Observation Assignment Site Location: The Chi Omega House !

Assignment One

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Description of the Location: The Chi Omega House at UNC Charlotte is located off of McCall Circle, in Greek Village. It is house number 6 in Greek Village and is one of 13 houses in the Greek Village circle. It has 28 bedrooms and 11 shared bathrooms, and 6 private bathrooms. There are three floors, numbered one, two, and three. A common area is located on the first floor, which is comprised of a kitchen, dining room/table, and a study room or office. The walls of the Chi Omega house are filled with pictures of current and past members pictures, either composites (a frame with every sisters picture in it) or pictures from events we have had, either bid days (when a individual first becomes a new member of ours and receives a bid to join Chi Omega), formals, or philanthropy events. There is also a trophy case with memorabilia of contests, or awards we have won for our Airband (a talent show that is held on campus for every Greek organization to participate in) performances, or our philanthropy (Make-A-Wish Foundation) due to the amount we have given to our philanthropy. There are also two bathrooms downstairs for the common area to use in order to make it easier for members and non-members in the common area. Figured World: A figured world is either a community or location that is applicable to its inhabitants (literates and illiterates). It is comprised of actors and artifacts that hold significance to only the artifacts and actors within it. It functions as My Figured World: The figured world I will be describing will be the Chi Omega house on campus of UNC Charlotte. The purpose of the figured world is a place for women who are in the Fraternity (Chi O is technically a fraternity because of our founders, 4 female, and one male) to convene and be able to share in community. There are 18 bedrooms, and three floors for living in space. There is a kitchen, a living room, and a dining room on the first floor. The rules and conventions that are expected are no male guests in the upstairs living quarters, only sisters are allowed to stay over night, you are responsible for your own dishes and food stored in the refrigerator and kitchen downstairs. In the study room there is no talking allowed, and it has certain hours it is open, the other hours it is closed are for personnel meetings that are held with the personnel officer. All top five-officer positions are required to live in the house for the year they hold their position. Each bedroom is only allowed to have one girl living in, and they are required to share a bathroom with one more girl, unless they have an "end of hall" room. You are expected to be adults who take care of their stuff, as well as respectful of others things within the house that they may have access to. Actors: Actors are the individuals relevant to the Figured World they exist in. They are involved within the figured world for a purpose. Actors within my Figured World: (Note: The names of the actors have been changed for privacy reasons, in order to properly be able to identify who the main actors are Ive given them fake names.) Britt: Britt has been a member for 3 ! years. She is the president of the Delta Kappa chapter of Chi Omega at UNC Charlotte. Her position requires for her to be present at all

Emily Hergenreter! 11/5/13 10:21 AM Comment: Include pictures that show the various events you have observed. You may also want to consider including a map of the locations, marking the artifacts/actors you have used as a part of the first assignment. ! Emily Hergenreter! 11/5/13 10:20 AM Comment: I want you to work on part of your defintion of your figured world. You mention inhabitants and being literate and illiterate. Literacy can be a broad range of skills beyond typical reading and writing. Perhaps the figured world you are talking about has people that are familiar and unfamiliar with Greek practices, but they may be literate in other ways.! Emily Hergenreter! 11/5/13 10:21 AM Comment: Describe how you are an actor in this community and this effects your observations. You may consider including this as a part of your figured world introduction.!

