Citizenship

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines citizenship as the quality of an individual's response to being a member of a community. 

 If I were to define it i would say that citizenship is the responsibility to be a productive and intelligent member of society.

To be a good citizen you need to fulfill you duties as a citizen. This means you need to take part in government by voting.  To do this efficiently you need to keep yourself up to date on the matters at hand.  If there are multiple people running for an office, then educuate yourself on their stances on certain important issues and find out what their platform is.  You need to always be well involved in what is going on around you.  This doesn't just translate in being active in things like government though. You also should be active in your community.

Note that I said "YOUR community."  You live there and do your daily routine there so you should care about the area that you live.  You should take responsibility for that and take care of your community.  This could be shown in a number of ways.  For example one of these ways could be by taking part in an event that raises money for some sort of organization in your community like a homeless shelter.  Kind of like hmmm..... a philanthropy if you will.  Another way you can take care of your community is by doing community service.  This could be anything from volunteering around your community helping others or picking up trash on the side of the road.

The most important thing is that we need to SET THE EXAMPLE so that other people get involved.  I'm sure all of this reminded you all of something..... oh yes that's right.  Greek Life.  All of our houses talk about how much of an impact we all have on our community through philanthropy and community service activities.  This is not enough.  Yes it's awesome to have all of the greeks get so excited about helping the community but the most important aspect of citizenship, to me at least, is spawning the desire to make a difference in others.  That's what being a citizen is all about. Making an impact on not just the community but getting others excited about making an impact as well

Greek Panel

Last week we had a Greek Panel visit us and have an informal Q & A about Greek Life and their experiences with Greek Life.  Then we were asked to blog about the things that stood out the most about what was said.  For me the first and foremost thing that stood out was when someone said "Just have fun. If you aren't having fun, you aren't doing it right." This stood out to me because it's so true.  I live with 30+ of my closest friends.  When the school work is done, there is always something to do and always someone that is will to do it.  Whether it be playing xbox, going to the gym, attending a social event on campus, or participating in a philanthropy, there is always fun to be had. My college experience has greatly improved since i went Greek which is saying something because I thought college was awesome before I went Greek.

The next thing that stood out to me was when someone said "We have to hold ourselves and our members accountable." This is a very important point to me.  We all have those people in our chapters that work their ass off for the fraternity/sorority, but we also have those members that don't carry their own weight.  Why is it that we can't seem to stand up and call those people out? If we expect the outlook of the Greek community to grow and prosper, if we expect our houses to become the best they can be then we need to make a change in how we respond when someone is acting in a way that is less than pleasing.

The finalpoint that stood out to me was that we need to be excited. One aspect of this was having people in leadership positions that are excited about the position they are in.  I think this is extremely important because if you have someone in a position that isn't excited about it then they aren't going to put all their effort into doing the job well. This then causes a downward spiral because the younger members see that and think that that is the norm and how it should be done.  On the flip side, if you have someone in the position that is passionate about it and wants to do it well then they put their whole heart into it and everything runs smoothly and you set a great example for the younger members of the organization. This then causes the organization to grow and prosper.

It's another wonderful week here at THE Ohio State University and you know what that means. Yup, you guess it. Another blog prompt to write about. So what are we talking about this week you ask? Yeah that's right we are going to discuss oath. What it means, what it represents, and why we make it. So enough of this stuff, let's get down to the nitty-gritty.

OATH

What Does It Mean?

You may be asking yourself, "So what exactly does oath mean?" Well i hit up my good friends from Mirriam-Webster (you know, the dictionary people) and asked them what oath meant. This is what they told me.

1. a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says
2.  a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one's words

So what does that mean? Well I take it to mean that it is something that you swear to a higher power that you are whole-heartedly putting yourself into whatever it may be. It's a promise that you will not back out on your word.

What Does It Represent?

You may say that what the oath represents and what it means are the same thing. I disagree. I feel that your oath represents everything that you stand for. For example, when it comes to Greek Life, you pledge an oath to your fraternity. When you join Greek Life, you aren't going to join a house that you don't get along with the people or that your beliefs completely contradict what they as an organization stand for. You join the house that you best fit in with and that your beliefs best match. Your oath reflects that and that is what it represent. You are saying that you care about the organization and what they stand for and you are going to do everything within your power to help in the growth and expansion of the organization.

Why Do We Make It?

