How much are you expected to know about your founders?

[adpiucf]

We learned the founders' full names, current grand council and other local international officersl, and the name of our chapter's founding president for our international exam. Per our international chapter operations book, All collegiate ADPi's take this exam yearly prior to officer elections to remain in good standing with the sorority.

We are moving to a new system. The exam will still be given yearly, but new members will receive a modified version that is part online/multiple choice and part written (local history, etc)

ETA: Through the course of new member education, we talk about the time period we were founded in and discuss the lives of the founders. However, members are not expected to memorize the biographies of the founders. We focus instead on the founders' legacy, which is the modern day sorority, its basic history, terms, symbols and officer hierarchy/governing and geographic structure.

[polarpi]

At least when I took the test, we had to know the full names (first, maiden, married) of our 6 founders, and the full names (first, maiden, married) of our International Officers. For our chapter history, we just needed to know the number of sisters who chartered the chapter rather than their full names and the different organizations we were affiliated with.

I will never forget some of the ways we remembered our founders names:
EPT test (Ella Pierce Turner)
OAR: Octavia Andrew Rush
I think there were a few more, but it's been a while for me to remember our little "memory tricks".

[AlethiaSi]

we have a written history that has 5 paragraphs that we have to memorize and know by heart but we aren't formally tested on it though- but its a requirement for initiation- but we had 35 charter members- and we don't have to knwo their names- i wish we did though- we have this amazing picture taken before our house was built (on the property) with the 35 founders and dr. degroat who helped finance and build our house- its a really cool picture

[swissmiss04]

We had to know full names (including maiden), why they founded the fraternity and then we had to know how our particular chapter was founded. We didn't need to know names for that, though I did know 2 of our chapter's founders. Kind of cool.

[TheEpitome1920]

I heard that requiring aspirants to take tests for membership is considered hazing.

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by TheEpitome1920
I heard that requiring aspirants to take tests for membership is considered hazing.

I think that's just if the test is absolutely ridiculous (like what was the founder's mom's maiden name and also her second favorite color) - I'm pretty confident most of the fraternity guys at my school could pass our history test after about 10 minutes of cramming, it's very basic info about us.

[AEPhiSierra]

In our chapter the new members have to know the 7 National founders maiden and married name, the national council (maiden and married names) and the 17 founding sisters of the re-chartered chapter (maiden and married names).

I am sure people may think the 17 founding sisters is a bit excessive but since we are a commuter school and the re-chartered chapter is only 12 years old it is quite easy to run into a sister around the neighborhood and it would be really embarrasing if you don't recognize names of the chapter founders if you run into them.

[OleMissGlitter]

We learned our four founders names, where they were from, and what they did for AOII and their community and some of their educational background. My NME educator (was called a pledge trainer back in my day in 1996), made us little fact sheets with pictures of our founders and some other group pictures of them. Our NME education books are also very informative. I've also read up on our founders and some of our early fraternity leaders from our AOII History book. I find it fascinating and I remember being so excited to learn that one of AOII's founders was from New Orleans (just like me) and that our second chapter, Pi, was founded at Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans.

I think all NMs should learn about their founders, regardless of how many founders they have. In order to understand your organization and to carry out its ideals you have to know your founders and why they came together. Anyway, that's just my 2 cents.

[shadokat]

I know our new members could use their new member materials when taking the exam, like an open book test. We had to know our five national founders, dates, etc., and our chapter required us to know the local chapter founders, what they were before they were D Phi E, and all the local dates of importance. Now, it's not NEARLY that much.

Originally posted by TheEpitome1920
I heard that requiring aspirants to take tests for membership is considered hazing.

[AlphaFrog]

Founders-first, maiden, married
And then i guess you could count Wilma Wilson Sharp, "founder" (writer) of the creed....
And the restructurization info, I guess you could count that as "Founding stuff"

[steelepike]

Wow, did i have to learn a lot,

Maybe it was just a part of the process and they really didn't expect us to know everything but we were asked questions about:

1 degrees earned and from where
2 all schools attended
3 how they died(mainly for the two who collapsed suddenly without warning)
4 wife's names and how many children they had(especially for the one who actually had a legacy
5 books one of them published
6 careers
7 birthday and date of death
8 who did what during the founding
9 rooms they lived in during college


just a few of the things we were required to know

about chapter founders mainly who was what during the first year of being chartered, who was president, first initiate, thousandth initiate of the chapter the 100000 of the whole fraternity stuff like that.

[Glitter650]

We learn first, maiden and married names of the 10 founders. They have little bios on them on line and in the reflections book, but we don't have to know that !