AFLV

Sh*t Sorority Girls Say

2012-01-25T10:51:00.001-07:00

Yeah, we saw it. The "Sh*t [insert population here] Say" videos are widely popular - and mostly pretty hilarious. What we can't figure out is this: is it funny because it's true or funny because it's shocking? The sad reality is - probably both. Sure, we know that all sorority girls don't wear pink button ups paired with leggings, boots, and pearls. But, we know you know some who do. The things

Man in the Mirror

2012-01-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

This past week has been truly amazing. I wish every person I know could have the same experience at some point in his or her lives. The people I met and the stories I heard have really put a lot of things into perspective for me. Everyone I met had a different story and a different personality, yet we all came together for a common purpose: to create a sense of change through serving. Only

Vamos todos al banquete a la mesa del senor

2012-01-08T10:40:00.002-07:00

Everyone has a place on the table. Well supposedly. Unfortunately in America we compare our place on the table to those immediately around us. In a lucky lifetime though I believe one will venture far from the table to see those who are in the back cooking. Or better yet those who are outside of the house. A couple times I myself have had a privilege of talking with the beggar. However much of

Time

2012-01-06T22:58:00.000-07:00

Each day is the beginning of a new day, a new perspective on life, and a new path that we walk upon. As I took my first few steps into this journey, I was frightened with where those steps were taking me. Having missed my flight on the first day, I was so worried that the path to this trip had completely halted. The thoughts that ran through my mind were worries and negative outlooks. But as I

Living Each Day to the Fullest

2012-01-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

As our last full day draws to a close, a lot of us begin to reflect about our journeys this past week. As I sit here thinking about all of the wonderful experiences, moments, memories, phrases, reflections and even laughs, it is hard to believe that this experience is coming to a close. It’s challenging to summarize the best parts or my favorite moments of this trip, because there have been so

It's the People

2012-01-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

I came into this trip not knowing what to expect. I had preconceived notions that people in poverty are sad and would be happier if they had a couple more material goods. This is not the case at all. One of the biggest surprises for me was how happy all the people are. Not once did I see someone sad or crying. These people don’t want or need material things like so many of us feel we do.

Smiles

2012-01-05T21:13:00.000-07:00

Through all that I have experienced in my life, I have come to realize how important it is to cherish every moment. Coming to El Salvador has helped me to understand this in a way that I didn’t think was possible. While there are several moments and memories that I could reflect on at this point, there are some that I will take with me for the rest of my life. One of our first “adventures” on

Love One Another

2012-01-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

As we enter our last 48 hours in El Salvador, I am overwhelmed by the sadness I feel to leave this country. Though I have been abroad before, this is my first true immersion experience. El Salvador continues to struggle with the issues that were fought against in their Civil War in 1980-1992. It is no surprise to me that I am frustrated beyond belief with this world of poverty that is unfair,

Go big or go home

2012-01-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

At dinner last night, Lynnette introduced the three worksites that were available for us to work at: a really hard one, a medium paced one, and a painting job (put simply, of course). All 39 of us were split evenly between the three places and I thought it would be a great idea to start strong with the really hard one that had no shade, lots of physical labor, and a deformed goat. There was

Geography and History

2012-01-01T21:37:00.000-07:00

Since I know my family is anxiously waiting back home to hear what I’m up to in El Salvador, I thought I’d give a little update and start with a quick geography lesson for my little brothers and sisters (get out your maps, mom and dad!) El Salvador is located in between Guatemala and Honduras and is also bordered by the Pacific Ocean, although the capitol city of San Salvador where are staying is

First Steps on the Journey

2011-12-31T19:56:00.002-07:00

Hello my fellow Greeks, family, and friends! When I decided to participate in this trip, I didn’t know what to expect. As I traveled here today I kept thinking about my daily life and how making the decision to immerse myself in service is just the same as the decision I made three years ago when I became a member of Greek Life. I was completely uncomfortable today because I didn’t know anyone

Welcome to San Salvador!