So whats the answer? Why do we make such a huge decision and put such a very important pledge on our involvement in these organizations? It's because we care. We aren't a part of the organization, the organization is a part of us. When someone looks at our organization, they are looking at us. We are selling ourselves. That's why we make these oaths. It's because we believe, deep down in our hearts, that everything our organizations profess to stand for, is exactly what we ourselves as individuals stand for.

What is it that makes Greeks so incongruent? Well let's really think about that for a second.  What is the first thing most people think of when they hear the words Greek Life, fraternity, or sorority?  More often then not they think of alcohol and large quantities of it, huge parties, themed events with extravagant and in most cases provocative attire, and most of all, they instantly think that we do absolutely nothing beneficial except give other college students a venue to drink, a lot of times underage.  But can you really blame them? Granted it's not completely our fault, but can you blame them? A lot of people's only interaction with Greek Life is through movies like Animal House, American Pie: Naked Mile, and American Pie: Beta House. Now we all know that we are more than that but how do you change the public's opinion?


When you really think about it, we don't make life easier on ourselves.  We brag up and down about how we do this philanthropy and we help out the community in this way or that. It's true that most Greek organizations have a philanthropy or community service project that they put on and if they don't ( even if they do) they participate in other Greek's philanthropies.  That is awesome don't get me wrong but that small impact is not much to stand on when you compare it to the negatives that society holds against us.  Yes we do great things for our communities but we also promote underage drinking, binge drinking, cheating, and stealing.


My chapter is just as guilty as anyone elses.  I have seen old tests passed around, I have seen massive amounts of alcohol consumed, and I have even partaken in some of it myself. We talk about being professional and developing young men and women into upstanding citizens of society. You know what society says? YOU GUYS ARE DOING A DAMN GOOD JOB. Let's face it, there is no way to ever change everyone's opinion. I'm not so neive to believe that you can but we aren't doing everything we can to change society's opinions either.  If we continue the way we are we will never be looked at as upstanding organizations that are beneficial for our communities.


Let's recap. We put on TGs which we dress up for and walk around campus and people see us like that. We throw massive parties and invite anyone and everyone to come and drink and get drunk regardless of age. We keep test banks and pass them down through the years. We steal things, mostly from each other due to rivalries but regardless its still theft. 
 BUT
We hold philanthropies on a regular basis. We donate blood to the American Red Cross and food to food banks. We take part in community service all the time. That's all great but it's not enough. If we want people to believe in our organizations the way that we all believe in them, then we need to step up and correct our incongruencies. Until then, we are always going to be viewed the way we are.

Our Mission, Our Goal

Purpose of Delta Theta Sigma:

We, the members of Delta Theta Sigma Fraternity

In order to promote agriculture

to secure a higher degree of scholarship

to foster the spirit of brotherhood in our vocation

and to insure social and cultural unity

do promote our organization to the fulfillment of these ideals

Many greek organizations have some if not all of the same values that they hold above everything else. For my fraternity, we are slightly different. We do hold many of the same values but we are social professional in the field of agriculture.  The majority of our membership is from west campus majoring in animal sciences, ag. business, ag. economic, ag. education, ag. engineering, etc. but that isn't all we are limited to.  We also have guys from multiple engineering backgrounds such as civil, aerospace, biomedical, etc. as well as journalism and biology majors.  I think that is what makes us great.  We may not all have the same background but our organization was built on agriculture, which reflects the roots of The Ohio State University and it's beginnings as an agriculture school under the name of Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, which is what holds all of together.  DTS has a lot of history and we are proud of our deep connection with the agricultural background of the university.

As I said before, we do hold some of the same values as the rest of the greek community.  We hold eight principles as our outline and accept them as our personal goals for self- improvement.  These eight principles are as follows:

• Fellowship and Lifelong Friendships fostered through Brotherhood

• Promoting the Field of Agriculture and Enhancing the prestige of Our Profession

• Develpment and Improvement of our Social Graces

• Excellence in Scholarship

• Moral and Spiritual Development of the Individual

• Appreciation for Cultural Improvement

• Recognition of Accomplishments of members

• An overall "Persuit of Excellence"

As you can see I have highlighted quite a few words.  These are the things that stand out to me that make me live my life the way I do.  These values are ingrained in my being. They are who I am, but more than that, they are ingrained in everyone of my brothers past, present, and those to come. This isn't to say that we are perfect though. I am not so blind as to say that we don't make mistakes or say that we never faulter from our values and mission statement. Some ways that we faulter are:

