New Local at Marietta College needs input

[MariettaPhiMA]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Another idea -- "Wandering Greek" or "Homeless Greek" organizations used to be common on many college campuses. (I seem to remember there were some other names as well, but I can't remember what they might have been.) They were for transfer students who were members of fraternities or sororities not represented on their new campus. They typically participated in Greek Week and other activities just as if they were a fraternity or sorority chapter. Often, they had a rep on Panhell or IFC. It was a way for transfer students to participate in Greek life without having to "replace" the groups into which they had been initiated. I can remember yearbook pages for such organizations where there was a list of all the fraternities represented in the Wandering Greeks.

Might your school be open to something like this?

MysticCat-That's a great idea. Perhaps that is a better direction for us to go. I think there may have been something similar to that once. Back in the 1870's yearbooks there was a group that was of non-Greeks. This of course is an odd concept and I believe they did eventually affiliate with a national fraternity. In fact, this is the same way that OXO was created...originally as an anti-Greek group.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by MariettaPhiMA

MysticCat-That's a great idea. Perhaps that is a better direction for us to go. I think there may have been something similar to that once. Back in the 1870's yearbooks there was a group that was of non-Greeks.

Okay, I've done some looking around for Wandering Greeks, Homeless Greeks and Stray Greeks. (The latter was the other term I was looking for, and it seems to have been the most common.) Google was hlepful and did turn up this GC thread.

From what I can tell, Stray Greek groups were fairly common in the 40s, 50s and early 60s at large universities where transfers were common. They seemed to have functioned differently at different schools. At some schools they were co-ed, while at others (most?) they were not. At some schools, they were more or less just another club, while at other schools they had a seat on Panhellenic/IFC and were treated pretty much like a chapter of an NIC or NPC group, participating pretty fully in Greek life. (Check out this page and this page from old University of North Carolina yearbooks.) The one consistent trait was that all members had to be transfer students who had been initiated into a fraternity or sorority that did not have a chapter at the school.

So, it seems like if this is the route you want to take, there is a lot of flexibility to try and work out something that you, the school and IFC are comfortable with.

One thing that does occur to me (the thoughts I have while walking the dog) is that you could combine the idea of a Stray Greeks group and a local fraternity, especially if your school would be more comfortable with a local. You could create a local fraternity, but make a condition of membership that one has already been initiated into a fraternity that does not have a chapter at your school. You could design the whole thing so that whatever ritual you have does not "compete with" the pledges that members have already made but honors and seeks to support them. Likewise with symbols -- nothing that competes with existing symbols.

Perhaps instead of secret ritual, you'd want an open ritual that encourages members to cherish and honor the bonds in their own fraternities while creating new bonds with other "Stray Greeks." Having the ritual open would show that you're not trying to compete with or replace the rituals that members have already experienced. Maybe this is the group that really should use the motto, "No matter the letter, we're all Greek together." (And Google isn't showing any fraternities named Alpha Gamma Tau. It wouldn't stand for anything Greek, but AGT -- "All Greek Together" -- could make a good name.)

With a little creativity, I can see some interesting possibilities.

[pshsx1]

Well how would you know what pledges the members of other fraternities and sororities have made? That'd cause you to change the ritual every time a new person joins. And with so many fraternities and sororities, it will probably be impossible not to unintentionally borrow something that another greek org employs.

[GammaPhi88]

Originally Posted by pshsx1

Well how would you know what pledges the members of other fraternities and sororities have made? That'd cause you to change the ritual every time a new person joins. And with so many fraternities and sororities, it will probably be impossible not to unintentionally borrow something that another greek org employs.

I'm sorry, but do you really think said transfer greek in question would admit that this new group had stumbled on some of the contents of his pledge? I really doubt that during the creation/teaching/recitation of a pledge, the transfer greek would say, "Heyyy! We can't pledge to love one another in appreciation and reverence to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Thats what Gamma Phi Beta does in their initiation ritual!"

(Obviously, thats not Gamma Phi's ritualistic beliefs, but you get my point.)

[pshsx1]

hah I just thought of the transexual turtle from a Christmas ornament thread..

Anyway, no, I'm not saying that someone in the middle of the ritual will be like OMG HEY, ZETA OMEGA NU DOES THAT. But if you're creating a ritual and you have set as a goal not to use anyone else's symbols and whatnots, you'll have a lot of trouble.
I may have just contradicted what I said before.. if so, let's go with what I'm saying here.
You'd be better off, if you're to create a ritual, just doing what you think fits best for your organization.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by pshsx1

Well how would you know what pledges the members of other fraternities and sororities have made? That'd cause you to change the ritual every time a new person joins.

Of course not. I didn't mean it any more literally than I said it -- encouraging members to honor the pledges that they have made: "We expect you to honor the pledges and commitments you have made to ____ Fraternity," not "We expect you to honor the pledges and commitments you have made to appreciate and revere the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."

As far as copying symbols, there are actually plenty of symbols that aren't associated with any national fraternity (especially when you take into account how many fraternities share some of the same symbols). Unless, of course, you're talking about esoteric symbols, and then yeah, no one else would know.

[pshsx1]

kay. All is good.