GSS/APO members

[oesdivav]

Is there a conflict of interest?
we have several members who are members of both orgs.....
is it a conflict of interest? especially when you sit on the board of both orgs....

just wondering....

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by oesdivav

Is there a conflict of interest?
we have several members who are members of both orgs.....
is it a conflict of interest? especially when you sit on the board of both orgs....

just wondering....

On a national level, Gamma Sigma Sigma does not exclude anyone from seeking membership, no matter what other organizations you may belong to.

I don't know about APO, as I am not a member.

[oesdivav]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

I guess I would wonder, what is YOUR reason for joining both?

On a national level, Gamma Sigma Sigma does not exclude anyone from seeking membership, no matter what other organizations you may belong to.

I don't know about APO, as I am not a member.

that is a whole other can of worms
but we have Sisters who are members of both pledge members of both....

things that make you go hummmm

[Pingyang]

Berkeley (where I pledged APO) didn't have a service sorority, so I don't know if there are direct conflicts I can't imagine, but I think the two organizations can provide completely different experiences for women at most universities. I would expect the relationships between brothers in a mixed-gender setting to be quite different from the relationships between members of single-gender organizations (in this case, GSS sisters). I'd expect the types of service projects and especially the types of fellowship/friendship events to be different. I'd expect the leadership elements of GSS to focus much more on female-specific issues than APO leadership development programs often did when I took them. There are benefits to both organizations, and if Cal had a service sorority when I was there, I would have joined that if I could, too.

That perspective probably isn't accurate in two different cases:
1) An all-female college (or one where women make up over 80% of the students)
2) Schools with APO chapters that, for various reasons, are almost entirely female

In those cases, it might be a little weird to have the same people in both.

Pledging two organizations of any type at the same time is probably a bad idea. I don't know how intense GSS pledging is, but my APO pledging experience ate up nearly all of my free time that semester. I can't imagine trying to do that amount of work for two groups at the same time!

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Pingyang

I would expect the relationships between brothers in a mixed-gender setting to be quite different from the relationships between members of single-gender organizations (in this case, GSS sisters).

Isn't Gamma Sigma Sigma co-ed?

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Isn't Gamma Sigma Sigma co-ed?

Sorry I missed this. The answer is yes.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Pingyang

Berkeley (where I pledged APO) didn't have a service sorority, so I don't know if there are direct conflicts I can't imagine, but I think the two organizations can provide completely different experiences for women at most universities. I would expect the relationships between brothers in a mixed-gender setting to be quite different from the relationships between members of single-gender organizations (in this case, GSS sisters). I'd expect the types of service projects and especially the types of fellowship/friendship events to be different. I'd expect the leadership elements of GSS to focus much more on female-specific issues than APO leadership development programs often did when I took them. There are benefits to both organizations, and if Cal had a service sorority when I was there, I would have joined that if I could, too.

That perspective probably isn't accurate in two different cases:
1) An all-female college (or one where women make up over 80% of the students)
2) Schools with APO chapters that, for various reasons, are almost entirely female

In those cases, it might be a little weird to have the same people in both.

Pledging two organizations of any type at the same time is probably a bad idea. I don't know how intense GSS pledging is, but my APO pledging experience ate up nearly all of my free time that semester. I can't imagine trying to do that amount of work for two groups at the same time!

According to our bylaws, Gamma Sigma Sigma has no gender barriers to membership, though male members are still uncommon.

It is important to note that pledging GSS is different on every campus. Some pledge programs take up more time, others, not as much. As a pledge, I spent a good 5-8 hours a week on GSS related stuff, and as a member/officer, 8-12. As a member/officer, I also held several other campus positions, including a staff position on the campus newspaper (which easily took up another 10-15 hours).

[Pingyang]

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

According to our bylaws, Gamma Sigma Sigma has no gender barriers to membership, though male members are still uncommon.

How many male members have there been? Our limited perception at Cal when I was there was that there had never been any men in most chapters, and that your organizational goals were focused on the support of women, but again, we didn't have a service sorority on campus when I was there.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Pingyang

How many male members have there been? Our limited perception at Cal when I was there was that there had never been any men in most chapters, and that your organizational goals were focused on the support of women, but again, we didn't have a service sorority on campus when I was there.