2011-12-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

Greetings from San Salvador, El Salvador, the site of our fourth AFLV service immersion trip. Students from all over the US and Candada will be arriving in San Salvador this afternoon for a week of service and cultural immersion. We arrived late last night to lay the foundation for the week, and I wanted to share a bit of information about our upcoming work with you! For the rest of the week

When you put the shovel down: Moving from homes to hearts.

2011-12-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

Compassion. It is the one word that can’t leave my mind as I sit here in the hustle and bustle of dinner time surrounded by some amazing individuals. It’s an unspoken word then has been mentioned here and there throughout the trip but nothing will define it more than today. As we prepared mentally and physically to be working outside today in the mud it was the unexpected surprise that would

TTP = Trust the Process!

2011-12-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Today was interesting to say the least. I started out not knowing what the day would bring and ended it learning that sometimes you just need to TTP, “trust the process”. These past few days I’ve come to truths with the fact that I like to over plan things because of the lack of trust I have in what the end result may be. Within my life I’ve learned if you take the lead than you don’t have to

Common Purpose

2011-12-19T20:35:00.000-07:00

Coming into this trip I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Sure, I knew we would be doing something to help with the devastation caused by the tornado with some physical labor, but I had no idea that spending a few days serving the Tuscaloosa community could teach me so much about what it means to be Greek. I have been lucky enough to have attended Pi Kapp College, my

Two Kinds of Tours

2011-12-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

It is officially day two in Alabama and after a night of getting to know each other and recovering from long flights, we woke up refreshed and energized. This is definitely a good thing after the day we had. We met Marie, from the United Saints Recovery Project in the morning and she told us a little bit about what happened on April 27, 2011. After some background knowledge and facts we got into

Trust

2011-12-18T07:32:00.002-07:00

Trust. It’s what happens when twenty-two students who don’t know each other, from different schools, and different chapter organizations find their way to Tuscaloosa, AL for an immersion trip with little insight into the adventure they are about to take. We weren’t really sure where exactly we were staying, or what exactly we were doing for the next week, but we packed our bags and kept our

Tombstone vs. Totino's

2011-12-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

The winter issue of Connections is all about 365 recruitment. As I was editing one of the articles (written by David Stollman, Laurel Peffer, and Tom Healy) this morning, the following statement struck me: " Most chapters don’t actually recruit. They just select." Now, I'm no recruitment expert, but this also isn't my first rodeo. Yet, I've never heard the concept put quite like this. It made me

In the Land of What If...

2011-12-06T09:16:00.000-07:00

Following is an excerpt from the acceptance speech given by Mark Koepsell, AFLV Executive Director, at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors this past Saturday evening. Mark was this year's recipient of the Jack L. Anson Award, one of the Association's highest honors. The Anson Award is presented annually to a well-respected individual not in the field of higher

Spider-Man on Being Thankful

2011-11-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

The phrase, "With great power comes great responsibility" is most often attributed to Peter Parker's (more commonly known as Spider-Man) Uncle Ben. As a series of holidays approach us (Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, the winter solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year, and others) it's that time of year when most take a moment to reflect and find time to be grateful for what we have. As fraternity and

The Price of Bystander Behavior: What We Can Learn from Penn State

2011-11-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

No matter how you feel about the current allegations of perjury and misconduct by leadership in Happy Valley, one thing is clear: You cannot afford to be a bystander, ever. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. We don't care if you're a freshman member of a fraternal organization or one of the winningest coaches of all time. By joining a fraternal organization, you've made an unspoken pact to

Consider Your Costume Themes... and not only on Halloween

2011-10-31T10:50:00.004-06:00

If you go to college, work at a college/university, or know people who fit into either of these groups (that's pretty much everyone who might read this), you've probably seen this poster in circulation. This call to be thoughtful in Halloween costume selection was initially made by a student group at Ohio University called Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS) and it's good. It's

