Cultural Forms and Rituals
January 29, 2010 at 6:14 pm 18 comments
Please respond to one of the following prompts:
A) Identify and analyze a sorority/fraternity ritual.
B) Identify and analyze an athletic team ritual.
C) Identify and analyze 2 cultural forms you encountered as a first-year student at Cornell.
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Alcohol on Campus 
1.
Chelsea Blake | February 3, 2010 at 9:17 pm
An example of an athletic team ritual is chanting the same cheer before every game. Most sports teams practice this ritual, whether it is a professional, high school, or little league team, and so it has become a norm within our culture and society. The purpose of this ritual is to incite motivation, pride, commitment, and team unity before a game. It is a symbolic ritual that conveys the ideology of team spirit to the players as well as to other people. Most team cheers encompass either the team’s name, or a phrase that is unique and meaningful to the group members. As a result, a team cheer serves to connect the members of the team to one another, symbolizing their common bond, interest, and cohesion. A team’s cheer also differentiates them from every other team and outsider, further reinforcing the exclusivity of the group.
A team cheer can be characterized as a natural experience with multiple ritualistic effects attached to it, which ultimately helps to create a strong team identity. Everyone on the athletic team shares a common focus before a competition, such as doing one’s best and playing to win, which is communicated through the team cheer. In addition, this pre-game ritual creates a specific emotional state, mostly consisting of excitement, motivation, pride, and even anxiety. The emotional components attached to this ritual help to evoke and strengthen the natural ritualistic effect of commitment and loyalty to the team, further building a solid team identity. Furthermore, repeating the cheer before every competition creates a consistency that helps to get the team members into the right frame of mind. This routine forms a connection between every game and is practiced in order to spark the same determination, dedication, and excitement before each competition, regardless of the other team’s capabilities. As a result, this symbolic sports team ritual has multiple effects on the actual team members, such as building a cohesive identity, as well as a symbolic effect on the outside audience.
2.
djh279 | February 4, 2010 at 3:46 am
I moved into Mews Hall here at Cornell University on August 22 of 2008. I had already made contact with a few people via the internet, and one of them invited me to ‘Nasties’ at about 11pm EDT on the 22nd. ‘Nasties’ is a vernacular pseudonym for Bear Necessities, a Cornell Dining outlet that is located on Cornell’s North Campus. During my April of 2008 visit to Cornell, I was told that Bear Necessities is the highest grossing per square foot outlet in the United States. I continue to use the full name of the outlet when referring to it, which places me in the minority of Cornell students, as ‘Nasties’ is the prevalent terminology. This is an example of a cultural form in the shared language of the community. ‘Nasties’ is extremely busy during the late night hours of a weekend, ravaged with young adults of varied sobriety. It is a common occurrence for a student to attend a frat party, drink heavily, and then satisfy a second drive by eating fast food style goodies just a short walk from many dormitories. ‘Going to Nasties’ is more than an activity; it is a staple of Freshman culture at Cornell. The three words invoke memories of carefree, youthful activity full of fun, and embody the peak of perceived party atmosphere.
Slope Day is a cultural institution here at Cornell. In recent years administration has been able to garner more control over the festivities, but regardless, it is a time of elevated alcohol consumption for a considerable proportion of Cornell students. Students have been known to pull ‘all-nighters’, remaining awake through the night to consume alcohol before heading out to Library Slope the next day, inebriated. Slope Day transitions the Cornell cultural norm of social drinking into a rite, a yearly event that denotes the end of classes. It serves as an intermediary between two work-oriented periods, the end of classes and the administration of exams, providing for a social vacation from the taxing realities of the Ivy League experience.
3.
Fashionfab12 | February 4, 2010 at 5:18 pm
A sorority ritual that I recently took part in was “Bid Day.” Bid Day is the conclusion of the long, overwhelming process of sorority recruitment, more commonly known as rush. Bid day is extremely exciting because the newly selected members, who have chosen to accept a bid to the sorority, become acquainted with the other new members and existing members in a very relaxed environment, as opposed to the formal environment of rush. Bid Day is extremely important to the new sorority members because they meet a hundred of their sisters that they will spend the next three years with and forge live long friendships with.