• failure to fully apply ourselves to the situation at hand
• internal bickering or arguing about one thing or another
• not fully living up to our purpose

But more often then not we are very congruent to our core values.  We hold scholarship and philanthropy to be very important aspect of our lives.  We have been in the top three fraternities in the IFC the past few quarters. Also, if any of our brothers are struggling in a class or with something there is always someone else that is willing to help in any way they can.  As far as philanthropy, last year we started our one philanthropy, Wifflefest, and had a great turn out for the first year of having it.  This year we are having it again and we are very excited to see it grow from last year.  Many of you may have heard about it and should all try to get a team together.  It's a lot of fun and its a great way to give back to society.  Besides its being held on Veteran's Day and we don't have school so what better way to spend your time then playing wiffle ball in a competitive atmosphere while giving back to the community at the same time. 



Doing a Good Turn Daily

Growing up I was very active in a lot of things. I like to be involved and make a difference and the one organization that I was involved in that does that better than anyone is definately the Boy Scouts of America. The BSA started way back in 1910 and is still going strong and still holds true to the values that they have always had. The BSA's goal is to train youth in responsible citizenship, character development, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities, educational programs, and, at older age levels, career-oriented programs in partnership with community organizations. The story of how they the boy scouts got started in the United States is one that still amazes me.

In 1909, a publisher from Chicago by the name of W. D. Boyce was visiting london. One night while walking back to the place he was staying, he found himself lost in the fog. A young boy came up to him and asked if he needed some help and the boy led him back to his destination. When Boyce tried to pay the boy for his help the boy refused explaining that he was a boy scout and was just doing his good turn for the day. Soon after, Boyce met with a General Robert Baden-Powell, who was the chief scout and the founder of scouting in England. Boyce learned the basis for what the boy scouts were based on and four months after returning to the United States, founded the Boy Scouts of America.

For me and my troop, we always recited all of the things that we based ourselves of off. The scout motto, slogan, laws, oath, and outdoor code were the first things we did every meeting along with the pledge of allegiance. Each of these things holds the values of a scout. Below i have them all listed.

The Scout Motto: Be Prepared

The Scout Slogan: Do a Good Turn Daily

The Scout Oath: On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to god and my country, to obey the scout law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

The Scout Laws: A scout is: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent

The Outdoor Code: As an American, I will do my best, to be clean in my outdoor manners, careful with fires, considerate in the outdoors, and to be conservation minded.

These values are what I have based my life on. I believe in the program and I think it is one of the best programs out there for the youth men of our society. I wouldn't have stuck with it all the way until i reach Eagle Scout if I didn't believe in it. I credit the BSA for making me the person I am today.

Values and What They Mean

To me, my values are the most important thing in my life, but being able to express them in words is kinda difficult for me. Like I don't really think about them they are just there and that's how I decide on things. Every decision I have ever made has a reflection on my values. Even taking this class shows that my values in life are important. I was raised to believe that you need to go through life respectfully in regards to others. That is my main focus in life. I'm a smartass and I like to joke around and have a good time and I will poke fun at someone but I don't mean anything by it and if it does hurt someone's feelings then I feel terribly about it.

My family and friends are one thing that I hold more dear to me then anything else in the world though. Without them I don't know where I would be today. I come from a very big family. Both my parents have five brothers and sisters and all but one of them have more than one child of their own. Growing up I was never alone. I always had like at least one of my cousins around me and I think that is why we are all so close today. And growing up through grade school and high school I was one of those people that had lots of friends and would talk to everyone. I knew how it felt to have someone there that cares and you can talk to so I tried to be that person for a lot of people. All of my female friends in high school always thought of me as a big brother and if they ever needed someone to tlk to, I was the go-to guy. Being able to know people and be there for them like that is awesome and you really develop a close bond and understand each other on levels that other people wouldn't understand. I think that's why I joined greek life and especially Delta Theta Sigma. I am so close to every guy in my house and know them well enough that I feel like I have known them so much longer than just college. My friends and family have to be the two things that I value more than anything but i do also value honesty, beliefs, education, and also people that are true to themselves. If you can truly show the real you completely to the world and be goofy or whatever it may be and not care what others think, that is awesome and i value the ability to do that.