honor societies

[flirt5721]

I think it depends on the honor society. I know that Delta Sigma Pi (Business) have Big/Littles, wear letters, and have socials. That is the only one that I see.

But I don't see Eta Kappa Nu, Pi Tau Sigma, Phi Eta Sigma, or any other honor societies doing this.

[AlphaFrog]

Originally Posted by flirt5721

But I don't see Eta Kappa Nu, Pi Tau Sigma, Phi Eta Sigma, or any other honor societies doing this.

I had a boyfriend that was Phi Eta Sigma...they tried to do one social event and it flopped like an elephant trying to swan dive.

[Tom Earp]

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

I had a boyfriend that was Phi Eta Sigma...they tried to do one social event and it flopped like an elephant trying to swan dive.

Loved the analogy!

Honor groups will have social parties and may try to emulate Social Greeks, but, they still are not the same.

There is a difference of course, but heck dont they like to party and get stupid like we do?

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

Loved the analogy!

Honor groups will have social parties and may try to emulate Social Greeks, but, they still are not the same.

There is a difference of course, but heck dont they like to party and get stupid like we do?

Good question.

I would never go to a social event sponsored by an honor society, a professional fraternity, a music fraternity, or a service fraternity and actually expect to have fun. Events sponsored by such groups are networking opportunities and nothing more.

Now if the event is actually FUN it is probably because the organization takes a back seat to the fun nature of the people at the event and/or the members of the organization are members of popular social fraternities and sororities.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Good question.

I would never go to a social event sponsored by an honor society, a professional fraternity, a music fraternity, or a service fraternity and actually expect to have fun. Events sponsored by such groups are networking opportunities and nothing more.

Now if the event is actually FUN it is probably because the organization takes a back seat to the fun nature of the people at the event and/or the members of the organization are members of popular social fraternities and sororities.

Sorry, but this is untrue. I have partied with both Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigmas. I had an insane amount of fun. They work hard AND play hard. They weren't members of social orgs either.

[DSTCHAOS]

Originally Posted by centaur532

Sorry, but this is untrue. I have partied with both Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigmas. I had an insane amount of fun. They work hard AND play hard. They weren't members of social orgs either.

Sure.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Sure.

Very true actually. I believe I have a journal entry from sometime last summer lamenting the fact that I did not spend that night drinking with KKYs. This was after a giant blackout and 3 hours puking.
I never knew bandos could drink the way they do.

[KSUViolet06]

The Phi Sigma Pi chapter here is actually pretty anti-greek. Their rush posters this year said "RUSH Phi Sigma Pi...we're smarter than the average greeks!" All of their rush publicity centered around the stereotype of Greeks as dumb and elitist. They discourage current Greeks from pledging if they show up to rush events.

One of our new members pledged Phi Sig before recruitment. After she went Greek, her Big Bro sat her down with a bunch of officers and basically said "You really should quit Phi Sig now because we don't initiate people who are Greek because they don't participate in events."

It's ironic because while they don't like Greeks, they have big/little and other things that are reminiscent of Greek traditions.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

The Phi Sigma Pi chapter here is actually pretty anti-greek. Their rush posters this year said "RUSH Phi Sigma Pi...we're smarter than the average greeks!" All of their rush publicity centered around the stereotype of Greeks as dumb and elitist. They discourage current Greeks from pledging if they show up to rush events.

One of our new members pledged Phi Sig before recruitment. After she went Greek, her Big Bro sat her down with a bunch of officers and basically said "You really should quit Phi Sig now because we don't initiate people who are Greek because they don't participate in events."

It's ironic because while they don't like Greeks, they have big/little and other things that are reminiscent of Greek traditions.

If I were your new member, I would complain about that to Phi Sig headquarters. Seriously.

[valmypal]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

The Phi Sigma Pi chapter here is actually pretty anti-greek. Their rush posters this year said "RUSH Phi Sigma Pi...we're smarter than the average greeks!" All of their rush publicity centered around the stereotype of Greeks as dumb and elitist. They discourage current Greeks from pledging if they show up to rush events.