As I said, male membership is uncommon, but allowed. The most recent copy of the bylaws I have are from 2005, and it reads that:

"Membership in this sorority shall include persons of all races and creeds who are duly enrolled in good standing, and eligible as defined by their respective accredited colleges or universities at the undergraduate or graduate level....Membership policies shall be inclusive."

Our ideals are friendship, service and equality. There is nothing that refers to "the support of women", though we are a sorority by name and foundation.

(Waiting for Gamma_Girl to come and give an official word on this...)

[Pingyang]

Ah. After some googling, I think I mixed up some stuff with Omega Phi Alpha, given that their Vision 2010 document states, "OPA’s purpose is to train, educate and prepare college women to become productive, service-minded leaders in their communities throughout their college career and adult life," and I know it's one of the two organizations a few of us used to talk about occasionally. Sorry about that! It's been a little while since then.

Has there been an effort by GSS to become more actively inclusive of men, like by specifically targeting them in recruitment? I guess what I'm really wanting to know is: why is male membership so uncommon, if the ultimate goal is to be inclusive?

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by Pingyang

Ah. After some googling, I think I mixed up some stuff with Omega Phi Alpha, given that their Vision 2010 document states, "OPA’s purpose is to train, educate and prepare college women to become productive, service-minded leaders in their communities throughout their college career and adult life," and I know it's one of the two organizations a few of us used to talk about occasionally. Sorry about that! It's been a little while since then.

Has there been an effort by GSS to become more actively inclusive of men, like by specifically targeting them in recruitment? I guess what I'm really wanting to know is: why is male membership so uncommon, if the ultimate goal is to be inclusive?

NITY?

There was never an exclusion, as far as I remember. Our purpose is "to assemble college and university students in the spirit of service to humanity and to develop friendship among students of all races and creeds." Not women, students.

I can only speak to my experience on my campus at the time, so I will not and cannot answer your question. I can tell you that recruitment is not formal; therefore, each chapter does things a bit differently.

I strongly suggest that if you want more information on the history and mission of Gamma Sigma Sigma, visit: http://gammasigmasigma.org/home.html

[Quala67]

APO Brother Mariza Shavelle is also a national officer of GSS.

[DreamfulSpirit]

Sorry for the crash...but I did want to say that there are some chapters of OPA that do have male members.

[Blu-Scholar]

Greetings everyone,

I actually am a male member of Gamma Sigma Sigma. There are NOT a great deal of male sorority members as stated by REE-XI, so it is common to FEEL as tho GSS is strictly female. By law, all service fraternites and sororites MUST be co-ed, even if its promoted or not due to the fact that they are NOT social organizations, by standards. That doesnt mean that Gamma Sig SHOULD go out and recruit all the men in the world to pledge, that just means, ppl should be open-minded to the fact that service shouldn't only come in one specific form.

As far as members of GSS also being members of APO, I know a slew of them , and I feel like this about it: As long as the business they need to tend to in Gamma Sig doesnt go lacking, Why should it even matter whether they are in this or that? Im also a member of two fraternites and I manage to get all my Gamma Sig business done. As long as persons can differentiate, I personally dont see any of it as a problem.

[naraht]

There is some overlap mentioned that I think might be too much. I can't imagine someone pledging Alpha Phi Omega and Gamma Sigma Sigma in the same semester, but similarly, I can't imagine pledging Alpha Phi Omega and Kappa Kappa Gamma in the same semester. Similarly, if a person is running for office in one of the organizations, the fact that they already hold an office in the other is a valid issue in determining whether to vote them into the office. Having said that, the Alpha Phi Omega brother who was president when she appointed me as Parlimentarian was also pledge mistress (or whatever the appropriate term is) for Kappa Kappa Gamma. (she also had a 3.8 that semester and I think she was a Civil Engineering major)

There is a great deal of overlap in the concepts behind Alpha Phi Omega and Gamma Sigma Sigma. I can imagine people being comfortable in either, but to be comfortable in both does take more work and understanding on the relationship between the two groups on campus...