tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15972794061256884972023-11-15T09:56:37.436-08:00Taking the pledgeLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14454051417495629828noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597279406125688497.post-43573822168206432012010-05-13T09:50:00.000-07:002010-05-13T14:32:21.587-07:00Ithaca College students participate in Cornell University Greek life<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While most college students find a social community within one college, freshman Tracee Cotto spends most of her time across two college campuses. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Cotto decided to join </span></span><a href="http://www.sigmalambdaupsilon.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">. at Cornell University after she heard of the sorority through her sister, who was also a member during her time at Ithaca College. Cotto said while it is a challenge to be a student at Ithaca College and a sorority member at </span></span><a href="http://www.cornell.edu/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Cornell University</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">, she is happy she joined even with her hectic schedule. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">“I have class until five and then I need to be at [sorority] events at six,” Cotto said. “I am always on the run. I usually wake up, have my bags packed and never go to my room throughout the day so that I can get to Cornell on time.”</span></span></span></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span></div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gglZ2aZ_vys&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gglZ2aZ_vys&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><br /></span></span><p><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While Ithaca College does not support social Greek life organizations, about 10 </span></span><a href="http://www.ithaca.edu/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Ithaca College</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> students were initiated into sororities and fraternities this year at Cornell University. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Jarrod Cruz, </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">assistant dean of students for fraternity and sorority affairs</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">, said this semester alone, Greek organizations initiated three Ithaca College students into a fraternity/sorority.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">There are two main types of Greek life present on Cornell’s campus: </span></span><a href="http://www.cornellmglc.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Multicultural Greek Letter Council</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> and </span></span><a href="http://cornellifc.com/home"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Inter-fraternity Council</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">. IFC have Greek letters and are run by Greek letter organizations. MGLC have Greek letters but are organized to increase a connection to culture.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">MGLC fraternities and sororities are the only organizations on Cornell’s campus, which are open to admit members from other colleges. Cornell currently hosts 68 fraternities and sororities — 16 are MGLC organizations, which are permitted to take Ithaca College students. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Amelia Bezerra, multicultural Greek letter council treasurer, said Ithaca College students face some restrictions when choosing to participate in Cornell’s Greek life. For example, Ithaca College students cannot be voted in as a president, treasurer or social chair of any chapter.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">“You cannot be part of the MGLC Executive Board, yet are expected to pay dues and fill 50 percent requirements for certain events,” Bezarra said.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Bezerra said she sees the struggles that some of her sisters from Ithaca College face, but despite the hardships, the friendships that come from Greek life still attracts non-Cornell students to join.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">“The bonds we have cannot be severed,” she said. “That is why we decided to be Greek. The political [atmosphere is terrible], but at the end of the day we're hermanas (sisters), and that's really all that matters.” </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Russell Martin, assistant director of the office of student engagement and multicultural affairs at Ithaca College, said Ithaca College does not support a nationally recognized Greek life because of past incidents — including a death — that were directly connected with social Greek life activity.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Martin said Greek life is too much of a liability and, at this time, the college cannot sustain those types of social organizations.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Martin, a member of a Penn State University fraternity since 1998, said he supports social fraternities when they are conducted in a responsibly way.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">“There is a lot of value, a tremendous opportunity for leadership, communication and personal development through involvement in Greek social organizations,” he said. “There are a few people that ruin it for everyone else, however, and make the organizations themselves quite a risk for an institution.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">While Ithaca College has a type Greek life on campus, the organizations are not nationally affiliated and are career based only.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"> “The focus of the organizations here are that they are performing arts and music related,” he said.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Cruz said because some Ithaca College students choose to participate in a more social fraternity or sorority at Cornell, sometimes misunderstandings arise.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">“There have been times when I’ve had to call the [Cornell] organizations and ask them to change their Web sites, because they aren’t accurate,” he said. “I wouldn’t want someone to come to IC and be disappointed because they thought we had something that we didn’t.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Evelyn Santiago, Ithaca College sophomore and member of Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, Inc., said she sometimes finds it difficult to be part of a Cornell sorority as a student at Ithaca College.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">“It is really hard to get support from organizations at IC because they also carry the connotation that Greek life is bad,” she said.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Jonathan Rosales, ’09 Ithaca College alumni, is currently an alumni and active member of </span></span><a href="http://www.sealandserpent.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">Seal and Serpent</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">, a Cornell social fraternity said the sororities/ fraternities support bridging the gap between the two campuses.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';">“[Ithaca College] students would really like associations like this on campus because it encourages stronger social life and it encourages students to go outside their own campus,” he said.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14454051417495629828noreply@blogger.com0