Each sorority has different traditions and practices that they do during Bid Day. For my sorority, the sophomore pledge class must make individual posters for each new member, pick up each member from a designated meeting spot, and bring the new members to the sorority house. Upon picking up the members, the sophomores must scream and scant the name of the sorority and show the new members that they are excited to meet them and that they love their sorority. Before I went to pick up the new members from the meeting spot, my fellow sisters and I drank three shots of Vodka in order to make the night for fun for each of us and facilitate interaction with the new members.
Before the new sorority members came to the house, we decorated it confetti and posters, ordered pizza, and purchased cake, chips and other delicious junk food. At the house, a photographer took pictures of each pledge class and the new members were asked to introduce themselves. After the pictures and introductions, we played loud music and socialized.
4.
starburst1113 | February 4, 2010 at 7:29 pm
Athletic teams have a variety of rituals that enable them to become unified and cohesive groups of individuals in order to succeed in their respective athletic competitions. One athletic team ritual that all sports teams (as far as I know of) utilize is pasta dinners the night before big competitions. Pasta dinners serve an important purpose for two reasons. First, pasta, as a meal by itself, provides a substantial amount of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are believed (although their effect is often debated) to provide athletes with the energy necessary to give them an ‘edge up’ against their competition and enable them to perform better. When the body digests carbohydrates, it converts them into sugar, which gives the athlete an energy storage that he/she can draw upon in an athletic event.
Secondly, despite the biological purpose of carbohydrates in helping to provide athletes with a high level of energy, pasta dinners build unity and strengthen bonds within a team. The bonds among athletes on a specific team are strengthened through pasta dinners, as they cause athletes to recognize the idea that they are part of a team and trying to achieve a common goal. It is difficult to have a successful team if the athletes on the team hardly know each other or are unable to relate. Pasta dinners serve as a way for athletes to find those common bonds among each other while getting excited for the next days’ competition as a team, rather than individually. Athletes, if they solely want the biological effect of carbohydrates, can easily make and consume pasta by themselves. However, it is the joint effort of team members to come together, load up on carbohydrates and go over the details/game plan for the athletic event the following day in which they will be competing in that makes pasta dinners such an important ritual in serving to strengthen the bonds among team members and put the team one step closer to achieving success in the following days’ competition.
5.
Brian Fetterolf | February 4, 2010 at 8:30 pm
In my fraternity, my brothers and I are united by a beer pong game unique to our house. Founded in the late 1990s, this ritual of “house pong” has developed over the past decade to play a significant role in strengthening my chapter’s solidarity. With specifically-made tables, placement markings where the two cups on each side go, and a blackboard hung on the wall to keep score, we definitely hold a certain pride when playing or talking about our house game – many brothers view it seriously, as though it is a sport. For at the end of the semester, everyone’s practice leads up to the intense House Tournament – essentially our climatic ceremony. Many brothers fight with aspirations to be the champion and finally win the honor to have their name on our Beer Pong Plaque (hung in our Great Hall), and each year only two hold the trophy while others remain devastated. There is even a formally written Beer Pong Constitution, along with a clock to time the period of time one has to drink his beer, and this further solidifies our house ritual.
There is a general ideology within both my fraternity and Greek life as a whole –we are all a part of the system due to the general belief that we all want to have a good time at the end of the week and get together, drink, and socialize. Furthermore we value fun, and in the case of beer pong’s ideology, we enjoy some competition along with our drinking. My fraternity’s culture is very strong because we have embraced this ideology to its fullest, and we have formed around house pong. It triggers a certain loyalty and commitment to the chapter, and you will often find all the seniors participating in house pong (despite the fact that it is often easy to become distanced from the house as the years go on).
Within the past two years, the house has noticed a slight transformation among our ritual’s norms. The general rule for our game is that whenever you lose a point (and you play to ten points) you must drink half a beer. When the game was founded, my chapter consisted of many very heavy drinkers who had no problem at all drinking large amounts of beer. Recently, my house’s composition in terms of alcohol use has changed. We all still unite under drinking, but many of us prefer to not drink as much in short amounts of time (possibly due to lower tolerances). Therefore, we will only drink quarters (sometimes if we are very drunk, we will merely sip the beer so as to be able to continue playing during late hours of the night). While many older brothers who always drink halves objected at first, the younger brothers have fought to have this new rule be accepted. It is slowly becoming a norm to see brothers drinking quarters as well as halves while playing our house pong game on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night.
