that describes all of the groups?

The German word is "Studentenverbindung" - that really covers them all

3. Why were fraternities there banned, and when did it become okay for them to exist?

The origin of the fraternities we have today dates back to the middle ages and the foundations of the first universities in Europe. At that time students from different nations gathered in national groups.In Germany fraternity life started mostly in and after the post-napoleonic liberation war in the early 19th century when students took part in the war and later demanded unification of the particularistic (that is devided in numerous little kingdoms and such)
Germany. That early time was pretty hard and all fraternities were prosecuted for revolutionary activities.... Still, fraternities were in a large way responsible for the German revolution of 1848 trying to establish the first democracy.
A second very hard time came in the thirties an fourties of this century when the Nazi's prohibited all fraternity organizantions. The reason was quite simple: they had democratic structures and very independent ways of thinking......
Nowadays we don't face legal opposition but we face the same predjudices as you do.

Best, matthewg

[Veritas]

Hello to everyone!

matthewg: Hello Fbr Matthias - nice to meet someone from the CV! My brother is a member of the CV too (RS!,Wk!). I'm female, so I am a member of the co-ed fraternity DWV.

SilverTurtle: I think matthewg answered your questions. I would add one thing:
"Studentenverbindung" is the term most frequently used. But there is also "Korporation" as synonym, then a few ones use the Latin word "Fraternitas"; and "Coleurstudententum" is the word which describes the whole phenomenon.

FinerWoman10-A-91: The main reason to found fraternities was and is to achieve a fellowship between students and to help each other.
The *help* has different sides:
1. friendship
2. money: the students don't have to pay much money for the fraternity while studying. When they have finished their study and earn money, they will pay to support the ones which are now studying.
3: science: to give and get help with all things related to university and the study.
4. career: this is the point many non-fraternity members are afraid of: it's natural that fraternity members prefer other fraternity members for jobs.
Then as matthewg said: fraternities were and are political, people are encouraged to take part in the political and social life of their community. But whether a fraternity itsself has a special task in their community apart from the campus work, is a decision of each fraternity.
What is the meaning of "pov"? I don't know a word like that. (I know I'm not good in languages ) An answer is welcome via pm (veritas@flashmail.com) because I think it's boring for all the others.

Regards,
Veritas Z!

[kammye]

Veritas, p.o.v. is an abbreviation for "point of view."