I am apart of a Greek affiliated organization called Chi Omega.

Chi Omega, founded on April 5, 1895 by Christina Mae Boles, Jean Vincenheller, Jobelle Holcombe, and Alice Simonds, with the help of Dr. Charles Richardson, is a fraternity known nationally for its wonderful work and as an established womens organization. As a sorority, we have 174 active collegiate chapters and over 230 alumnae chapters nation wide. As a member of Chi Omega, we consider ourselves women of high standards that live everyday by our symphony written by Ethel Switzer Howard in 1904: To live constantly above snobbery of word or deed; to place scholarship before social obligations and character before appearances; to be in the best sense, democratic rather than "exclusive", and lovable rather than "popular"; to work earnestly, to speak kindly, to act sincerely, to choose thoughtfully that course which occasion and conscience demand; to be womanly always; to be discouraged never; in a word, to be loyal under any and all circumstances to my Fraternity and her highest teachings and to have her welfare ever at heart that she may be a symphony of high purpose and helpfulness in which there is no discordant note.". Being a part of this sisterhood is more than just a name; it is a sisterhood with that a bond that will last a lifetime. Throughout my college career I hope to learn and grow as a women and become a better individual in the future. Throughout this paper I hope to be able to express the importance of Chi Omega and the impact it has on thousands of womens lives. The process of becoming a member of the Chi Omega member is based off of different rules and regulations. Chi Omega is part of a bigger organization known as the Greek community. Within this Greek community there are many different sororities and fraternities. Together, these sororities and fraternities create a family at the University of

North Carolina at Charlotte. As a freshman of the university, I decided to go through the process called recruitment. Recruitment is the process that all girls are required to go through in order to become part of the organization that each individual truly belongs in. The way recruitment works can be somewhat difficult and stressful. First, individuals must go through different parties that each sorority holds each night for one week. Each night there is a mutual decision based on whether or not you will be invited back to a particular organization. The parties that are brought on by each organization are partylike events that the sorority puts together to inform individuals about the organization as well as its requirements. Going through this process really helps individuals to see where they belong and which sorority truly fits their values, beliefs and interests. As an individual who went through this process, I realized instantaneously that Chi Omega was the organization in which I wanted to be apart of. After going through recruitment and receiving an invitation called a bid, I officially became a member of the Chi Omega family. Instantly, I began my journey as a new member. New members are referred to as owl babies. This is the nickname for new members because the owl is considered to be the mascot of Chi Omega. As a new member, privileges are limited until you are initiated and officially part of the organization. New members are not aware of all the secrets and rituals and are also not allowed to attend certain events. In addition, new members are not allowed to wear the Chi Omega crest or Greek Chi Omega letters. Our new member journey is a long one, but a rewarding one as well. This long period of time allows us to bond with our pledge class, as well as meet the already initiated sisters of the chapter. Getting to know what the chapter is really about is the most rewarding part of becoming a member of the

organization. Also, new members are required to maintain certain grades and certain grade point averages while being a part of this organization. As a new member there are many responsibilities. For example, all new members must know the history of our chapter and fraternity, the new member oath, the symphony, and all the positions held by different individuals in Chi Omega. After going through this process and doing all of what was required, I was finally on my way to becoming an initiated sister of Chi Omega. Sororities and fraternities have a negative stereotype that initiates the idea that becoming apart of Greek-life means being involved with partying and not caring about school. In addition, another negative stereotype includes that those apart of Greek-life are not considered an intelligent group of individuals. These stereotypes are from true. In Chi Omega we strive to put scholarships before social obligations. Grades must be put first before anything and as a sorority we are constantly reminded of this. The line scholarship before social obligations is also apart of The Chi Omega symphony; one of the many documents we have as an organization. This is what makes Chi Omega a discourse community. Chi Omegas have many different forms of communication. To communicate we use Facebook and email to inform our chapter about upcoming events and day-to-day information. Chi Omega also has weekly meetings that take place on Sunday nights where we talk about events that have happened and events that we plan to have to happen in the future. Our meetings help to make sure everyone is on the right Chi Omega track. Our national website which is open to the public, so more secretive ideas and activities are placed in email documents like our minutes or information that comes from our meetings.

We have our executive board, which are all the chi omega members with positions. We have our president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and our new member educator. All these positions have different roles within our sorority and at our meetings they tell us the information that pertains to their position. As a Chi Omega, and a member of the Greek community we have formed somewhat of a language of our own. If someone not part of our community came in and heard some of our terms they would be confused because it is something you understand as a part of the community. As a Greek community as a whole we have words like Formal Recruitment, Pledges, Bids, and the Greek alphabet. Those being only a few of the words we use in the Greek community. If you were to talk to someone about these terms outside of the Greek community they would tend to be confused even if they are told the meaning of the words the arent part of the community that gave them their meaning. Chi Omega is a wonderful organization and I believe we are a lot more than what some people make us out to be. Without literacy we wouldnt be the organization we are today or maybe even an organization at all. I am a part of this organization and in being so I want to help everyone understand how wonderful it truly is. We have more to offer than just a name. We bring the best out in women around the world, and work to enrich there lives through our Hellenic cultures.

Juliana: you have some good information here. But you can do more. Introduce the concept of discourse community and give us a context for

what you are observing and why. What about the interview? I hope my questions and comments help you to develop this further.