Observation Assignment "#$%#&$#'#$!)! Site Location: The Chi Omega House ! chapter meetings, as well as hold every member accountable to the rules and guidelines of Chi omega. She has a witty sense of humor, and spends most of her time doing missions work with a local church, and attending a campus Bible study. She sets a good example for everyone else in the chapter to follow. Abby: Abby has been a member of Chi Omega for also 3 ! years. She is the Secretary of Chi Omega, her position entails her to be present at every mandatory Chi Omega function in order to take attendance, and the minutes for each meeting that we have. Shes a fitness fanatic, and is always planning sisterhood events for us to go and work out together. Sarah: Sarah is the vice president for Chi Omegas Charlotte chapter (Delta Kappa), she enforces the rules of conduct for each sister ie., behavior at school events, dress code for our meetings, and all of our individual social media sites. Artifacts: Artifacts within the figured world/or community that hold relevance or serve a purpose with in the group either as a physical element, or emotional thought. Artifacts within my Figured World: Ritual: Our ritual is what Chi Omega is founded upon, we have a rich history that dates back to 1895 when we were first founded in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Our ritual includes symbols, sayings, and traditions that is only known by official members of our Fraternity. It is considered a privilege to know, and what unites each chapter nationally. The Chi Omega letters: These letters to the figured world, represent Chi Omega ritual, and they also come with expectations of being held to a higher standard and privileged to be a sister of the Chi Omega Fraterninty. Roll Book: The roll book is what Abby always has by her side in order to perform the tasks she has to accomplish as far as keeping track of who is at each event. In order to have your name in the roll book you have to be an initiated member of Chi Omega. Chi Omega Badge: The Chi Omega badge is a metal badge (typically made out of silver) and is encrusted with pearls (in some cases diamonds) and has the Greek letters Chi and Omega on it, there are also some Greek letters engraved in the badge, but to know their meeting, you have to be an initiated member. Make-A-Wish: Make a wish is a global organization, but it is also significant to this figured world because it is the Philanthropy of Chi Omega. This means that Chi Omega raises money for Make-A-Wish in order to send either one or multiple kids to whatever their desired wish is. Usually this is a trip to Disney, or even meeting a certain celebrity. and send kids on their wishes as their philanthropic purpose. Discourse Communities: Discourse communities can be defined as groups or clicks that form within the applicable figured world. The factors that contribute specifically in calling them a community can be people with titles, or even certain shared interests that would bring them together. Discourse Communities Within My Figured World: Executive Board: This discourse community is formed of Britt, Abby, and Sarah. All of these women are on Executive board and hold a position that they have been voted by the chapter to be in. Pledge Classes: Pledge Classes are groups of our members divided up depending on the year or semester that they joined Chi Omega. Typically the older the pledge class, the older the women and they have seniority over the chapter when voting, or even things as simple as who gets to get in the free pizza line first!

Observation Assignment Site Location: The Chi Omega House ! Observation One Wednesday, September 4, 2013 Time: 7:30-9:30 PM

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7:35-The Chi O house is filled with sisters, all 90 of our members. They are gathered around chatting and catching up when the room is called to order and the roll begins to be taken by Sister Abby. She reads through the list of members and marks present or absent. The reason she does this is because it is a recruitment workshop that is preparing the Chapter for recruitment that is occurring approximately two weeks from the workshop they are gathered for. 7:45-8:15- Stacey, a representative from Make-A-Wish Charlotte has come to the first part of our workshop in order to help offer knowledge and facts about Make-A-Wish so that during recruitment when we are asked about our philanthropy, were very well aware for what it stands for, what we as Chi Omegas nationally donate, and what our impact makes on the organization. 8:15- Stacey asks if there are any concerns or questions about what Ive talked about, and if so, feel free to ask me. There were some questions as to clarify certain dates or numbers. 8:26 pm- Now Katy, the recruitment leader divides the whole group into groups of five for practicing the Make-A-Wish questions. The room is full from the living room to the kitchen table. There is a roar of voices as everyone speaks. 9:08-9:30pm- Katy now quiets the room and the members end with singing one of their ritual songs. As our workshop draws to an end and girls leave through the front door, and the girls who live in the house make their way to their rooms. Observation Two Wednesday, September 8, 2013 Time: 6:00pm-7:30pm 6:00pm- Our Chapter meeting is begun; girls file in and find chairs or spots on the floor to sit. The meeting is informal, which typically is not the case, you hear girls mumble as they walk in Thank God I did not have to change out of gym clothes. The room is gathered with faces that look like they enjoyed a long weekend. 6:05pm- The roll is taken by Abby, even though the meeting is informal, it is still mandatory, and attendance will be taken. The amount of sisters lacking in the room shows many girls chose to skip the meeting. Brit draws a conclusion out loud, there are a lot of exams this week, Im sure most people felt as though they could skip tonight because of the stress theyre under with school. 6:19 pm- At this time, Sarah gives a presentation of Chi Omegas GPA standards. Chi Omega has set a high bar for us ALL to make above 2.8 GPA, failure to comply with these rules, will result in assigned library hours as a way to help you focus on classes and studying. 6:40 pm Brit is now speaking introducing our house corporation board to all of the members. This group of volunteer alumni is here to ensure that we have a our house taken care of, and looked after in order to reward us with new furniture, better house

