Fraternity History & More

Every time I hear sorority women mention the newest members as “babies,” I cringe. The women who have just made commitments to be members of a National Panhellenic Conference organization are anything but babies. The young women have graduated from high school, have applied and been accepted to colleges, and have done a tremendous amount of curricular activities, volunteer hours, and studying to get there. Unfortunately, some of these highly accomplished young women, once they accept sorority bids, will be known as “babies” until they become full-fledged initiated members.

How did this happen? Until the late 1990s, the women who made a commitment to join an NPC organization were known as “pledges.” At that time, the approach of a new century, the effort was made to change the terminology associated with women who wanted to join the NPC organizations. “Rush” became “Recruitment.” “Rushee” became “Potential New Member” or “PNM.” “Pledge” became “New Member.” 

It appears that some chapters did not enjoy the term “New Member” and chose to substitute something else, with something that defined the relationship with a little more emphasis on status, or lack thereof. Babies are the most helpless among us and need assistance for all their daily needs. They’re usually cute and irresistible, but I don’t think the term’s usage in this instance came from that quality.

We, collectively, are shooting ourselves in the foot by calling the women who want to become duly initiated members of our organizations “babies” or any derivative, i.e., “baby upsilons, “baby omegas,” “baby psis.”  I doubt anyone would call any of their organization’s founders a “baby,” least of all to her face, as is being done to some of the women who will follow in those founders’ footsteps.

The women who are wearing the new member pins of  the NPC organizations are planning to trade it in for an official badge. We need to help them become members who will value the history of the organization, who will reflect credit upon it, and who will support it with their time, talents, and treasure for the rest of their lives. Our collective futures depend on it.

Theta Phi Alpha Founders

Alpha Gamma Delta Founders

Gamma Phi Beta Founders

Sigma Kappa Founders

(Sarah) Ida Shaw Martin, Delta Delta Delta Founder

Kappa Alpha Theta Founders

Delta Phi Epsilon Founders

Sigma Delta Tau Founders and Ritualist

Four members of the Holt House Committee along with the painting of the 12 Founders of Pi Beta Phi.

Phi Sigma Sigma Founders

The pictures are the ones I could easily find in my media library. I am in no way singling these organizations out. I am merely suggesting that unless our members want to refer to these founders as “babies” then no women who join the organizations today should be referred to as babies.

“Did they get all their facts right Fran?” a friend asked on my Facebook page. She was referencing one of the posts ranking sororities – best, prestigious, most sought after – the adjectives don’t matter. The posts appear on a regular basis. My response, since I was typing on a phone and not a keyboard, was short and to the point:

I refuse to read this kind of drivel. Almost every member of each group firmly believes that hers is the best. And that is the way it should be. The experience one will have in any of the groups is almost exactly the same. After all we believe and care about the same basic values. No one should be made to feel she is a member of a less prestigious group. It serves no purpose and we collectively shoot ourselves in the foot when we encourage these sorts of comparisons. Rant over.

An Alpha Delta Pi friend chimed in:

I despise these things – we are all equal in that we have strong chapters, weak chapters, giant houses, tiny lodges, chapters living in residence halls, great philanthropic projects and #AmazingSororityWomen among all organizations. #QuitRankingUs #EmpowerEachOther When we come together there’s no stopping us!

An Alpha Gamma Delta friend added:

I did read the drivel. (It’s not called click-bait for nothing!) As usual there is incorrect information and a reference to ‘alumni.’

I often say that the affection I feel for Pi Phi is akin to that which I feel for my children. The affection I have for the other NPC groups is very much like what I have for my nieces. They are family and I would go to bat for any of them. After all, who understands us better than each other? The power of 26 is so much greater than the power of one. Alone we can do great things, but together we can do so much more. Let’s not divide ourselves over these nonsensical, manufactured rankings. 

As thousands of women begin the recruitment season, let us hope they all find a chapter they will love, cherish and work for its betterment. We will all benefit for it. When a woman drops out of recruitment or is heartbroken at the way it turns out, we all suffer for it. We, the sorority women of the world, need to help potential members and new members realize that the experience a woman will have in any of the 26 NPC groups will be more alike than different. Moreover, the most determining factor in the equation is the woman herself. Being a member of a sorority is much like anything else. The more that one puts into it, the more one will get out of it.

My friend Jane is an amazing woman. She is creative, loyal, fun to be around, thoughtful, and I could go on and on, but she is humble beyond belief, so I will stop there. Jane’s blog, 2Cool4School, is delightful. Her 26-year-old son has autism and is non-verbal. Jane’s blog is about the learning at home program she created and continues to create. I’ve learned so much from reading her blog posts. Here is Jane’s response to a question about her program:

1) Do you really do this study thing EVERY night? Yes! 
     –  If my son didn’t like what we are doing, he would firmly escort me out of the room, and that would be the end of that. 
     –  My son’s daytime regimented agenda keeps him content and occupied, but offers no intellectual growth.  I am not sure I could be okay with this.  I want him to have an opportunity for intellectual growth EVERY DAY.

She recently celebrated her 100th post. Please take a look at her wonderful work. (P.S. Jane is a Pi Phi.)

https://janescoolschool.com/2017/07/10/we-are-too-cool-for-school/

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I stumbled on this video the other day and it touched my heart. It’s about the Zeta Eta Chapter of Sigma Chi at Texas A&M University – Commerce, but it could be about hundreds of other chapters. Founders never ever make it to the Centennial. Therefore, it is extra special to have them at the 50th anniversary and to have their reflections and recollections preserved for prosperity.

Yesterday, I drove from southern Illinois to the middle of Iowa. I passed the towns that make up the early history of Pi Beta Phi and P.E.O, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Oskaloosa, Pella, Indianola, and many more. Every now and then I’d be tempted to exit and drive through another town, but I had an appointment set up so I knew I didn’t have the time.

A few months ago, a Pi Phi who is also a P.E.O. contacted me about a 90-year-old Pi Phi and P.E.O. double sister who had some items which might be better suited in the Pi Phi archives. I knew I’d be making the trip to Des Moines in late July and it just seemed easier to see the items in person. The three of us had a lovely visit and I will be dropping a box of items at the Pi Phi archives on my way home.

As I put the box in the back seat, it reminded me that here are items out there that will likely end up meeting an unfortunate end. They will disappear unless someone sees their value and makes arrangements to donate them where they will serve a purpose, tell a story, and show the young men and women who join GLOs today that the world was a different place 50, 75, and 100 years ago. These items from the past can help teach the newest members that the organization does not revolve around them, that they are but one little link in a very long chain of members, that it is their duty and responsibility to leave the organization a bit better than they found it. That under no circumstances are they to sully the name of the organization or have a hand in its demise.

This thought always goes through my mind when I pass Lorado Taft’s Alma Mater statue on the University of Illinois campus. The inscription on the statue reads “To thy happy children of the future those of the past send greetings.”  Sometimes those greetings are conveyed through the items given a safe home to be used and studied.