Editor's Note (11/25/08)

Story by Carson Vaughan 

| Published Nov 25, 2008

Applications for Mortar Board and Innocents Society came out last week! It’s exciting, isn’t it? Before you can say, “We’ll be watching,” the two most principled honor societies on campus will have identified the very best juniors in the Greek System and student government.

No good deed goes unnoticed, you know, unless you’re living in the dorms. Or you’re an international student. Or you’ve never attended an ASUN meeting. Or you’re not friends with current members.

Ten out of the current 13 members of the Innocents Society are in the Greek System; 20 of the 23 members of UNL’s Mortar Board chapter are, too. If these numbers are an accurate representation of the entire student body, 83 percent of Greek System students are highly involved on campus, whereas only 17 percent of the rest of campus—or non-Greek residents—venture out of their dorms or apartments.

The Animal House is obviously the only campus population getting involved. As I look out on campus from the top floor of my fraternity house, directly behind my beer-can pyramid, I can attest to nothing else.

Combined, 83 percent of Mortar Board and Innocents Society is composed of Greek System members; a staggering majority that with little doubt proves either our honor societies are choosing from a narrow field, or that narrow field is exceptionally academic and community-minded.

Or both.

The Greek System—and those straggling few who have yet to join the Greeks but associate with them at weekly ASUN meetings—has dominated UNL’s honor societies for generations. It has been so commonplace for so long that expectations have formed for both parties.

It is easy to dismiss Greeks as elitist alcoholics when you’re not part of that system; when you hear about the parties, but not the philanthropies; when you hear about the pranks, but not the hours of volunteerism; when you hear about the roofies, but not the student government campaigns. The Greek System engulfs ASUN and UNL honor societies in part because it does an exceptional job of investing value in community and campus involvement.

Unfortunately, expectation feeds the familiar. There is little denying the fact that every member of both Mortar Board and Innocents Society is worthy of the recognition. If you read their short biographies, available on each honor society’s respective Web site, you’ll see why.

But what about the foreign student with the 4.0 GPA who is a leader to international students, but a stranger to the Greeks? What about the quiet student living off campus with the 3.97 GPA and a resume filled with community service who was neither aware of the honor societies or knew applications were available?

If you are an independent student qualified to be part of an honor society, give the Greeks running the system a reason to break precedent. Apply. If it still doesn’t work out, at least you can justify your complaints.

Despite the outcome this year and last year and next year, keep in mind that both organizations represent only a fraction of the positive endeavors the students at UNL have undertaken. If yours wasn’t recognized, it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Besides, they’re all nerds anyway.

Respectfully-er,


Carson Vaughan
Editor In Chief
Dailyer Nebraskan