Contributions

Contributions!

I believe that since I am in my field site as a member that I can give a lot back to my community and my school. For example, I do seven hours of community service a semester and I would love to do more (wish I had a car to get out and do more!) I can let our class know more about rush and what being in a sorority is like and all of the philanthropies that each sorority on campus is raising money for so that they themselves can go and support Greek life without being Greek. For my education, I can get scholarships for being in Chi Omega so that helps me have an incentive to work harder. Not to mention with my GPA I am entitled to do one study table hour a week so it gives me a chance to go to the library and study without so many distractions that one would have in their rooms. Also, since I have a high GPA that gives me more of an advantage because if you are below the requirement then you are on social and academic probation which means if you don't get your grades up you can't attend any social events that are put on by the sorority and have to do more study table hours than usual. By being able to let everyone know these details, I am contributing to voicing our cause and to let others know what they can do to help not only Greeks but things in the community. 

Sorority Survey! -- Please take =]

http://FreeOnlineSurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=kdzx1d2si0a4spv550099

Initial Impressions - Groundwork In Class Activity

When I first stepped into my subculture, I cannot even begin to tell you how I nervous I was. Anyone who tells you that going into recruitment is easy and carefree and nothing to be nervous about, has no idea what they're talking about. I mean, you shouldn't be nervous in a sense that something will happen to you or that someone's going to be mean to you, etc. I was so nervous because first in recruitment, you start out traveling to eleven different sororities on campus, talking to girls from each one. Then you vote and it goes down to six. Then down to three. Then to Bid Day where you get only one! It's so nervewracking because you don't know if the ones you love will ask you back or not. My first impressions were obviously proven that I was nervous, scared, and yet so excited to go through this new experience. It's weird, feeling such an array of feelings at once, but I know everyone knows exactly what I'm talking about. 

When I first was accepted into Chi Omega, I only knew four or five girls that I talked to during recruitment that I really liked. Therefore, when I was put into a room with 19 other new girls and 50 of my new sisters, I felt completely awkward and overwhelmed. Yeah I had seen these girls during recruitment but to be completely honest, if I hadn't talked to them they had simply become a blur. I remember asking myself, what in the world am I getting myself into? I don't look like these girls. Some of these girls are drop dead gorgeous, I'm not one of them. However, I believe that everyone feels these feelings when they are first introduced to a group. Everything at first is so so so overwhelming. You're unsure of where to start, who to talk to first, how on earth you're going to remember everyone's names, etc. 

At first, I knew that I was an outsider because it's hard to become an insider right away when you are accepted into a group. For starters, new members are different than initiated members and initiated members can do more than new members can. For example, new members cannot attend formal chapter until they are initiated. Also, new girls cannot hold executive positions obviously until they are initiated. This puts new members out of two categories, being an official sister and on an executive committee. Also, Chi Omega's here at BSU are just one chapter of the many chapters all around the world. If we were to go to other chapters we would be accepted because we are all sisters, however we would be outsiders at first because we wouldn't know the girls and be in the relationships they have formed over the years. 

Annotated Bibliography - Week 6

Archie, Tim, and Jeff Jacobs. “Investigating Sense of Community in First Year College Students.” Journal of Experiential Education 30 (2008): 282-285.

This article is about the sense of community that is found in first year college student. The article explain a lot about how when a student decides to join campus organizations like sororities and fraternities they feel much more at home than they had previously. Studies prove that the more involved the students become the more likely they are to return to that university the following year.

I think this article will help me out a lot because in my mini ethnography I want to talk a lot about how being in my sisterhood has helped me to stay at Ball State University. With the help of this article it is easy to see that involvement not only made me want to return to this school but many other freshmen around the country. Also, it gives sororities and fraternities a good name and reputation, rather than the negative energy that they are usually given.

 

Chi Omega. 17 February 2009.

This website is full of information I can use all over my paper. It has quick facts about Chi Omega and pretty much explains everything we as an entire chapter do. For example, it states our philanthropy, our founders, what other Chi Omega’s around the country are doing, etc. By having this website, I’ll be able to give facts about Chi Omega’s everywhere.

I think and know this website will help me out tremendously because it has so much information about my sorority. By having all of it out in front of me and seeing exactly everything Chi Omega stands for on our own professional site will give me much more insight into exactly what my subculture means.

