Non-secret sororities?

[BrianMUDU]

KSigKid,

You didn't take anything away from non-secret societies. As a DU, I share a common bond with my brothers as well. Just because other people can see what our ritual is doesn't mean that it isn't unique to myself and my brothers. Others can see our ritual, but they do not experience it first hand.

As DU's, we have an instant connection with brothers we haven't met just like you do. Non-secret or secret, it doesn't affect that aspect.

valkyrie and others asked for a reply - here it is!

I investigated PEO Sisterhood, Ceres, etc., but none of them sparked my interest. So, I looked closer to home: Girl Scouts. I'm an adult GS, but my GS Council doesn't have activities for adult members.

So... I checked out websites of neighboring Councils. One of them has adult activities year-round! I just talked to a rep from that Council, and she's sending me all the info. I'll have to drive farther to get to meetings/activities, but it will be worth it.

Thanks to all who replied! Sometimes the answer is right in front of you... or just a few more miles down the road!

Evergreen

[SigkapAlumWSU]

I don't think that having a secret/private ritual is any better than an open one, just different, like others have said. For me, I can know that wherever I go, if I meet a Sigma Kappa, we already have a bond, a shared experience that makes us closer than strangers. Like KSigKid said, it helps the conversation along.
It's like meeting people who went to your high school, or lived in the same neighborhood that you grew up in. You share a bond that other people wouldn't understand, and it's special to you. I think open GLO's have that same bond: they experienced it, even if others knew about it or got to be there as well.

[teke4life]

for me, ritual is a place where you know nothing done there will ever be shared with the outside world. it is the place of ultimate trust b/c all of one's brothers have sworn secrecy, not only of the secrets "of" ritual, but also the secrets "in" ritual.

[queequek]

Originally posted by PnguinTrax


Farmhouse is an agriculture fraternity.

Well, I guess not anymore. Iowa State has a Farmhouse chapter, and they're no longer an agriculture-based fraternity. They have every majors (I think they're "open" early 1990s).

The only fraternity based on agriculture is Alpha Gamma Rho (Aggers). The majors ranged from Ag E to Holticulture. Hey, but I know a landscape architect major joined the house!

Alongside AGR, Triangle also concentrate on Engineering and Architecture majors.

FYI ....

Last month AGD Alum suggested some non-secret sororities for me to check out. Epsilon Sigma Alpha is my top choice, but they don't have a chapter in Pittsburgh.

I've been in contact with ESA HQ, and they asked me if I'd like to start a chapter here. Are there any other GC-ers in Pittsburgh who would be interested in teaming up to do this?

For more info, visit http://www.esaintl.com.

Evergreen

[ZetaLuvBunny]

I think I saw the AKL letters (or some similar Greek letters) on a rap video I was watching on MTV the other night, it was called "Atlanta" or something like that. I don't know about DZ's crest thing, but I'm GUESSING that it might be totally in Greek because of a secret meaning....maybe I'll ask my roommate about it. Hey Barbara---how've you been getting along lately? PM me!

[FuzzieAlum]

Actually, I think PEO may have secrets (and just to remind everyone, Chapter S of PEO became AXD's Beta chapter!)

I don't think the secrets have much to do with our bond. The secrets you learn in initiation are a natural outgrowth of what is public knowledge. Most sororities have a public creed, and their ritual is right in line with it. It's not like you get there and they say, "OK, now you slaughter the sheep and we tell you what we REALLY believe." While we cherish our secrets, and use them as a way to guide our lives, you would find that most sororities secrets consist of ideas like love, sisterhood, goodwill toward mankind, etc.

Now, in one sense of course, the ceremeny of initiation IS a shared experience. I do have fond memories of several of our initiations. But I also remember rushing, hanging out at Club I, sitting around and gabbing, teasing lil B about not knowing how to put on mascara, watching our hilariously bad sewing skills while making learning dolls, crying to my sisters when my boyfriend and I broke up, eating the raisins in Trouble's Raisin Bran, and the excitement of welcoming new sisters. If we were just initiated and that was the end of it - we didn't spend any time together otherwise - the idea of sisterhood wouldn't mean much. It would just be a resume-building chore.

