[23444] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] Toast Song Argument Reflections...
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jessica)
Fri Jan 17 15:16:02 2003
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 12:15:56 -0800
Reply-To: Jessica <nyte_rayn@yahoo.com>
From: Jessica <nyte_rayn@yahoo.com>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
In-Reply-To: <007f01c2be5e$a81077d0$6a2210ac@airgatepcsa.com>
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The Declaration of Independence states, "All Men Are Created Equal"
I don't take this to mean that I, as a woman, am somehow not created with this same "equality" as the males in our country. I instead take "men" to mean "mankind".
Likewise the "men of" in our toast song and use of the term "brothers" does not mean to me that I need to have the body of a man to fit into these categories in our fraternity.
I earned my admittance into this brotherhood through a pledge period the same as anyone else. I learned the history and traditions of the group; I met and got to know the brothers of my chapter. I took the cardinal principles of Alpha Phi Omega into my head, and my heart. The fraternity then accepted me as their brother, and now gives me every chance to become anything I want within the sectional, regional, and national brotherhood.
I am not discriminated against; the fact that I am female does not differenciate me from my male brothers in any way.
These facts show me that the terms "men" or "brothers" are just words. To the brothers of APO, they dont mean "a human being with the reproductive system of a male". They mean closeness, kinship, fellowship, trust, comradeship. They mean that even though we are different, we are still the same. We have a connection that most people never have with others, much less so many diverse others, spread across such a large area. We have something very special.
We also have tradition. And that is what the toast song is, its why we call each other "brothers" and why APO is a "fraternity". We pay homage to the founders of this amazing group we belong to, we unite ourselves through the traditions we share. Changing the words of the toast song would not change how we already feel in our hearts, it would only bring our group one step farther away from our roots.
Anyway, thats my take on it.
~~Jessica Mikes, Delta Sigma, UConn Active Brother
"Ronald, e-mail's for geeks and pedophiles. Be romantic. Write her another letter.?~~SEBASTIAN VALMONT, "Cruel Intentions"
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<P><SPAN class=postbody>The Declaration of Independence states, "All <SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Men</SPAN> Are Created Equal"<BR><BR>I don't take this to mean that I, as a woman, am somehow not created with this same "equality" as the males in our country. I instead take "men" to mean "mankind". <BR><BR>Likewise the "<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">men of</SPAN>" in our toast song and use of the term "<SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">brothers</SPAN>" does not mean to me that I need to have the body of a man to fit into these categories in our fraternity. <BR><BR>I earned my admittance into this brotherhood through a pledge period the same as anyone else. I learned the history and traditions of the group; I met and got to know the brothers of my chapter. I took the cardinal principles of Alpha Phi Omega into my head, and my heart. The fraternity then accepted me as their brother, and now gives me every chance to become anything I want within the sectional, regional, and nat!
ional brotherhood. <BR><BR>I am not discriminated against; the fact that I am female does not differenciate me from my male brothers in any way. <BR><BR>These facts show me that the terms "men" or "brothers" are just words. To the brothers of APO, they dont mean "a human being with the reproductive system of a male". They mean closeness, kinship, fellowship, trust, comradeship. They mean that even though we are different, we are still the same. We have a connection that most people never have with others, much less so many diverse others, spread across such a large area. We have something very special. <BR><BR>We also have tradition. And that is what the toast song is, its why we call each other "brothers" and why APO is a "fraternity". We pay homage to the founders of this amazing group we belong to, we unite ourselves through the traditions we share. Changing the words of the toast song would not change how we already feel in our hearts, it would only bring our group one ste!
p farther away from our roots. <BR><BR>Anyway, thats my take on it.</SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN class=postbody>~~Jessica Mikes, Delta Sigma, UConn Active Brother<BR></P></SPAN><BR><BR><DIV align=center>
<ADDRESS><EM><FONT size=4><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"><FONT size=+0><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><FONT color=#bf005f><FONT size=2>"Ronald, e-mail's for geeks and pedophiles. Be romantic. Write her another letter.?~~SEBASTIAN VALMONT, <EM>"Cruel Intentions"</EM> </FONT><IMG src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/tsmileys/m.gif"></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></EM></ADDRESS></DIV><p><br><hr size=1>Do you Yahoo!?<br>
<a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/mail/mailsig/*http://mailplus.yahoo.com">Yahoo! Mail Plus</a> - Powerful. Affordable. <a href="http://rd.yahoo.com/mail/mailsig/*http://mailplus.yahoo.com">Sign up now</a>
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