Fraternal Life: Not an Ad Campaign

2011-10-21T11:26:00.003-06:00

I don't think Siri even knows what a fraternity or sorority is. I find this hard to believe since she knows everything - including how much wood a woodchuck would chuck if it could chuck wood. We asked Siri, "what are fraternal values?" and she had nothing. When we asked why she had nothing, she referred us to the Genius Bar folks. We felt snubbed. She couldn't even think of something witty to

#GaperGreeks

2011-10-11T09:30:00.001-06:00

Wolf Creek ski area in Pagosa Springs, Colorado opened this weekend. One of the first ski areas (and THE first in Colorado) in the United States to open this season. Ski and snowboard season has begun, folks. If you ski or ride, we assume you've heard the term 'gaper.' If you don't ski or ride, we think it's safe to assume you've heard of the Urban Dictionary. According to Urban Dictionary, a

Like a Boss

2011-09-27T08:50:00.000-06:00

This year, how about doing everything #likeaboss?Personal: Dean's List #likeaboss Perfect class attendance #likeaboss Eating right and staying in shape #likeaboss Running for and winning elections #likeaboss Healthy relationships #likeaboss Chapter: Winning national awards from headquarters #likeaboss Largest recruitment ever #likeaboss 100% of new members initiated #likeaboss #1 chapter in

Andrew's Story: A Young Alumnus on Hazing

2011-09-21T15:15:00.000-06:00

To further conversations regarding National Hazing Prevention Week, we wanted to explore the complex challenges students face when dealing with fraternal hazing. To do this, we talked with someone who was willing to be honest and open about the very real problem of pre-initiation hazing and ritual degradation that still happens within fraternities and sororities. Luckily, Andrew (we've changed

One Little Thing

2011-09-19T11:04:00.003-06:00

Unless you're under a rock, you know this week is National Hazing Prevention Week. What are you and your chapter doing to recognize this important issue? You've seen last week's Call to Action from the North-American Interfraternity Conference, right? Did you love it? Did you agree with it? Did you re-post/tweet it? Okay, great, but the big question remains: WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY DOING? How will

Recruitment: Don't Forget About the Linemen

2011-09-07T09:02:00.001-06:00

The last two defending Super Bowl champions - the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers - will kick off the 2011 season tomorrow night at Lambeau Field. How's that for starters? Consider the Quarterbacks:Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees might as well be Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. They're some of the best quarterbacks in the league and looking to stay on top for the 2011 season. Rodgers is a

Member Education Should be More Like Steak

2011-09-01T08:28:00.000-06:00

Not the charred, flavorless, 'menu says eight ounces, what's on my plate looks no more than three,' variety you get at your local flair-on-the wall family restaurant. We already have plenty of pledge programs and initiation weeks like that. Like a bad steak, more often than not, our members spit them out. Pushed beyond their limits doing purposeless tasks, members leave, complain, or burn out.

16 Reasons Fraternities and Sororities are Relevant

2011-08-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

By now, you've probably seen the web posting by ZenCollege Life listing 15 Frightening Facts About Fraternities and Sororities. We're upset about it and imagine you are as well. But, for those who just threw up their fists to prepare to fight back, consider this: Yes, these statements are true. And, we're upset because these statements are true - not because someone put them on the internet.

No Recruitment at USC

2011-08-22T10:37:00.004-06:00

After six drinking-related violations - all related to fraternity recruitment - the University of South Carolina has suspended fraternity recruitment indefinitely. We commend the university leadership for not only taking a stand to hold USC fraternity members accountable for their actions, but for also admitting there is a problem - and plainly saying they don't know exactly what to do about it.

Alabama Sorority Rappers... Here's Why We Love Them

2011-08-17T12:29:00.002-06:00

Sorority rapper haters, you missed the mark when it comes to your analysis of the rapping Recruitment Counselors of the Roll Tide. One, they just went viral and got themselves a spot on Anderson Cooper (who, we think you've heard of) for something not involving alcohol or drugs. Two, they just went viral and got themselves a spot on Anderson Cooper (who, again, we think you've heard of) for

LeaderShape Day 7: Think Different.

2011-08-16T10:45:00.000-06:00