Highschool Sororities....

[ms_gwyn]

Originally Posted by bejazd

I belonged to a high school "sorority" in Southern California. We called them "off campus" clubs. My mother belonged to a similar group at North Hollywood HS in the 50's. aside from the social aspect, they were not really sororities. I believe these clubs were off shoots from when the YMCA sponsored activities like dances and pep rallies at high schools in the 50s. I don't know if they exist anymore as I don't live in the area now...the schools generally frowned upon the whole thing as they viewed it the same thing as a gang, and there was no control by the school.

interestingly enough, these clubs were not elitist at all. Friendly rivalry would be a better description. It was the Key Club that was elitist, because it had to sponsored by a teacher, and therefore the membership was limited to 30...at a school with over 3000 students! There was a lot of sucking up involved in getting in the Key Club!

WOW

This sounds like my High School and the Tri-Hi-Y clubs my sister was a founding member of Le Aikanes and I was a member of Lanakila. They were not sororities but sorority-like.

Gwyn

[MTSUGURL]

There are two highschools sororities here that I know of - Delta Beta Sigma and Alpha Delta Kappa. The ADKs used to make their pledges walk around in these gingham aprons and bows... I had heard that they tended to become AOIIs. We didn't have sororities at my highschool, but there was a fraternity - I don't remember what they were called.

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

WOW

This sounds like my High School and the Tri-Hi-Y clubs my sister was a founding member of Le Aikanes and I was a member of Lanakila. They were not sororities but sorority-like.

Gwyn

[/off topic]

How did the ones with the Hawaiian names come to get their names? And WTF is "Le Aikane"? Is it French? Is it Hawaiian? I only ask because the kaona (deeper meaning) of "Aikane" is gay male partner. Na Ali`i? The Chiefs? Laule`a = glad/happy? There was a singing group here called Hui Ohana in the 1970s so it's kinda weird to see it the other way around. And ironically my outrigger paddling club is called Hui Lanakila.

I'm curious to learn more about their foundings, even more so how they became labeled as such. Does Alhambra have a large Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian population or did somebody think that it was just cool to give these clubs a Hawaiian name?

[ms_gwyn]

Originally Posted by OTW

[/off topic]

How did the ones with the Hawaiian names come to get their names? And WTF is "Le Aikane"? Is it French? Is it Hawaiian? I only ask because the kaona (deeper meaning) of "Aikane" is gay male partner. Na Ali`i? The Chiefs? Laule`a = glad/happy? There was a singing group here called Hui Ohana in the 1970s so it's kinda weird to see it the other way around. And ironically my outrigger paddling club is called Hui Lanakila.

I'm curious to learn more about their foundings, even more so how they became labeled as such. Does Alhambra have a large Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian population or did somebody think that it was just cool to give these clubs a Hawaiian name?

OTW

I was always under the impression that Le Aikanes meant Friends...I would ask my sister but we don't talk...we haven't for over 10 years....

The groups were founded in the 50/60s..Cheryl Tiegs was a member of Na Al'ii, my thinking is when there were founded based on Polynesian pop culture that was popular during the time, I know this sounds bad, as a Greek and all, but it has been almost 20 years, since I was out of High School, my memory is very faulty during that time period. A lot of the groups that were on campus when I was there are gone and a few new ones have formed....Most were of Hawaiian themed, except for Les Petites Amies which is French and stands for The Little Friends.

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

OTW

I was always under the impression that Le Aikanes meant Friends...I would ask my sister but we don't talk...we haven't for over 10 years....

The groups were founded in the 50/60s..Cheryl Tiegs was a member of Na Al'ii, my thinking is when there were founded based on Polynesian pop culture that was popular during the time, I know this sounds bad, as a Greek and all, but it has been almost 20 years, since I was out of High School, my memory is very faulty during that time period. A lot of the groups that were on campus when I was there are gone and a few new ones have formed....Most were of Hawaiian themed, except for Les Petites Amies which is French and stands for The Little Friends.

Interesting.

The Hawaiian language can get tricky at times because words have literal and figurative meanings. If you're trying to say "The Friends" it would be more proper to say "Na Hoa" or "Na Hoaloha" instead of "`Aikane" because of the above mentioned deeper meaning. `Ai=Eat; Kane=Man. You get the idea. It can mean friend, but it is very rarely used.

Is the ' in Al`ii intentional? The `okina (glottal stop) belongs between the two i.

Based on what I've heard about Polynesian pop culture in the 50s/60s I can see how lots of people would be quick to jump on the Hawaiian bandwagon. I suppose we can thank Don Ho for that (RIP, Don). The Hawaiian "Renaissance" didn't happen here till the mid-70s and it was then that more and more people were eager to learn the language.

I learn something new everyday!

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

OTW

I was always under the impression that Le Aikanes meant Friends...I would ask my sister but we don't talk...we haven't for over 10 years....

The groups were founded in the 50/60s..Cheryl Tiegs was a member of Na Al'ii, my thinking is when there were founded based on Polynesian pop culture that was popular during the time, I know this sounds bad, as a Greek and all, but it has been almost 20 years, since I was out of High School, my memory is very faulty during that time period. A lot of the groups that were on campus when I was there are gone and a few new ones have formed....Most were of Hawaiian themed, except for Les Petites Amies which is French and stands for The Little Friends.

Ms_Gwyn, you are from Alhambra? One of my sorority sisters went to HS in Alhambra, and was a member of one of these groups (although I can't remember the name). I do remember her saying there was a group for boys called "Le Frat". This was back in the early 90s.

[lillylover3]

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

WOW

This sounds like my High School and the Tri-Hi-Y clubs my sister was a founding member of Le Aikanes and I was a member of Lanakila. They were not sororities but sorority-like.

Gwyn

ahh! i loved tri hi y- i was VP my jr and sr year of highschool. and i was in leaders club[the "elite" of tri hi y-ha such a joke]. my mom was in hi-y[the girls] back in the day and they would do things with tri hi y[the boys]. but if you were asked to be in leaders, there was "hazing" as in: come get you from the football game and blindfold you and do things to spook you but nothing involving crisco or not shaving.....

nowadays, leaders isn't as exclusive but more intense than tri-hi-y[it combined in the 80's] but it's all run by the YMCA so it would never get out of hand to begin with.

but on another note, i think mobile is the last in AL to really have a strong sorority/fraternity system. in birmingham and montgomery they just have dances[montg: the assembly, camellia ball-girls, the squires-boys, MCC, cotillion] which were pretty much feeders into the debutante balls for college!!

[libelle]

Originally Posted by lillylover3

but on another note, i think mobile is the last in AL to really have a strong sorority/fraternity system. in birmingham and montgomery they just have dances[montg: the assembly, camellia ball-girls, the squires-boys, MCC, cotillion] which were pretty much feeders into the debutante balls for college!!

Yes, high school sororities and fraternities are still strong in the Mobile area. And yes, there is a natural progression from certain hs groups to certain NPC groups to the Camellia ball to the Jr League, etc. The Jr League, however, is more diverse than the sororities these days. Pledges of 'the' sorority are called 'rats' and have a list of rules that no NPC group could have.

It is a different world from Long Island where I live now.