I am proud to identify myself as a member of the Cornell chapter of Zeta Psi International Fraternity. As Cornell’s first fraternity, Zeta Psi is an organization with a very rich heritage and very strong traditions. ZetaPsi.org, our international website states that we are an “organization dedicated to forging academic excellence and life-long bonds of brotherhood. Through active chapter participation and continuing alumni outreach, Zeta Psi members are committed to the development of leadership, character and intellect and to the service of their brothers, their communities and mankind. “
Our chapter certainly constitutes a community. We are an extremely tight-knit group, and the bonds of brotherhood connecting each member of our group to each other member are extremely strong. Haythornwaite states that a community has a social network aspect, common ground, and reciprocity. The social network aspect of our fraternity is clearly evident. Close bonds exist between the brothers within each pledge class and the house as a whole. We also maintain very good relationships with other Zete chapters. We have a particularly close relationship with our brothers at NYU.
Common ground exists between all of the members of our fraternity as well. We are all going through very similar experiences right now, as we are all going through the difficult process of receiving a Cornell education and we spend most of our social time together as well. Common ground also exists in the knowledge of certain fraternity secrets that we all share. For obvious reasons, I cannot go into any meaningful detail as to what I am referring to, but any Fraternity brother understands the bond that forms between individuals who share knowledge of ancient secrets and time honored traditions.
Reciprocity also exists between brothers in our fraternity. The close relationships and high level of trust between the members of our chapter allow us to openly discuss any problems we may be having, ranging from personal to academic. Any brother would do whatever he can to help another, and will receive the same in return. This reciprocal relationship only strengthens the bonds that make up this community over time.
CMC has a strong impact on our community. Synergistic effects occur through both Facebook and our email list-serve. Facebook allows us to display our affiliation to our house directly on our pages. It also allows us to join groups representing our chapter as well as our international fraternity. Our list-serve allows us to instantly communicate with the entire chapter. Dozens of email announcements are sent out each day between the brothers in our fraternity. It allows us an easy way to stay on the same page as far as social event planning and daily communication.
3 comments:
I thought you had a very interesting post and noticed you were one of many who chose to discuss your fraternity. You were very thorough in discussing the close knit community you experience with your brothers within Cornell and outside. What I am curious to know is if there are other types of reciprocity associated with your fraternal environment and your social network ties. Have many of your brothers been able to acquire jobs or internships through alumni networks? Have you maintained strong or weak ties with other members affiliated with the fraternity which may have benefited you or the house personally? I think that that would have added nicely to your post. Great job though!
Hi. Your post was very informative about your fraternity. I can relate to you in the sense that your greek community has many strong bonds. I myself am in a greek organization, and I feel the same about my own network. Close-knit and a huge common ground.
I think it's interesting that although we are in different completely different organizations, I can relate to the passion you obviously express through your blog post. Already, though totally different, our larger Cornell Greek community has formed a common ground for all greeks.
Great post!
I think "frats" are a perfect example for this assignment because they hit on each question proposed. Fraternities use both FTF and CMC methods in terms of communicating methods of use and also the network ties vary depending upon if the brothers are part of your frat or a part of the same organization on the other side of the country. Your post was great and very informative.
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