Shelby Merry Summary Blog

“Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this sense is a system of collectively held values.” -- Geert Hofstede

Zeta Phi Beta

I believe this definition of culture applies very well to Zeta Phi Beta sorority. In Zeta Phi Beta they each have a specific set of held values that they hold dear to their specific culture. During my interviews with two of the members it was very easy to see their passion for these held values. This group is easily distinguished from other sororities and groups on campus because of their collective programming that causes them to stand apart and uniquely separates them. I chose this sorority on campus specifically because previous to my interviews I knew close to nothing about the multicultural sororities on campus. It’s a great thing to have pride in your own group on campus but I was beginning to feel like my passion for my sorority campus was not allowing me to explore other non traditional sororities on campus. Thinking back to my own cultural identity video this group compliments my own identity because we both strive to better ourselves by surrounding ourselves with strong leaders. We are both women and students looking to broaden our horizons by a specific group on campus. It was easy to find ways we are similar in our identity and much more difficult to find differences. One of our contrasts was that traditional sororities on campus have many more members and seem to be more involved all across campus.

The concept I have chosen to apply to my study of the multicultural sorority, Zeta Phi Beta, is Minority identity and its stages from Chapter 5. The sense of belonging that the minority group begins to develop occurs in different stages. Herb Leibacher describes this as, "The Minority Identity Development Model," and distinguishes between 5 stages that people experience as they attempt to understand themselves in terms of their own culture, the dominant culture, and the oppressive relationship between the two cultures." I believe that learning about these four stages can really help in a better understanding of Zeta Due to the fact that the members of this sorority are a minority here at UNL, they each or most have gone through each or one of these stages. Zeta Phi Beta is an NPHC sorority here on campus, this is a much smaller organization compared to the Panhelenic sororities here on campus.

An event at the Union with NPHC organizations

Through my time spent with the Zeta’s I found them to be women of passion. Passion is when

someone has a strong emotional bond and yearn for something. Both Franicia and Mercedes showed passion about this sorority through each of their interview. I interviewed each member separately. Franicia is a Junior her at UNL and the president of Zeta Phi Beta. Mercedes is a Sophomore and connected me with Franicia. When I asked Franicia, the Zeta president, to meet she was absolutely extatic to share and brag about her sosority to me. Franicia discussed that even if they aren’t with any of their members or wearing Zeta perafranelia  they are always “wearing their letters.” She further explained what she meant by that by saying that you are constantly representing your house and showing pride in your house. “Zeta takes up 100% of your week, even in class you are representing your house.” They each expressed the passion they have for networking, which involves meeting with their alumni on a regular basis. Mercedes talked about how knowing the history of Zeta Phi Beta was a prerequisite for joining the sorority.  They’re house is built on sisterly love, scholarship, and service. They each discussed how their sorority sisters have each made an impact on their life so far.

Not only were they women of passion but they were women of service. Service means they put time and effort into wanting to positively affect the community they live in. One of the questions in my interview was, “What does a typical week look like as a member?” Franecia discussed how it completely varies by the week but each month they have a different “cause” each moth. Some of these causes include, March of Dimes, breast cancer awareness, and homeless awareness are just a few they she mentioned. It was really inspiring to see that they are so involved in the community and wanting to effect it in such a positive way.

They were also women of high standard. They each used this phrase at some point during each of their interviews and then went into further explanation of what it meant to be a women of higher standard. This meant that they aren’t just answering to themselves anymore but rather are representing the whole house. Both Franicia and Mercedes discussed how they are held to a higher standard by being a part of Zeta. Franecia said, “We want to encourage young women to hold each other to a higher standard and set that example. We want to be an easily approachable women that you could come and talk to for advice or mentorship.” Mercedes talked about the in order to join the house you must have a 2.5 GPA and continue to maintain that through your time in Zeta. It was clear that Zeta was a place to create and promote the best version of yourself.

Women of Zeta

 I've learned a couple different things from this project. One thing is that I am often naive to other organizations on campus. It was so cool to see all the ways that Zeta was involved on campus and in the community and I had no idea. In my interview with Franecia she discussed how she has experienced some comments from Panhellenic sorority members that, in a way, extremely naive and rude due to their lack of knowledge about the NPHC sororities here on campus. A key part in intercultural communication is motivation. Each group member must have a desire to learn about the other and remain flexible within that process. I had a desire to learn and grow in understanding of Zeta, this was a key part to my research. Another key component was my attitude, "An individuals dispositions or mental sets (Martin, Nakayma 2012)."  One last key component that was crucial to this process was empathy. This was the desire to really "walk in another persons shoes." Without empathy I could have come off rude or harsh during the interview process. 

Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.