One of our new members pledged Phi Sig before recruitment. After she went Greek, her Big Bro sat her down with a bunch of officers and basically said "You really should quit Phi Sig now because we don't initiate people who are Greek because they don't participate in events."

It's ironic because while they don't like Greeks, they have big/little and other things that are reminiscent of Greek traditions.

That was exactly what I was talking about. The one I know of when so far as to try to put it in their by-laws that joining a social GLO was not allowed. That didn't pass but there is a very large anti-greek sentiment and all the "social" greeks feel it

[AOEforme]

In addition to my sorority (which is Social and Professional), I'm a member of Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society. Tri-Beta does socials, but the socials are like a pizza party or going out for ice cream before our meeting. The president is a Tri-Delt and we have a even mix of Greeks and Non-Greeks, so we all pretty much understand the distinction between Honor Societies, Social Fraternities, Professional Fraternities, and Social/Professional Fraternities.

[texas*princess]

Like others have already noted, there is a difference between "professional" GLOs and "honorary" GLOs.

There are (4) types of GLOs:

* Social - e.g. Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Mu, etc - mainly social, though there is a component of philanthropy/education/etc in there

* Professional - your Delta Sigma Pi's & Alpha Kappa Psi's of the world. In addition to the professional aspect, there is also a social side and some chapters are more social than others. One of my favorite Deltasig chapters was on the UT campus. Fun group

* Service - Alpha Phi Omega - they focus on service projects, but from what I've heard some chapters are more social than others

* Honorary - I was never part of one, but these usually recruited people from, say the college of business or education or engineering, that had a certain GPA. There is no "new member" period there.

I've never heard of Honorary GLOs doing bigs/littles or anything like that.

[CuriousWildcat]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

Good question.

I would never go to a social event sponsored by an honor society, a professional fraternity, a music fraternity, or a service fraternity and actually expect to have fun. Events sponsored by such groups are networking opportunities and nothing more.

We have multiple professional frats and sororities. We have 4 music ones, two are considered service and the other two are considered social. I know for a fact that at least 3 of them have big/littles, formals, wear their letters, and have social functions at least once a month. Some of these functions are all four combined and I can tell you they are a blast.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by flirt5721

I think it depends on the honor society. I know that Delta Sigma Pi (Business) have Big/Littles, wear letters, and have socials. That is the only one that I see.

But I don't see Eta Kappa Nu, Pi Tau Sigma, Phi Eta Sigma, or any other honor societies doing this.

Not to nit-pick, but Delta Sigma Pi is not an honor society. It is a professional fraternity. I am a member (alumna) and we had a lot of social aspects as well as professional ones. Part of the official "purpose" which we had to memorize as pledges includes the phrase to foster "social activity and the association of students for their mutual advancement." Members are expected to be VERY active - unlike an honor society like Golden Key or Phi Kappa Phi which is just an honor - you go to one ceremony, get a pin, and put it on your resume.

The only Delta Sigma Pi letters I remember wearing were on party shirts. We did have big/little brothers, but we didn't do car decals, jerseys, or jackets.

[Blue Skies]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Not to nit-pick, but Delta Sigma Pi is not an honor society. It is a professional fraternity. I am a member (alumna) and we had a lot of social aspects as well as professional ones. Part of the official "purpose" which we had to memorize as pledges includes the phrase to foster "social activity and the association of students for their mutual advancement." Members are expected to be VERY active - unlike an honor society like Golden Key or Phi Kappa Phi which is just an honor - you go to one ceremony, get a pin, and put it on your resume.

The only Delta Sigma Pi letters I remember wearing were on party shirts. We did have big/little brothers, but we didn't do car decals, jerseys, or jackets.

Same here for Phi Kappa Phi. Oh, we had a nice dinner as well. My mom liked it.

When I was living in NYC, between undergraduate and graduate school, my dad's Phi Kappa Phi badge was stolen in a burglary along with his fraternity badge. I called my mom to report this...I was sobbing. He died when I was a kid and I really treasured his badges. She told me that what he would really care about most was my safety. Her words comforted me.

Years later, in graduate school, I was presented with my own Phi Kappa Phi badge. It was identical to my dad's. I felt like dad found a special way to get it back to me.