6.
Nate Lee | February 4, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Being a transfer student is one of the best ways to enter Cornell University. This statement might seem trivial to most people, however, spending a year at another university allowed me to have a greater and deeper appreciation for the unique Cornell culture since I have another experience to compare it to. Upon arriving at Cornell, the first cultural form I felt here is the Cornell Apparel frenzy. Looking left and right on campus, I was always immersed in a sea of red sweatshirts, hats, and other Cornell paraphernalia. The school spirit that Cornell has in comparison to Albany’s is simply amazing and inexplicable. Students feel an immense amount of pride in their school, and show it through their dedicated and extensive “Big Red” wardrobes. Being able to adorn a Cornell shirt has a great deal of meaning and pride associated with it. Wearing Cornell apparel is more than a fad here, the amount of pride associated with it makes it a cultural entity of this university. It creates a sense of cohesiveness among the student body, reminding us daily, that we are all in this together.
Another cultural form that I quickly noticed is the phenomenon of Cornell Hockey. At this University, for those who attend the games, it is more than just a sporting event; it seems to be a life style. Starting from the moment of waiting in line for tickets, the hockey seasons seems to be an amazing cultural experience for students here, unlike anywhere else. I have heard glory stories of nail biter victories and comebacks and heard about fans throwing fish at the Harvard games and other like traditions. Although the fans come from all over, they always have the last or next game to talk about with a fellow fan who might be a stranger. As an outsider, I do not truly yet know what it exactly means to be a Cornell Hockey fan, but I can see that it means something special here, and I hope to be a part of that culture soon.
7.
br277 | February 5, 2010 at 3:03 am
A ritual is defined as a ceremonial act or series of acts. In considering athletic team rituals, I cannot help but think about my experience as a high school football player. My high school team and most other football teams have a number of rituals. On my team, the rituals regarding haircuts were certainly among our most well-known and obvious rituals. The tradition of unusual haircuts for varsity football players has existed for decades in my town. Every year, both the oldest and youngest players are given unusual haircuts.
First year varsity players are all given a variety of wild haircuts every year during the week before homecoming. Some players are given mohawks, others are left with small patches of hair, and some are left with completely shaved heads. After homecoming weekend, the first year players are allowed to give themselves buzz cuts and are allowed to let their hair grow back normally. Although it is always uncertain as to what kind of haircut a first year player will receive, it is always certain that the ritual will be followed in some form each year.
Seniors on the varsity team are also given unusual haircuts. However the ritual for senior haircuts is quite different than the ritual for first year haircuts. Seniors are all given a distinct cut which is very similar to a military style haircut, or crew cut. The seniors are all given this haircut before the first game of the season. The haircut is then left alone until the end of the season. After the season most sane players get buzz cuts and allow their hair to grow back normally.
The ritual of haircuts may seem silly but the cuts are nonetheless a classic example of ritual. Everyone on the team receives wild haircuts during their time on the team. The haircuts are so unusual that they set players apart from fellow students and from other teams. The haircut ritual thus serves as one of the more observable things among the many deeper things that bind the team together every year.
8.
cornellstudent | February 5, 2010 at 4:36 pm
(C.) As a transfer student, I moved into Carl Becker House last fall. Throughout orientation week, I observed culture forms unique to my living environment, most notably, the floor meeting with a Graduate Resident Fellow (GRF) and the first of many weekly house dinners. These rituals are intended to convey the “close-knit” and “communal” nature of life in a West Campus house.
Following the first day of classes, each floor held a meeting with their GRF. Having lived in a freshman dorm last year and experienced the rowdiness of college students living together, I expected this floor meeting would consist of the standard overview of dormitory rules, campus policies, and emergency information. To my surprise, none of these topics were mentioned during the gathering. Instead, the GRF led an activity where we would share our names through a guessing game. Although most people aren’t very good with names, remembering names seemed unimportant to the underlying purpose of this meeting. By playing a name game for the entire meeting, rather than reciting tidbits of alcohol rules, sexual harassment code, and emergency procedures, the GRF acknowledged our responsibility and underscored the importance of “community” in our dorm.