Box 18 Assignment

Chi Omega Suite

As a sister walking into the suite of Chi Omega, there's a lot that I see. My eyes fall upon the countless numbers of Chi Omega letters and our mascot, the owl, adorned in random sections of the room. Also, all of our bid day pictures, of each new class after the new girls find out the news and join their sorority. Our suite, is a place where Chi Omega is truly flourishing and it can be seen that our sorority to us, is where we're meant to be. I don't find many contradictions in this because this is what I expect as a sister. I expect to feel at home in our suite, in our place where we come up with our ideas, where most of our meetings are held, etc. This place, was the first place I got to meet all of my sisters. This place holds no contradictions for me, only memories and everything falls into place in my mind with our suite just as it should. Everything should be, as it is, in place. Pictures on the walls, owls on the walls, our letters are all around, everything is perfectly placed. 

In Class Writing - Culture Shock

Dressed in blue cotton scrubs and brand new tennis shoes, I felt as if I had stepped into an inferno. I looked down to my right, there were big, brown double doors, and down to my right, a long hallway, filled with different doors which led to different rooms and a large, circular desk at the end. Seeing that the large circular desk seemed more promising, I heavily and nervously walked that way. With each step I took, I swore that the desks appeared to be farther away. The nasty, bright shining lights of the hallway were like lights in the movie "The Shining", just totally creepy and peering down on me. Sweat beating down my brow, I nervously would wipe it away as I got closer to the woman and man sitting behind the desk, peering at me, watching me, making their impressions of me, their new intern. 

My first day working in the burn unit was quite a culture shock for me. It's not really your average idea of a culture shock, but it definitely was. Not only is about a 103 degrees in there at all times because of the patients needing warmth for survival, but working in a hospital is a whole brand new experience. My senior year I was given the privilege (after many interview processes) to join an internship program where you interned in six different sections of a hospital. Since I was very intrigued by the burn unit and reconstructive surgery at this point in time, I was very excited to go. It wasn't very creepy or anything, but like my description, that's how everything felt at first. Going into a brand new place, not knowing what to expect, the nervousness you feel with sweat dripping down your face.. are all feelings that I without a doubt felt at first. I am still utterly at dismay and so thankful and gracious for the Burn Unit, not only for letting me shadow there but their amazing work and all the things that they can do. Working in a hospital let me know that's exactly what I want to do and that even though it was quite the shocker at first, I knew it was where I was destined to be. 

Week 5 - Posting 5

As far as the mini-ethnography goes, I've been taking a lot of mental notes and writing things down to make sure I always stay on topic to get everything done for this assignment. I know I need to do some more interviews of the girls, like my president, our secretary, people of that nature. However, spending more time in my subculture won't be very difficult and I'm not worried about that. For example, I have meetings for my sorority at least three times a week and I have access to the suite whenever necessary if I want to participate in digging deeper and taking distinct notes on what it feels like to be in the suite. Also, there are many philanthropies coming up so I'm going to attend in some of those and hopefully become more involved in my sorority so that I can write more and learn more for my paper. As questions for you are concerned, when are our meetings with you? I don't really have any questions, just would like to see how I'm doing in your class so far this semester and what I'm doing well on or could improve in.

recalling sense of place - more poetically.

Gorgeous sunlight shines through my blinds, a sense of warmth and comfort is brought with the sun rays, inviting me into my quaint bedroom. With every step I take, I walk further into my place of comfort, my abyss, my getaway, my place. I walk closer to the window and the light shines on my face, glistening and bright, I open the blinds more to let the light in. Falling into more comfort, I lay in my fluffy bed, feeling as if I'm laying on a cloud, floating up in the air, riding above and looking down at the world below. I gently close my eyes and forget about the world around me as I curl up in my comforter and sheets, forming into a ball and letting my dreams lead me away from reality.

http://www.totaltravel.com.au/photos/villa-lago/bedroom-large.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1424/534939331_aee7d89073.jpg?v=0

http://images.elfwood.com/art/m/e/melaneyelia/dreaming_my_dreams_with_you.jpg.rZd.131012.jpg

box 15 - recalling a sense of place

Comfy, cozy, and dark... I fall into a safe, comfortable haven of luscious pillows and a fluffy comforter. Whilst I'm in my bed, I can think about everything that's happened that day and curl up in each little crevice spot I've formed sleeping in it over the years. Smells of my shampoo flood over my pillows, creating a sense of safety and self. I've spent so many of my nights here, curled in my brown and turquoise flowered pattern comforter, silently closing my eyes and entering a world full of dreams and discoveries I've yet to unfold.

