GSS/APO members

[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...)