NEXT GENERATION

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will."
"When the Road you're trudging seems all uphill"
"When the funds are low and the debts are high"
"When you want to smile but you have to sigh"
When care is pressing you down a bit"
"Rest if you must, but don't you quit!"
"Life is queer with its twists and turns"
"As everyone of us sometimes learns"
"And many a failures turned about"
"When he might have won had he stuck it out"
"Don’t give up though the pace seems slow"
"For you might succeed with another blow"
"Often the goal is nearer then it seems to the faint and faltering man"
"Often the struggler has given up when he might have captured the victor’s cup"
"And he learned to late when the night slipped down how close he was to the Golden crown"
"Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint and the clouds of doubt"
"And you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems so far"
"So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, its when things seems worst that you must not quit!"


Dear Next Generation,

I hope that by the time you come around Greek Life has improved.  Right now the NPHC is in shambles and it seems like we keep on going in circles.  Just when you think that everything is finally starting to go well the probates start and the disses come out and all of the drama that you have been trying to squash all year comes right back up.  I hope that by the time you are on the e-board all of the organizations on the yard will actually support the NPHC and respect it's authority rather than disown it and not even bother to show up to it's meetings.  In an authoritative position you will quickly realize that you are going to face lots of adversity no matter what you do and how good your intentions are.  You could try and create a simple fundraiser that would give money to all of the organizations and people would shoot down the idea and say that nobody will support it and that it is a waste of time.  My main words of advice would be to develop a tough skin and learn not to take things personally.  Secondly, DO NOT...I REPEAT DO NOT ever show emotions or show that you are agitated, people feed off this and once they realize that they have got into your head they will continue to do it.  Lastly, you must realize that all change is slow and that it will not be easy.  You are going to have to fight and push for every step and you will sacrifice countless hours of work to help better your organization and council that most people will never know about or recognize.  So basically, do not constantly seek recognition for everything you do because it will be hard to find; however, people will always find stuff to criticize you about.  You must keep a positive mind, and attitude and be as optimistic about every situation as possible because if you do not show confidence in a leadership position then you can not expect your peers to do the same thing when they are suppose to follow your lead.  The most important thing that you should know is that not everything you try is going to work and that you must be able to accept failure.  Whenever I start to doubt myself and question whether or not I will be able to accomplish something I think of the poem I wrote above because one will never accomplish something if they do not PERSERVERE and STICK FIGHT THE FIGHT.  I hope that you have an enjoyable GREEK EXPERIENCE and continue to help build and uplift the GREEK COMMUNITY.

P.S ...Make sure you go to AFLV!!!! and win lots of awards the stroll comp!!!

Sincerely,
Robert Rutland
MT. OLYMPUS SP 10

What does citizenship mean to you and what role does your council and chapter play in that understanding?

I believe that citizenship is being an active member in your community and being a positive member of society.  A good citizen helps their community and is aware of the problems that exist in the community.  I believe that my chapter plays an active role with me being a citizen and being active in the community because of the various types of community service that we complete.  It also helps me keep in touch with the community and remain aware of their problems and concerns.  I do not think that my council help me be a good citizen.  I do not think that the NPHC as a whole does any form of community service.  Granted, all of the organizations within the council do some form of community service on their own, it is never as a community.  As far as my actual understanding of what citizenship is, I do not think that either my organization or council helped me develop.  I think that my idea of citizenship developed long before I became Greek or even entered college and it was based more off of how I was raised and the fundamentals that were instilled in me growing up.  I think that my fraternity is simply a way to demonstrate my idea of citizenship, not what cultivated that idea.  Ultimately, I think that being a citizen is being a moral person who stands by their beliefs and always does the right thing despite the adversity that they may face and most importantly exemplifying the high ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.