At the beginning of my senior year, I received an email from the on-campus Greek organization Order of Omega.
"Congratulations!" it said. "You have met the requirements for membership into Order of Omega, one of the most well known national honor societies." I continued reading. If I wanted, I was welcome to apply to become a member, all I needed was three letters of recommendation. If I made the cut, I would then pay a fee of $65 to be initiated.
I was curious, and I did my research. Order of Omega is a philanthropic society that allows greek affiliated college students in the top 3 percent of their class to apply and once initiated they volunteer their time to participate in community service projects. Great, I thought. That's something I believe in.
But upon further research, I learned that the DePauw chapter of Order of Omega helps Greencastle Girl Scouts sell their cookies. From what I understand, this is their primary service endeavor.
So let me get this straight. DePauw students can participate in this philanthropic activity - but only with an adequate GPA, three letters of recommendation and $65.
Why is this? Does Order of Omega think that people with lower GPAs are less capable of volunteering? Is their time less valuable? Do lower grades affect people's ability to positively affect the community?
I have an idea. Instead of paying $65 to wear Order of Omega graduation cords and slap the organization's name on a résumé, donate that money to the Girl Scout organization. Or even buy their cookies.
So why is this organization attractive to potential members? Do people apply for the prestige or for the philanthropic service? I suspect it's for the important sounding name. Because if people are really interested in giving back to the community, there are ways to do that for free.
Order of Omega is by no means the only student organization that is guilty of this. Mortar Board is another example that comes to mind. This is another philanthropic organization that has a minimum GPA requirement and an entrance fee. In order to apply, a student must submit an idea for a philanthropy that could be implemented at DePauw. However, these ideas are rarely or never used.
But students are capable of goodness. There are organizations on campus that make a very real contribution DePauw's campus and to the larger Greencastle area.
College Mentors for Kids, for example, not only doesn't charge their members, but they spend time with Greencastle elementary school kids once a week, not just once a semester. There's real commitment. In addition, students don't need to be recommended to do it, nor do they need to have an adequate GPA. Because neither of those things have anything to do with a person's ability to volunteer their time for the betterment of the community.
Community service is not prestigious nor esteemed. It is humble, and organizations such as Order of Omega and Mortar Board should not, in an attempt to make volunteering more glamorous, be selective or expensive in the ways in which they encourage students to serve their communities.
- Chapman is a senior from Lake Bluff, Ill. majoring in English writing.
