Nothing Was the Same

I decided to rush a sorority. I did not know what that meant.

I tend to think:

It meant that Tau Beta Sigma will no longer be the marching band’s service group but instead a sisterhood that I would be privileged enough to be considered a membership candidate and eventually a sister.

It meant that the number five will no longer be the halfway mark between zero and ten and the price of a foot long at subway, but five reasons I love Tau Beta Sigma, five qualities that will make me a better person, and eventually an amazing sister.

It meant that the term “eight factors” will no longer seem like parts of a math problem, but eight ways I see myself improving my life, eight reasons I think Tau Beta Sigma has made a permanent impact on me, and eight reasons that I see every sister as a person with amazing potential and so much love.

It meant that January 27^th of 2015 was no longer a regular day on the calendar for me, but instead a day I received an invitation (bid) to change my life. A day I was given the chance to attempt joining on what I now understand is one of the greatest bonds out there.

It means rituals no longer seem like a terrifying word, degrees don’t make me think of temperature, and MC doesn’t mean master of ceremonies.

It meant turtles aren’t just my mother’s favorite animal, pineapples are not just my roommate’s favorite fruit, and eighth note isn’t just a part of music.

It meant that Theta Lambda was no longer two letters in the Greek alphabet, but a place where I call home to my journey in the sisterhood.

So if anyone had to ask me, (a MC whose only been through 2 degrees, been in marching band for one year at a major university, been to the Southeast District Leadership Conference, and have been in the process of becoming a sister for 35 out of the 76 days until initiation.)

I would tell you that TBS, in this small time, has already given me courage (to be myself and to go for what I want), confidence (not only in myself and my actions, but that someone will support me), a musical and sisterly bond with so many people, and that you are making a choice that will forever change your life.

By: Do’Nyal Webb

All Theta, All Lambda

By: Jessica Luhrs, Theta Lambda Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, Auburn University

Occasionally at larger chapters, sisters can experience a lack of contribution from the chapter.  Sisters sometimes rely on others to rise to the occasion and serve their band while they just sit on the sidelines.  At Auburn University, our chapter of Tau Beta Sigma currently has 46 members, and sometimes we fear that we will be one of these larger chapters that don’t have all of their sisters contributing.  However, at Auburn we have a saying called ‘All Auburn, All in’, that was originally used during the 2010 football season to rally support for the team during games.  Now, along with the SED’s new operation 100%, the sisters of Theta Lambda have set a goal to be ‘all in’ in everything that we do, and to have 100% participation in all that we do.
Since we are sisters of Tau Beta Sigma, we know that it has been an honor to be selected for us to serve our band and music department.  We therefore strive to be first and foremost a service organization that is 100% committed to helping our bands and music department in any way possible.  For Theta Lambda, this starts by completing our normal service projects that we have throughout the year, as well as being on call for our graduate assistants in the music department.  This includes helping out during band camp with our marching band by distributing uniforms to all 380 marching band members, including fitting all of our new members for their uniforms.  We’re called upon to help out the marching band when they go on away trips by distributing per diem.  We also help out throughout the season by overseeing plume distribution and mending uniforms throughout the season.

Sometimes these tasks can demand a lot from our sisters, such as when we hurry around our music building trying to find the right uniform for someone knowing that there’s still 10 people waiting in line to be fitted for their uniform.  Being in charge of plumes, we have to make sure to gather the plumes the moment that we finish performing one of our shows, which means that there’s usually sisters running throughout the band in order to collect everyone’s plumes.   Sometimes the marching band is required to leave for away trips as early as 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, and our sisters are still expected to be up and handing out per diem to the band.  Instead of focusing on the stress that these tasks can sometimes give us, we instead focus on the positive things that we’re getting out of serving our band, such as knowing that because we fit all of the new members for their uniforms, we have an opportunity to get to know our freshmen and interact with them.

We also try to be all in by not only serving our band and music department, but by serving our community and country as well.  Every year we come up with new ideas to help our community out.  For example, this year we’ve decided to buy toys to give to children in the Philippines for Christmas, as they typically don’t receive anything during the holiday times.  By creating new service projects, we can continue to be enthused about helping out our community and country, which helps give us even more of a reason to be all in.

The sisters of Theta Lambda are so all in when it comes to serving our music department and community because of the bond that we’ve developed between us.  Developing the bond between us is something that we are all in to as well, by incorporating Tau Beta Sigma into every aspect of our lives.  For us, this is something as simple as catching up with one another before practice or rehearsal, or grabbing a bite to eat before chapter.  This bond that we’ve developed then helps us get strength to get through a rough week, because we know that we can always count on our sisters to lift us up when we need it.

Our sisters of Theta Lambda come from high schools and bands across the country, and are in different colleges and have different majors from one another.  We have sisters who hold leadership positions such as section leader, and we have sisters that are simply members of a band here at Auburn.  Though we have a large chapter full of differences, as sisters we have learned how to come together to give 100% to our band, music department, community, and ourselves by being all in, all the time.