To a similar end, each Wednesday night every house on West Campus holds an exclusive house dinner, open to residents only. At house dinners the food is served on tables in the center of the dining room, tablecloths cover the bland wooden tables, and activities or lectures often take place. By holding an exclusive ritual like house dinner and distinguishing it from a regular meal, each house on West Campus reinforces the value that each dorm consists of a “close-knit” group of students, faculty, and staff.
Unfortunately, actual life in a West Campus dorm is not as idyllic as the above rituals infer. Although the floor meeting intends to underscore the value of “community”, Carl Becker house is the least communal dorm I have lived in. In addition, many residents (including myself) avoid house dinners altogether because they are chaotic and less enjoyable than a regular meal. However, the rituals of floor meetings and house dinners do convey the organizational values of “community” to its members; whether residents adopt these values is a different story.
9.
bigred15 | February 5, 2010 at 7:50 pm
One common athletic team ritual occurs in every sport and before every event. Collectively, a team joins together to warm-up and stretch. A few short years ago I experienced this ritual daily as a member of a high school football team. While such a minor daily occurrence may seem ordinary and unremarkable, it is surprising to analyze such a display. Minor variations in the ritual reveal major differences within the team and oftentimes future performance.
Daily, the team would engage in the same routine stretches and calisthenics, regardless of the external conditions. Rain, snow, heat, or even, in a very interesting case, a hurricane don’t interrupt the sacred stretches. The routine persist from the first day of practice, before every game, and hopefully into the playoffs. This conformity helps establish that the coaching staff is in firm control of the team and reinforces the idea that players are expected to bring forth the same intensity, focus, and effort every time they step onto the field.
However, the true value of examining such a ritual lies not in the repetition, but in the minor variations that reveal the mood of the group. Before games, the warm-up is charged with an electric atmosphere. Anxiety, testosterone, and adrenaline course though the air. There is no laughing, wasted effort, or any hint of gaiety. Even talking is eliminated to practical, game focused direction or team-oriented chants. Also interesting to note is the sound of the marching band or AC/DC providing a soundtrack to the stretching.
This tense environment is contrasted with the often juvenile environment that often dominates warm-ups before practice. Many times, students wander in late for one reason or another. Players chat amongst themselves and joke the entire time. Even the coaching staff relaxes a great deal. They enjoy the horseplay, off-color remarks, and stories of illicit exploits as much as the 15-18 year old players do. In this situation too, the band usually provides an interesting background. Many times, this music becomes the soundtrack to an impromptu dance party.
Overall, the tone set in the ritualized warm-ups of a football team reveals a great deal about the team’s mood and the outcome of any potential action. A lazy atmosphere begets poor performance while an upbeat and focused, if not always serious, attitude bodes well for the team. These minor differences in the stretching protocol provide fantastic insight into the inner workings of the team.
10.
jssy123 | February 5, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Fraternity and sorority is a unique cultural form developed by the college students. This cultural form becomes nationwide so people instantly know that three Greek letters represent some kind of business or social fraternities. Beginning of fall and spring semester, each fraternity or sorority starts its recruitment process called rush. The week of rush provides an opportunity for members and candidates to learn each other. The process is very similar to the job interview because candidate can choose wherever to apply but the company has the final decision. So formal members of fraternities and sororities have a choice over potential members by giving their invitations to membership. Before these invited members become the full extended membership, they undergo another term called pledging. This pledging is more like another orientation period for accepted members, so it gives more chances to learn about their fraternity and sorority. After this period is over, the initiation comes in next where ritual is taking place. Each fraternity and sorority has it own way of ritual and welcoming the new members. This ritual is crucial to their organizations because this process finally makes new members as “brother” and “sister” with formal members. They use terms brother and sister so they believe their relationship is going to stand upon a strong bond.