In my bed, looking up at my lofted ceilings, I can think, dream, and remember anything I'd like to or even not like to have remembered. The brown walls in my room surround it and make it darker at night for me to fall into a deeper slumber. My dreams lift so high, out of my sleepy head, over the ceilings of my room, and into the world for me to find and reach for. There's no place like my bed to fall into.. no place like that safest place, the one you run to, laugh in, cry in, talk on the phone for hours in, place. There's no place like that except my bed for me.

In Class Writing - Dog Town

I believe that this movie is both an ethnographic study and a work of entertainment because they are both discovering the entire skateboarding scene, however, it’s interesting to watch and it’s necessarily just a documentary.. you get into the lives of the skateboarders and into their stories – therefore, a good source of entertainment. The interview subjects in this film are obvious, the skateboarders; they’re important because they can talk about their subculture perfectly because they are a part of it. They move the story along very well because it’s about their lives and they can really tell it how it is and how they feel about the skateboarding scene. In this movie they had so many attitudes, beliefs, rituals, etc that I found very interesting for their subculture which helps develop it. Some of the things include, believing in freedom out to have a good time, using the moves of their favorite surfers to our skateboards, and their devotion to style – always went big! One of their rituals and beliefs that style was everything, if someone had a bad style they were messing up their scene. Artifacts include skateboards, surfboards, their surf shop, where they skated, etc.

I like the structure of the piece a lot. It goes from surfing to skateboarding, which is an interesting tie because skateboarding and surfing are both sports of agility and balance. I found it interesting that these skateboarders were all about surfing and then found a new sport to enjoy.

I didn’t really hold any stereotypes about skateboarders because in high school, my best guy friend was friends with a lot of them so we would always go to this guy’s apartment downtown, which was down the street from the local skate park and hang out. I mean, people assume that skateboarders are big drug addicts and into graffiti and causing a scene, and some of these hold true for the guys I met, however, how many people are out there partying having a good time? Not just skateboarders!

Maybe it’s just me, but I always believe people when they tell me stories.. therefore, I believe the truth in the story of the skateboarders in this movie. When the Pacific Ocean Park was shut down and ruined, it hit me emotionally because they once traveled there so many times to have fun and then all of the sudden it was ruined. “Everything that was wonderful and fantastic was put to death in this decrepit way…” really hits me because I would be so upset if somewhere I loved to go and had so many memories in was torn to pieces, I’d be devastated. I really like in the movie how they compared the surfers to the skateboarders and how the surfing helped them become skateboarders, because the two really are very closely related except for the fact that one’s on water and one on land. 

Posting 4

Observing sororities at different campuses can be quite tricky, knowing that even though the sorority has the same name, it's not totally factual that the members or the ideals of the girls as a whole are the same from campus to campus. For example, I can only imagine how different the Chi Omega's here are compared to the Chi Omega's at IU or Purdue. However, they may be similar. One would only really know if they went into the subculture and viewed it themselves. I imagine that although it's the same name, each group is different. Just like baseball teams practice different, yet the sport of baseball stays the same. Maybe that's a silly analogy but it makes sense to me. I feel like Chi Omega here at Ball State right now is the way it is because of the executive boards and the girls before us. With their help, they've paved the way for great Chi Omega members to flourish and grow. Since I've began my subculture assignment, the general assumptions I've made are the importance of sisterhood and scholarship. I believe however though that sisterhood and scholarship are important to all Chi Omega's around the country (not only because it's in our by laws) but because, grades come first and sisters help you in all sorts of situations. 

Privileges!

A few privileges I have:

*To have grown up in an amazing, caring, loving family.

*To go to college and receive all the opportunities I have been given at school.

*Grow up in a safe, beautiful environment

*To live in the United States of America, where there is so much freedom given to me by men who fought for me.

*To have a strong belief in my faith & my God

*Learning to always be myself and comfortable in my own skin

*The opportunity to have fallen in love & learn from it

*Getting good grades

*Met amazing friends to whom I can have complete trust in

I don't think that these things really affect my research too much except for the fact that all of these things make me a more confident, me. By being confident in myself, I can feel comfortable talking about this subculture and digging deeper into what has recently become very important to me - my sorority. Since my family has given me the opportunity to attend an University, I have been given the privilege of even being able to join this subculture. Also, by going out there and trying new things with new friends I have met, I have been successful in the transitions that this new life in college has brought me.