Observation Assignment "#$%#&$#'#$!+! Site Location: The Chi Omega House ! wares, and lower payments. This was a brand new idea to most of us girls! Alumni was going to donate money or raise money and be able to lower how much each girl in the house would have to pay a semester to live there. What an awesome opportunity this will be for our Chapter. 7:01 pm- Now that we have that out of the way, I want to remind you all about our November golf tournament. Denise, the philanthropy Chair goes on to announce, it is time to look for donations, or sponsors for our golf tournament, dont forget to have all the paperwork turned into me by October 10th. 7:17pm- Also, theres a blood drive on campus this week, please go out and donate, wear Chi Omega letters so that people recognize you on campus. 7:30pm- The meeting will come to a close, and everyone is free to spend their rest of the Sunday night watching football, or studying. Observation Three Wednesday, September 11th, 2013 Time: 8:00am -9:15am 7:58am- People are rarely awake and moving around this early in the Chi Omega house, but during this observation people were specifically brought together in order to remember what happened to our Country on 9/11, 12 years ago. Around 23 girls formed a circle within the living room and we all listened with sleepy eyes to what Britt was going to say. 8:05am- Britt: Hey everyone, glad you ladies could make it out this early morning she goes on to explain how were going to be putting out flags on campus as well as banners that say Never forget and chalk on the stairwells with the same message. 8:21am- Sarah brought flags, and so did Abby, there were some petite 5x7 and some 11x17 sized flags. The chapter members were looking forward to this 9/11 tribute especially because it was with sisters, and they were planning on tackling the campus together. 8:38 am-Britt says a prayer for the loved ones who were lost, the families who were affected, and for the freedom that we thankfully have today. 8:46am- The group of members divides up and listens to George W. Bushs speech on ihomes in the living room. At this time, there are still girls sleeping through the house so the ihome is quiet, and kept at a reasonable volume. 9:15am Everyone sets out on campus to distribute flags, there are about 100 of the flags, and only about 20 girls, but they distributed them throughout the busiest parts of campus. Interview Assignment Interviewee: Katy, The Recruitment Chair Monday, September 9th 2013 1.Tell me what your position is in Chi Omega, and what all does it entail? My position is Recruitment Chair. I am in charge of recruiting new girls to our chapter through a week of formal recruitment and two months of pre-recruitment events. I also am in charge of marketing, so overseeing our social media. 2. Why did you join Chi Omega, and how long have you been involved with this organization? I have been In Chi Omega since Fall 2011, I joined because after going through

Observation Assignment "#$%#&$#'#$!,! Site Location: The Chi Omega House ! Recruitment I felt I fit in with the group of girls that together make Chi Omega. I also love what the organization stands for; bettering myself from when I first came to college into an even more accomplished young woman. My favorite quote that I relate to is The letters I wear from my organization dont make me better than anyone else, they make me better than who I use to be. 3.What are your top 4 favorite things regarding Chi Omega and how has it impacted you. -Sisterhood: Every organization has its negative points and rough periods and that is when the true worth of our sisterhood shows. This is a group of girls who truly has each others back. -My Big: My Big sister I got when I first joined Chi Omega is my biggest role model in life. I have someone to look to and always lean on. -Leadership: Chi Omega has made me step up and become a leader and its making me mature and take on responsibilities. -Perseverance: Being part of the executive board has taught me if you believe in something enough you have to fight for it. It may not be easy but if you push enough people come around to understand your side. 4.What is living in the Chi Omega house like? How Long have you lived there? I lived in the Chi Omega house this past year, my sophomore year. I absolutely loved the experience it gets you closer with sisters and is like a constant sleepover with 30 girls. 5. What do you think the top 5 rules of living in the house are? a. No alcohol b. No boys c. Keep the kitchen clean d. Dont leave personal items in the common area e. Be respectful of others schedules 6. How has living in the Chi Omega house impacted you? a. I am extremely closer with sisters I may have not gotten to know as well if I hadnt lived there. It taught me patience because sharing a common area and kitchen with 30 girls is not an easy task at many times. It was a whole year of my college life so the memories I have there will always be remembered.