If you walk around the campus then you often find people wearing jackets, caps, and carrying bags with three Greek letters which represent their fraternity and sorority. Members often order the group apparel so they can show they are belonging to that particular fraternity or sorority. These symbols show the attachment and fondness for its own organization and proud to wear them. It is just like a baseball fan wearing a cap that says Yankees, Pittsburgh pirates or his own supporting team. Members can also wear these clothes at certain social events as means of representation and uniformity for their club.
11.
davidrostowsky | February 5, 2010 at 10:16 pm
A typical week in the life of most fraternity members on campus involves a weekly ritual known as chapter. Chapter occurs once a week in my house where brothers meet and discuss the past week and upcoming events of the fraternity. Within the general ritual of chapter there is many different smaller rituals that go on. Typically our chapter will start with the president giving an update of the important events surrounding our chapter. This will include a recap of any social events such as a party, brotherhood events and notify us of any important activities that are upcoming. Afterward we receive an update of our budgetary status from our treasurer. Each council gives a variety of updates including social events, athletic activities and a menu for the week. After these relatively mundane tasks are performed and details are discussed and debated and ultimately exhausted we move on to my favorite part of the meeting, good and welfare. Good and Welfare is a time for all brothers to share stories of the past week. Good, funny, stupid, or congratulatory these stories are what help to make fraternal ties so strong. These stories range from telling of a night out in college town to eating at Doug’s fish fry. To finish our chapter we nominate a brother of the week, someone who has done something stupid, or funny, or helpful to the house. This person in a typical collegiate fashion chug a beer while we toast them. These stories are what makes the fraternity so strong and why these strangers become friends for life. Chapter is another ritual that creates the fraternal bond. In addition to formals, date nights, parties, chapters are another ritual where frat brothers are able to come together. To round out the meeting we conclude with our fraternal song concluding another fraternal ritual.
12.
Alana Reid | February 6, 2010 at 12:16 am
As a sophomore transfer, my experiences being involved in a sorority may be limited compare to other Greek girls my age. However, in the time that I have been involved in sorority life, I have become familiar with the ritual of mixers.
Mixers are social gatherings between a fraternity and a sorority. Hosted at the house of the fraternity, these parties are the main opportunity for men and women involved in the Greek system to socialize with and meet one another. Most mixers have a theme of some sort and feature large amounts of alcohol.
Prior to being picked up at the sorority house cars of brothers, sisters gather and “pre-game” before the party. While the explicit purpose of the pre-game is to consume the first drinks of the evening, many girls use the opportunity to make adjustments to their outfits with the help of their friends and to gossip about the night ahead of them.
After being transported to the house, the party begins with loud music and drinking. At the beginning of the night, most participate in conversation, many with the intention of flirting with a cute boy/girl while drinking. Eventually the evening progresses into drinking games or dancing, and in some cases, hooking up.
The ritual of a mixer, though it seems natural for sororities and fraternities to socialize, is sometimes counter-intuitive to this purpose. In many ways the loud music and large amounts of alcohol prevent genuine conversation. However, both add to the general environment of the party and are conducive to the success of the dancing and drinking games. From the mixer ritual, one may observe the emphasis on physical attributes in fraternity/sorority culture. There seems to be a clear preference for activity at mixers, with their attendees preferring to communicate physically rather than verbally.
13.
sy337 | February 6, 2010 at 1:13 am
Two different cultural forms that I felt were unique and very interesting were the Great Pumpkin mystery on top of McGraw Tower, and the all-campus screaming on the first day of finals. Days before Halloween, the clock on top of McGraw Tower turns into an orange pumpkin-shaped clock. About 12 years ago, however, there was a real pumpkin on the tower. On October 8th, 1988, someone managed to put a hollowed-out pumpkin on top of the 173-foot-tall McGraw Tower. The students and faculty wondered who the prankster was and how the pumpkin got there, as well as whether it was a real pumpkin. The manager of Occupational Health and Safety said that the pumpkin would eventually fall to the ground at 72 miles per hour and cause serious injury to anyone who happened to be around the tower. After six months, the pumpkin was finally removed, and was indeed verified as a real pumpkin (tinyurl.com/cornellpumpkin). People still do not know the prankster and how he/she managed to do it. When I first heard this story, my first reaction was that Cornell students are brilliant. Many of my friends cite it as their favorite legend of Cornell as well. I think this particular legend is especially loved by many people at Cornell because it serves as a proof that Cornell students are not only smart but also funny, being able to carry out jokes in an unimaginably clever way. Another tradition that I found interesting was the all-campus screaming before the first day of finals. When I participated in this event, it was comforting to know that I was not alone in feeling frustrated. Also, I felt very connected to all the screaming Cornell students, because they were just as stressed out and frustrated as I was. It is an amazing tradition and an experience that I will remember whenever I think of Cornell in the future, and another cultural form that shows what Cornell students are like.
