Strengths/Weaknesses of Pi Delta Psi, MCGC, and our Greek Community

MY FRATERNITY...

I am a proud member of Pi Delta Psi Fraternity. Pi Delta Psi is unique in that it is the only Asian interest cultural fraternity in all of Ohio. I think one of the best things about being in Pi Delta Psi, at least for me, is that it has made me more knowledgeable about Asian culture, particularly Chinese culture. Before I joined Pi Delta Psi, I was pretty much white-washed. All my friends were white. I never listened to any Asian music, never saw any Asian movies. About the only thing that was Asian about me was that I still liked Asian food more than American food. If you wanted me to name something about Asian culture all I could think of was Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Joining Pi Delta Psi was basically like doing a 180 for me. For the first time in my life I hung out with more Asians than white people. I still kept my white friends, but it was kind of cool to hang out with this new group of people because I could connect with them on another level. I could relate to them in new ways such as the stereotypes that they have to deal with being an Asian American. All of the sudden I started listening to Asian music like Jay Chou and Wang Leehom to name a couple. I started watching Korean dramas, which I didn't even know existed. Best of all I found on bubble tea which tastes even better than icecream. I'm really glad Pi Delta Psi was able to help me become more immersed in Asian culture. I've always been proud to be Chinese, but I feel really ashamed that before college I knew so little about its culture.

Aside from the cultural side of Pi Delta Psi, I think the other strength it has over other fraternities is that it is small. As of right now, we only have nine active members in Pi Delta Psi, and pretty much all of us live under the same roof. I think our small numbers makes us a lot closer than most other fraternities, and I really like that. We are alway hanging out with each other, and all of us know about whats going on in the fraternity and with each member. We help each other out, and when a brother needs help, we are always there for them. I joined Pi Delta Psi for brotherhood, those lifelong friendships that you can always count on wherever you go, and I've gotten exactly that. I might not hang out with all the brothers the most, but you can bet that I trust them more than anyone else except for my parents.

Although our fraternity's small size is one of its greatest strengths, I also think that it's one of Pi Delta Psi's greatest weaknesses. When I tell people that I'm a brother of Pi Delta Psi, they're like what fraternity is that? Even people in other fraternities and sororities don't know about us, and I think that is a big problem. Although I like the small size of our fraternity, I think that it we definitely need to get our name out there. That is what I like so much about our class and MCGC is that they give us a medium through which we can learn and get to know the other fratenities and sororities on campus. Last year, our fraternity barely participated in any events in Greek week, and I think this is a big problem that needs to start changing for the better. I hope that in the next 5-10 years Pi Delta Psi will be able to host events with chapters from IFC, PHA, and NPHC.

MY COUNCIL......

MCGC has only been on the OSU scene for five years, and I would say that in those five years it has barely made a splash. While this does disappoint me, I feel that this gives MCGC a lot more room to grow than any of the other councils. Being on the E-board, I am especially excited because I get the chance to set MCGC in the right direction. I have been watching MCGC ever since I was a freshman (I'm now a junior), and this is the first time that I have seen such a dedicated E-board. I can already tell that this is going to be a good year because of the amount of time that every E-board member is willing to put into MCGC. Before this year, MCGC was really weak. None of the chapters cared about MCGC, only fufilling the minimum requirements to maintain chapter status in MCGC. The E-board was discordant, and nothing got done. As an E-board we already have goals set up of what we want to accomplish this year such as a retreat, fundraisers, etc. , and I see big things happening for us.

As I have said before, one of MCGC's biggest weaknesses is everybody is only putting in the minimum effort to survive. In short, there is no interest in the council. This is definitely the first problem that we need to tackle because nothing can be done if people are not willing to put the time and effort into it. Already I can see this lack of interest. Only one delegate shows up from each chapter, sometimes none. Chapters are late in paying dues not only from this quarter, but also from last quarter. These things will definitely not fly this year. Our biggest goal for MCGC this year is to bring back interest in the council from all chapters. This will not only make the council stronger, but it will help the chapters become closer to each other. The other weakness of MCGC is that our council is not very close with the other councils. We don't really co-host any events with the chapters in other councils. This class is the most interaction I've had with members from other fraternities outside MCGC. This is definitely a problem I wish to fix, but I feel that it comes second to strengthening our council.

MY COMMUNITY..........

The fraternal community at OSU is huge compared to most campuses. While some campuses have less than ten fraternities and sororities in total, I'm sure we probably have around 50. One of our biggest goals right now is changing the fraternal image. Changing it from the "bro and sorority girl, I love to party and drink" image represented in movies like Old School and Animal House to one that shows all the positive things we do such as community service, and hosting events to raise awareness for important issues such as alcohol and sex. I feel that the big fraternal community here at OSU is a big strength because we have more minds at work trying to achieve the same goal. More ideas are presented, and this leads to a better decision in the end. Also with a bigger fraternal community we are able to put our numbers to use and make a bigger impact on the OSU campus by hosting more events and doing more community service. This should be the highlight of each fraternity and sorority, not the parties we throw every other weekend.

While some fraternity members and sorority members do realize the need for this image change, not everyone is on the same page yet. Many members still feel like drinking and partying is the most important thing about being in a fraternity. Other members don't even know their own Ritual. No wonder people outside of the fraternal community have this bad image of us. This leadership class is already starting to unify our community, and we are making progress towards changing the fraternal image. We recently set up a dinner where all the proceeds went to the relief effort in Haiti. However, to make it a complete success, we need everyone to be on the same page. When I come back to OSU thirty years after I graduate, I hope to see fraternities and sororities filled with members that care more about improving the community than drinking and partying.