[AchtungBaby80]

Yes, I suppose DZ's motto is in Greek so it would be harder to figure out. I've actually thought about that before, but even if a non-DZ does translate it (which I've seen done and I'm sure it's
happened a lot), they still don't know the significance of it so in a way, it's still secret.

[AGDAlum]

Actually, I think PEO may have secrets (and just to remind everyone, Chapter S of PEO became AXD's Beta chapter!)

**************
P.E.O. (it's always written with the periods) has a ritual and a
secret motto.

It was founded on January 21, 1869, by 7 women at Iowa Wesleyan College. Pi Beta Phi had established a chapter there in 1868 (its second)--Pi Phi was still I.C. Sorosis in those days, so P.E.O.'s English name was not exceptional. Some of the 7 had been invited to join I.C. and some had not, so they decided to start their own society. Within a few weeks of their founding they had initiated 8 more members.

P.E.O. differed from Pi Beta Phi, Beta Theta Pi, and Phi Delta Theta (all at IWC) in that it did not have a pledge period. Upon accepting an invitation to membership, the woman was initiated. That became problematic with college regulations for fraternal organizations. In 1902 the members of Chapter S asked founder Alice Bird Babb what they should do. "She urged them to join a good sorority, preferably a new one. But no hasty decisions were made. Alpha Xi Delta was considered favorably....and on June 7, 1902, [the members of Chapter S] formed the Beta Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta."

P.E.O. decided from that point on that its chapters would be community, rather than college-based. And thus members of NPC groups, like me, can also be members of P.E.O. (It's neat to meet "double" sisters!)

As of March 1, 2001, P.E.O. has 5,866 active chapters (401 disbanded); 251,870 active members (81,228 inactive). Assets in the general fund and the project funds approx. $54million, plus the assets of Cottey College in Nevada, MO, which P.E.O. owns.

[Optimist Prime]

Originally posted by AGDAlum

P.E.O. differed from Pi Beta Phi, Beta Theta Pi, and Phi Delta Theta (all at IWC) in that it did not have a pledge period.

Correct me if i'm mistaken, but I believe that no groups had pledge periods back then. I know that one of our brothers was initiated i think exactly one week after accepting the invitatation. Just long enough to learn the history AND do all the pre-ritual activities. I don't think pledging became popular untill the 1950's. I know hazing didn't start until the 1960's or so. The people that came back from WWII had just seen war, their friends killed, and probably the effects of the holocaust. They simply weren't in the mood to screw around with people. They wanted something sincere, solemn, meaningful and uplifting. Like a fraternity ritual.

[AGDAlum]

Correct me if i'm mistaken, but I believe that no groups had pledge periods back then. I know that one of our brothers was initiated i think exactly one week after accepting the invitatation.
**************

I cited in haste. According to Out of the Heart (the P.E.O. Centennial History):

"The college girls of chapter AJ carried many of their problems with them. Most urgent was that of pledging new girls. The I.C. Sorosis, then known by its Greek letters Pi Beta Phi, and the two fraternities on campus, Beta Theta Pi and Phi Gamma Delta, could pledge prospective members as soon as they arrived on campus.

"P.E.O. required presentation of a name at one regular meeting and voting at the next before a girl could be asked to join. Permission to initiate had to be obtained from the chapter in her hometown if one existed there. With such restrictions campus P.E.O.'s were not even in competition with other groups.

"At the meeting of Grand Chapter in Mount Pleasant [IA] in October, 1889, Chapter AJ asked for a pledge ceremony and the right to use it. Those requests were granted."

[Optimist Prime]

cool....so is was it like today's pledging?

[phisig_76]

Phi Sigma Sigma has both an open and closed motto. I believe that is the best way to get your groups ideas and what they stand for out for everyone to consider. Having a closed motto and many secret parts is one the most fun things about being in a sorority ... sharing these "secrets" with your sisters bring a type of friendship that isn't often found on "the outside". My opinion anyway.

[Bridget3D]

What's the use of having a sorority or any other fraternal organization if nothing is secret? In my humble opinion, it's the secrets that bond us.