Initiation Week

Earlier this week, I sat in my field site observing the many people that attend New Mexico State. One major difference I noticed this week was the change in menu. Usually I would rate the quality of the food a 2 out of 5 stars, but this week they featured new items such as chicken florentine, and spinach chicken lasagna. This boosted the quality in my book to a solid 3 out of 5. I would say the reason for the change is the change in season. We bounced into fall, and the types of food we like to eat in fall differ from the types of food we typically associate with summer.

I noticed a lot of boys wearing suits, and more formal attire sitting at a table not too far from mine. I listened a little more closely on their conversation to see the reason as to why they were dressed fancier than what you typically see on campus. They began to talk about the fraternity, Sigma Chi, and how they would soon be initiated in as active members. They got up to leave pretty quickly so I did not hear too much more of the conversation. My best guess is that this past week was their "Initiation Week," which is a week when the pledges must do exactly what the active members say-- in this case, it was that they must wear suits all week long, and not converse with anybody unless they only talk about Sigma Chi itself.

I have noticed how many people are in Greek Life on campus, and will look more into how their actions differ from those not in Greek Life. Initiation, for one, is a perfect example of how some of the things Greeks do are a little different than what others normally do.