Chapter

Today, I've decided to address one of the most mysterious aspects of sorority life (to the outsider's eye): chapter. Until I attended my first chapter, I was curious. What do I expect? What happens? Are there weird rituals performed in the dark?

Allow me to enlighten you. First of all, everything in chapter takes place in the light, in a highly un-threatening room in Hunstman Hall on Sunday nights. (Each house has a different location and night, but I'm fairly certain the lights on are on no matter what sorority you are in). For Tridelta, OC meets first, which is the panel of girls who hold various positions. I show up, every Sunday, at 8:30, prepared to discuss my position and anything that has happened in the past week or any upcoming events. This week, not much was going on with Philanthropy, so I could remain in my Sunday stupor, but our Social Chairs talked about our upcoming crush party (eek!!) and MDC (member development chair) discussed our Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?. These are dinners in which you are told a meeting time, but that's it...who in the sorority will be at your restaurant? This is probably the most mysterious Tridelta ever gets.

After this, we broke into our TEAMS, which consist of a few different positions. I'm on PR (public relations) team, along with the social chairs, VP PR, and Risk Management chair, among others. We discuss general goals, and then settle back into our seats while the rest of the sisters arrive at 9 for chapter.

Basically, chapter is where we bring everyone together, making announcements for the weeks to come, talking about events in the past, and give little awards (like Officer of the Week) to sisters who have worked hard that week. Occasionally, we'll have outside speakers come in to give presentations about various things, such as St. Jude. We also celebrate birthdays, pass around food (this week el presidente Ashley passed around White Cheddar Popcorn and Starbursts), and sometimes have visitors from fraternities (singing a cappella, perhaps?). We also pass around an empty skippy jar, and you put your name inside if you haven't skipped class this week. One name is chosen, and she gets a starbucks card! (Moral: Don't Skip Class, Get Free Coffee). So, while also being a forum for announcements, chapter is also a way for us to all be together, once a week, and just relax. However, it is mandatory, and if you miss more than a certain number you're in a wee bit of trouble. But it's always pretty fun, so it's not a chore to show up every Sunday.

I hope that's answered some of your questions about chapter and what it entails, feel free to comment with any further questions!

peace out from my bed (where I am resting off a food coma...my brother took me to a late pod lunch and we got two appetizers, two mains, and two desserts...errrr),

volp(e)s (people have been asking me, should they use the "e" when spelling volp(e)s? I dunno, up to you)