14.
Sharon | February 8, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Upon enrolling at Cornell, I decided to pledge a sorority without knowing the social norms or expectations that were entailed. While pledging the sorority, there was a set of rules that I had to obey; in other words, I had to greet the older sisters at all times, I had to address them as “Big Sister,” I had to touch my pin upon seeing every sister, I had to attend various social events and even host one, and I had to have candy readily available for all the active sisters upon request. Pledging was one of the most interesting and exciting rituals that I ever participated in.
The Greek system was very new and confusing to me, and it took a bit of time for me to adjust to these social rules and rituals. Upon accepting my bid, there was ritual that every class had to experience: the pinning ceremony. During the pinning ceremony, my pledge class received a pin that symbolized that we were pledging for the sorority, that we were proud of becoming part of the sisterhood, and that we were willing to make the necessary sacrifices to be a “sister.” Chapter meetings were also a ritual during pledging in which we were repetitively reminded of the respect that we had to pay every sister. It was a ritual for us to greet the sisters and to touch our pin – it was repetitive and it was performed without question as a social procession that was customary and expected from us by the founding and charter sisters. The sorority culture that we were being immersed in was meant to make a developmental impact on our identity and foster a sense of community and sisterhood by fully embracing the pledge process and the activities associated with it. In part, we came across several different kinds of circumstances and people and were tested on the knowledge of our sorority in order to pave the way for our transition from “pledge” to “sister.” We also have 2-3 hour oral quizzes every week in which we are tested on the information that was given to us, which includes the sorority background, charter history, and national history among other things. The process, or this Rite of Passage, was meant to create an environment that strengthened our transition process.
After pledging for almost 2 months, the rituals of the sorority became second nature for me. During the last part of our pledging process – the initiation ceremony – we learned the secrets of all the sisters and the sorority, a very sacred and rewarding moment in the process. I was proud to be the sister of so many intelligent, beautiful, and caring women that share the same personal, career, and academic goals as me. I still possessed a strong idea of the person that I am after I crossed, but now, I also share part of my identity with my sorority sisters and what my sorority stood for.
The purpose of these rituals that we participate in helps makes the goals and the ideas of the sorority tangible and provides direction and order to the sisterhood. Truly, the practiced rituals bring us closer together, physically and emotionally, and in the long-run helps craft and preserve an eternal sisterhood.
15.
norain471 | February 8, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Athletic teams have many varying rituals, but almost every professional athletic team begins their game in the same fashion. As the announcer cries out the team name, the players run onto the field (or rink or court) together to prepare for the contest. This activity may appear to just be a formality, but it truly is a bonding experience for the team and their supporters. As the players run out, their fans are excited and show their desire for a victory by cheering on their players. A supportive crowd can have a very strong influence on the outcome of the game, as well as a home crowd that appears disinterested in the game. The players can feel the excitement of the crowd and use that energy as motivation for the event. A second important aspect of this ritual is the bonding of teammates. The team members have practiced with each other for extended periods of time to prepare for this contest, and have developed bonds with each other. These bonds are essential to the teamwork necessary to win the match. When teams run out at their home stadium, they do so together, in order to show the unity that they have created while working together; many teams have their players hold each others hands while running out. The team bonds from this moment, knowing that they have done what they could to prepare for the contest with the help of the people surrounding them. Whether the team wins or loses, they do so together. The team members are always led out by the team coaches and captians, symbolizing how they will follow their leaders throughout the contest. While there are many rituals that are performed by athletic teams, running out together is certainly one of the most important ones. The players run out onto the field to show their unity with one another, as well as to appease the supporters who came to watch them.
