We are the ones we've bee waiting for

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." -President Barack Obama

I always felt a little uncomfortable about an event that the older Delta Gamma women hosted after Initiation and before big events. They said it made us closer- I felt it tore us apart. I will not necessarily give details about the event, but I will reference it. I will go through the stages of change and reflect on my actions to generate the change:


1. I created a sense of urgency by explaining that if this event was found out about by OSU officials, we would be put on probation. I also explained that Delta Gamma advisors had been given tips about the activities, and I did admit to the event occurring. Some say I ratted the chapter out, but I don't lie.

2. I tried to create a guiding coalition, but who wants to stand up to 114 of their peers? The women who seemed to be on board sat there silently when I confronted the chapter. With time and encouragement, other women stepped up and defended their stance. Some still don't agree.

3. I wrote the chapter a letter and reminded them of the oaths we had all taken. I directly quoted our values and set restoring those positive behaviors as the vision.

4. Everyday was filled with communication. After the letter outlining my disappointments in myself and the chapter and establishing some of the goals for the future, each woman wanted her own individual explanation. Every second of everyday was filled with rephrasing the same message over and over again. Eventually it resonated with some- others are still opposed.

5. I tried to empower the women by challenging them to come up with a better tradition to replace this one. I explained that they could leave a new legacy and they would be accredited for years to come.

6. In changing the tradition, they ridded of the public humiliation, but continued to drink after Initiation. This was obviously not ideal, but I had to take this as a short-term win and appreciate a compromise.

7. During the next quarter, women tried to resume the tradition with the reasoning that it was fine to do, since it wasn't directly after Initiation. This then forced me and my newly-gained coalition to produce more change. We had to explain that ending the tradition was not about breaking the rules of drinking around Initiation- it was about degrading our values.

8. This last step is something that still needs to be worked on. An unplanned receiving of the PPD Award from the national DG was a tangible way to show the chapter that we are moving in the right direction, and why stop now? I have been working with women who I see potential in to lead our chapter next. I hope that these women will step up to anchor new approaches in our chapter and keep the momentum going.

Finding elements from this experience to coordinate with these steps does not mean that I think I ran an attempt at change perfectly. They say things are always 20/20 in hind-sight, but I don't even think I can agree to that. Looking back, I see so many things I could have done differently and better that I don't even know exactly how I would do it, if I could do it all over again.

In reference to Obama's quote, I see why people wait around for another person or another time to initiate change. Change is hard. People reject the unfamiliar, and when you equate with the unfamiliar, you get rejected. However, if you desire change, you better act, because nobody else may ever do it. Decide what is important to you, and once you start, you can't look back.