16.
cam352 | February 9, 2010 at 12:17 am
One example of a sorority ritual is known as Big/Little Week. In the time before this epic week, the sophomore pledge class gets to know the new pledge class and scouts out girls that they would possibly want in their “lineage” as their little. Most of the time, a little is chosen because a girl has a connection or immediate friendship with an older girl. Sometimes sororities have themed lineages or the “brunette” lineage or “California” lineage. A lineage consists of one or two girls from every pledge class that are all very close with one another. Another ritual that surrounds lineages are lineage dinners which take place once a month with every member of the lineage. During Big/Little Week, the “littles” do not know who their “bigs” are. Throughout the week, the bigs plan events and give gifts to their littles such as an acapella group coming to sing for them or a gift basket full of DVDs, magazines, candy, and nail polish. During this week, bigs try to surprise their littles in any way possible—for example if a little has a large lecture hall, a big will get a fraternity boy to deliver a basket or a huge stuffed animal to the little and say “Your big loves you!!” Often times, bigs will make their littles fake Facebook pages and e-mail addresses in order to keep in contact with them throughout the week. On the reveal night of the Big/Little Week, the bigs get their littles a date to the sorority date night and give them an item such as a headband or bracelet to wear. Later on in the night, the littles go to a large venue for dinner and dancing and their bigs show up in the same item (headband, bracelet) and then find their littles to surprise them and complete the Big/Little Week.
17.
John Parker | February 14, 2010 at 9:17 pm
3) Beer pong at Cornell, as well most other colleges, is one of the most common and important fraternity rituals. The beloved semi-sport has practically become a collegiate religion because it combines the powerful social bonding activities of drinking and friendly competition. To some, the game may seem juvenile and frivolous, and these individuals would have convincing superficial evidence to argue their point of view; standing around in a room throwing little balls at plastic cups filled beer certainly doesn’t seem like a productive use of any college student’s time. However the activity is invaluable in its ability to facilitate fraternity socialization for new members.
Beer pong helps out-group members (pledges) learn the skills, habits, norms, social roles and traditions of their fraternity through this seemingly frivolous game. Its not actual process of throwing the ball into the cup that is so valuable but the social exercise that is generated through this competition. When playing with brothers in a fraternity a pledge is exposed to the unique beer pong rules of their fraternity, which more often then not actually say a lot about the fraternity. For example, if a fraternity has a rule against removing cups that have been already been sunk, the game becomes a lot more tactical and precise, as opposed to a large game twenty one cup where stamina and determination are more important.
The game is also useful in that it is a nonathletic competition, which means that anyone can participate regardless of physical prowess. Everyone is perfectly capable of tossing a ping-pong ball across a table, so almost everyone is comfortable playing the game. If that means almost everyone is comfortable playing the game, it gives pledges a chance to compete and interact with almost anyone in a fraternity and competition certainly for men (probably for women as well) is one of the best ways to really learn about someone.
18.
Alana Reid | April 12, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Leadership has a very prevalent and very necessary role on the Cornell campus. As an institution founded on the principles of scholarship and democratic ideals, and functioning as a conglomerate of seven separate academic schools, Cornell needs a great deal of leadership primarily to organize the institution so that it can properly function.
An important part of the student social life on campus is the institution’s prominent Greek system. Many students participate in the Greek system and are sorted among more than 50 different chapters across campus. These chapters are primarily student run and provide and interesting example of student leadership initiatives that are rich in tradition and cultural forms.
Most chapters are led mainly by their president. The primary way presidents not only perform their leadership role is through the ritual of chapter. Chapter occurs weekly, typically on a Sunday, and is an opportunity for the president to address the entire fraternity or sorority. The specific details of what might occur at a chapter vary among the different Chapters at Cornell, but this is a time for the president to make formal announcements or lead important discussions. Also, chapter serves an important role of reiterating the president’s position and authority in a house. Even the general structure of chapter set the president apart from the rest of the members, usually at a special table or seat of honor facing the rest of the members.
Chapter is also rich in tradition. Not only is it’s occurrence a ritual, but it is the primary way for members to relate to their fraternity or sorority and participate in the collective aspect of their house. In this way, presidents promote the culture of their organization through a tradition that brings out ideologies and values or the organization, primarily led by him or her.